Elizabeth (Liz) Williams

Dr. Williams is a higher education researcher with more than thirty years of experience leading and contributing to institutional research at UMass Amherst. Liz manages two companion offices that support data-informed decision making throughout the university: Assessment, Survey, and Effectiveness Research (ASER; previously OAPA) and University Analytics and Institutional Research (UAIR).  These offices support educational effectiveness and student success, as well as other university priorities, by producing a wide range of data-based resources, most notably a host of interactive Tableau dashboards that allow data to be disaggregated in insightful ways.

Liz serves on the Provost’s and Deans’ Councils and is the institution’s NECHE accreditation liaison. She has co-authored research articles in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including The Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, the Journal of College Student Development, and the NACADA Journal. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and English from Connecticut College, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.