Second candidate for vice chancellor for research to present Tuesday

LAWRENCE — Neal Kingston, University Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology & Research, will make a public presentation on Tuesday, Sept. 18, as a candidate for vice chancellor for research at the University of Kansas.

He is the second of four candidates for the position who will make public presentations during their respective campus visits. His presentation will be from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Lied Center Pavilion. A half-hour reception will follow.

Kingston, who also holds a courtesy appointment in Department of Special Education, has been a member of the KU faculty since 2006. He has been director of KU’s Achievement & Assessment Institute since 2012 and is currently serving as interim director of the Center for Educational Testing & Evaluation, which he also directed from 2009 to 2012. He was program coordinator for the School of Education’s Research, Evaluation, Measurement and Statistics track from 2010-2011. He also has been involved in leadership activities of the previously named Department of Psychology and Research in Education, serving as both an interim chair and as an associate chair.

His research focuses on large-scale educational assessment, with particular emphasis on how assessments based on learning maps can better support student learning. Kingston is a prolific author and presenter with more than 200 reports, journal publications and invited presentations. In 2014, he co-authored the book “Test Fraud: Statistical Detection and Methodology,” published by Routledge. He has worked as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than 120 funded projects that since 2009 have been awarded more than $200 million.

Kingston began his career as a high school science teacher in Yonkers, New York. After graduate school, he worked many years at Educational Testing Service holding a variety of positions, including that of director of research and new testing initiatives and director of research and test development for the Graduate Record Examinations program, and also as executive director of ETS’s Workplace Assessment and Training. As Kentucky associate commissioner for curriculum and assessment, from 1993 to 1995, Kingston was responsible for a statewide assessment system that included performance events and mathematics, writing and alternate assessment portfolios. Between 1996 and 2004 he worked on more than a dozen state assessment programs through leadership roles he held at Measured Progress in Dover, New Hampshire. He was vice president and general manager and vice president of research for CTB McGraw-Hill from 2004 to 2006.

He has a doctorate, a master of education, a master of philosophy in educational measurement and a master of arts in psychology in education, all from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

In 2015, Kingston was selected to receive the National Association of Assessment Directors Award for Outstanding Contributions to Educational Assessment. He was named Distinguished Mentor for the Community of Interest on Career Paths: Academia or Industry by American Educational Research Association Division D. He has served on numerous university, school and department committees during his time at KU and has chaired or been an active member on numerous national and international professional committees and conferences, including the International Association for Educational Assessment, the Conference on the Statistical Detection of Potential Test Fraud and the National Council on Measurement in Education.

The vice chancellor for research search committee — led by Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Kristin Bowman-James — invites students, faculty and staff to attend the presentations and provide feedback of their impressions.  Each candidate will prepare a presentation on the topic: “Vision and Strategies for the Evolution of the Research Enterprise at KU.”

The university will release information about each candidate at least one business day before the candidate’s visit. The schedule of remaining public appearances is:

• Candidate 3 presentation: 10-11 a.m. Sept. 27, Lied Center Pavilion.
• Candidate 4 presentation: 10-11 a.m. Oct. 5, Lied Center Pavilion.

Candidate presentations will be recorded and available for viewing online after the final candidate has appeared on campus. Evaluations of all candidates are due by 4:30 p.m. Oct 8.

The vice chancellor for research leads the KU Office of Research and advocates for research on and off campus, implements research integrity requirements, and, through the KU Center for Research (KUCR), oversees the administration of research grants and contracts primarily for the Lawrence campus. The vice chancellor also has oversight of activities related to technology commercialization and business and industry outreach. The vice chancellor reports to the provost and executive vice chancellor and works closely with the chancellor and the senior leadership team at KU.