Meridith Wentz

Meridith Wentz, PhD, is an Assistant Chancellor in the department of Planning, Assessment, Research and Quality at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She is responsible for leading institutional research and assessment, strategic planning, performance measurement, regional accreditation, and policy efforts. She is a judge with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, having led three national review teams, and a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission. As a peer reviewer, she has done comprehensive visits, portfolio reviews, financial panels, change panels, non-financial indicator panels, federal compliance, and assurance reviews. Meridith has presented UW-Stout’s approach to using data (and benchmarking) to inform decision-making at numerous institutional research, assessment, and Baldrige conferences. She led UW-Stout’s efforts as a founding institution for the Aspirational Statements for institutional research. She has taught courses in statistics, evaluation, and research design.
Education
PhD, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
MS, University of Wisconsin-Stout
BA, Saint Olaf College
Publications
Wentz, M. K., Brown, A., Sweat, J. (2018). Infusing Data Campus-Wide to Drive Institutional Change. Midwest Higher Educational Researcher
Wentz, M. K., Baran, K., Brown, A., Drasin, J., Crnell, G. (2018). Maintaining Business Process Redesign Efforts through Change Management. Educause Review. Educause Review
Presentations
Wentz, M. K. (2019). UW-Stout 15+ Years After Receiving the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award: Successes and Challenges. National Institute of Standards and Technology
Wentz, M. K., Nelson, A., Solverson, N. (2018). The AIR Aspirational Statements in Practice. AIRUM
Wentz, M. K., Oakgrove, F. (2018). Benchmarking Educational Support Services. AIRUM
Wentz, M. K., Rodriguez, G. (2017). Preparing for a Productive Open Pathway Site Visit. Higher Learning Commission
Wentz, M. K., Garfield, J. K. (2017). Integrating HLC Requirements into Daily Operations between Comprehensive Visits. Higher Learning Commission
Wentz, M. K. (2016). Keynote Presentation at the Association for Institutional Research in the Upper Midwest conference. AIRUM