Director

Kristin McKinley, Director of Research AdministrationKristin L. McKinley, M.S.

Mursell House - Room 204

Email or 920-832-6532

Kristin originally joined Lawrence in 2010 to assist with the evaluation of a federal grant for campus suicide prevention and was hired permanently in 2011 as a research associate. In 2012 she was promoted to associate director and in 2015 was named director of research administration. She serves on the President's Committee for Accreditation and Assessment, President's Committee for Student Success, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Grant Implementation Task Force. She is a consultant for President's Committee on Diversity Affairs. Kristin is a nationally recognized institutional researcher and grant evaluator with more than 10 years of experience in grant and program evaluation, institutional research, and higher education. 

Kristin actively contributes to the field of institutional research. She was one of three national recipients of the Julia M. Duckwall Professional Development Scholarship, awarded by the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) in 2014. She was invited to serve a two-year term as a member of the AIR Forum Strategy Committee starting in September 2017. There were eight members on the committee, with only one other individual coming from a liberal arts college. Kristin served as an eAIR Tech Tips Contributor, a member of the Forum Advisory Committee, and peer reviewer for the 2017-18 academic year. She was elected by membership to serve a two-year term on the AIR Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC) beginning in May 2019. Kristin was also elected to serve a one-year term on the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Consortium Board beginning in June 2019 and was re-elected to a three-year term in June 2020. 

In her free time, Kristin is active in the community advocating for increased awareness of mental health and suicide prevention. She has served as a member of the Outagamie Child Death Review Team since 2013 and suggested the addition of Recommendation 6 to the 2013 Suicide Prevention Recommendations. Kristin became a certified QPR Gatekeeper Instructor in 2010 and has trained over 325 people in suicide prevention. 

Kristin earned her Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology from Mount Mercy College and holds a Master of Science, with specialization in clinical psychology, from Augusta State University.

Senior Research Analyst and Data Manager

Sarah DunnaganSarah Dunnagan, M.A.

Email or 920-832-7594

Sarah originally worked as a research associate in the Office of Research Administration in 2013 and her main accomplishment was helping to co-develop the Lawrence University Fact Book, which centralized and consolidated key institutional statistics and trends. In 2017 she rejoined the Office of Research Administration working remotely from out-of-state. Her primary focus is the preparation of the annual Fact Book and developing data models to facilitate project needs throughout the year. In addition, her role supports data collection and analysis through such means as the survey of student opinion for tenure, promotion, and reappointment, and she leads efforts to streamline and document processes. Sarah has over 15 years of experience in higher education serving in a variety of roles and departments. 

Sarah earned her Bachelor of Arts in History with an English minor from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Master of Arts in Legal Studies from the University of Illinois at Springfield.   

Grant Evaluation Analyst & Coordinator

Rose Theisen, Grant Evaluation Analyst and CoordinatorRose Theisen, Ph.D.

Mursell House - Room 202

Email or 920-832-7211

Rose joined the Office of Research Administration in February 2019 to assist with the evaluation of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence (IE) Grant focused on catalyzing Lawrence’s efforts to engage science students of all backgrounds and identities; she will work through the duration of the grant (ends in 2023). Rose will be an integral member of the grant evaluation team collecting, analyzing, and reporting evaluation data to inform decision-making and planning. She will work in close collaboration with diverse members of the Lawrence community including the project director, project evaluator (director of research administration), faculty, staff, and administration to design formative and summative assessment and evaluation strategies, as well as extract, collect, and report data to measure progress toward grant goals and objectives. She will serve on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Grant Implementation Task Force in 2019-2020. Rose will work closely with our external evaluator, Center of Inquiry, and provide all grant-related documentation and data as requested.

Rose earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Washington. Rose has 13 years of experience in higher education, primarily serving in faculty roles.

Contact Information

Location: Mursell House

Hours: Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. -  4:00 p.m.

Phone: 920-832-6532

Email 

Physical Address:  422 E. Washington St., Appleton, WI 54911

Mailing Address: 711 E. Boldt Way, Appleton, WI 54911