Contact Information
|
Donnell Butler
Ph.D. |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|||||
Headline
Objective
To evaluate, design, implement, and/or manage programs that assess and improve student outcomes, in particular academic and post-graduate success.
Summary
I have a range of education and social policy expertise from a variety of information-oriented positions including Big 4 senior business advisory services professional, senior policy research analyst, and program evaluation specialist. Currently, I oversee research and development of background questionnaires for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) . In addition to project management, survey research, and data analysis skills, I bring a committed work-ethic and collaborative demeanor to any professional environment.
My professional mission is to empower individuals and communities to better themselves and the rest of humanity through education and civic engagement. I engage and encourage others to obtain, share and exchange empirical as well as experiential evidence that can be used to improve human capital development in the United States and beyond.
Profile
Analytical and disciplined problem solver, able to evaluate, design, implement, and manage large-scale programs that achieve objectives.
- Proficient in using a wide variety of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies designed to collect and interpret data as well as derive implications for policy and practice.
- Successful project directing experience related to survey design and implementation, program evaluations, and large-scale assessments
- Adept at managing finances and budgets through application of business acumen and management skills developed during three years in the financial services industry.
Passionate and quick learner with scholarly interests in a broad range of public issues and substantive expertise in education, social psychology, social stratification, and inequality.
Award-winning writer and instructor who is also an articulate communicator skilled in quickly engaging audiences and colleagues, establishing rapport, and developing harmonious relationships with diverse individuals from all backgrounds, constituencies and organizational levels.
Expertise
Analytical thinker and quick learner with interests in a broad range of social issues
Substantive expertise in the field of education, in particular:
- College preparation, access, transition, success, and outcomes
- Diversity and multiculturalism
- Secondary and post-secondary education policy
Academic Teaching and Research Interests
- Sociology of Education: Access and Inequalities
- Sociological Practice / Applied Sociology
- Diversity and Intergroup Relations
- Race, Gender, and Class / Intersectional Analysis
- Stratification and Inequality
- Economic Sociology
Education
PhD, Sociology
Dissertation: Race, Segregation and Diversity in College: How Precollege Diversity Experiences Influence Students’ College Preferences, Behaviors, and Perceptions
Committee: Marta Tienda (Chair), Thomas Espenshade, Douglas Massey
MA, Sociology
Academic Teaching Experience
2001-2002. Assistant in Instruction: Sociology 301, Sociological Research Methods, Department of Sociology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (Professor Howard Taylor)
- Awarded 2002 Marvin Bressler Graduate Student Teaching Award from Princeton University.
2000. Teaching Assistant: Sociology 201, The Sociological Perspective, Department of Sociology / Freshman Summer Scholars Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (Professor Patricia Fernandez-Kelly)
Academic Research Experience
2000. Research Assistant, Center for Fragile Families and Child Well-Being, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
- Produced a data set that contained state and local economic information to be matched with the twenty cities in the Center’s Fragile Families Survey. Objective required standardizing public data as well as contacting and negotiating with state data centers and local researchers to procure unpublished data.
- Primary Investigator: Sara McLanahan, Supervisor: Nancy Reichman
1999 – 2000. Research Assistant, Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
- Produced an annotated directory, Studies of Artists: An Annotated Directory. Provides researchers with a comprehensive bibliography, range of definitions, identification methods, and sampling procedures used in studies of artists.
- Primary Investigator: Paul DiMaggio
BA, Business Administration and Sociology
Academic Teaching Experience
1994. Teaching Assistant: Sociology 100, First Year Seminar: Power Sociological Perspectives, Department of Sociology, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster PA (Professor Katherine McClelland)
Professional Experience
Director of NAEP Background Questionnaire Research and Development
- Direct research and development of student, teacher, and school questionnaires for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas.
- Coordinate four-person team that delivers consistently high-quality questionnaires to provide context for assessment outcomes and inform American educational practice and policy.
- Collaborate with academic content experts, the National Assessment Governing Board, and the U.S Department of Education to reach consensus on questionnaire content in light of political and financial constraints.
- Oversee projects and contracts associated with NAEP questionnaire qualitative research such as cognitive laboratory activities and focus groups.
AERA-ETS Postodctoral Resarch Fellow
- Conducting school intervention research to evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based programmatic activities designed to encourage and prepare adolescents to pursue college and professional careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
- Continuing research on the consequences of racial and ethnic segregation in high school on students’ preferences for and experiences with racial and ethnic diversity in college.
Project Director
Project Director, Campus Life in America Student Survey
- Direct longitudinal educational research and policy multi-institution study of over 12,000 college students regarding their experiences with diverse education environments.
- Manage communications between and among collaborating college and university partners, primary research investigators, and sponsor.
- Oversee questionnaire development process and data collection operations.
- Conduct data analyses that include data management, data integrity reviews, and multivariate statistical analysis.
Evaluation Specialist
Evaluation Specialist, Princeton University Preparatory Program
- Developed processes and tools for program evaluation and improvement.
- Conducted interviews with and solicit operations feedback from program staff.
- Developed and maintain student tracking database in Microsoft Access.
- Managed internal and external statistical information requests.
- Conducted ongoing projects related to outcomes assessment and program evaluation.
Forum Coordinator
Forum Coordinator, Princeton University Preparatory Program
- Organized and oversee working forum for over 100 leading professionals in the field of college access, college preparation, and student support.
- Managed contracts and logistics related to facilities, catering, travel, accommodations, and Internet presence.
- Managed communications between and among advisory board, event staff, forum participants, and sponsor.
- Trained working group session recorders.
- Managed financial transaction responsibilities including $120,000 budget; successfully operated event at $15,000 under budget.
- Co-authored white paper that describes the challenges and strategies with regard to college accessibility for low-income youth.
Data Analyst
Data Analyst, Program in Teacher Preparation
- Conducted data analyses--data acquisition, data management, data integrity reviews, and statistical analysis--for internal use and external evaluations. Authored relevant methodological and results sections of successful accreditation proposal.
- Assisted in alumni survey design and development of successful IRB proposal.
Senior Policy Analyst
Senior Policy Analyst, APPRISE (Applied Public Policy Research Institute for Study and Evaluation), Princeton, NJ
- Functioned in project management and analyst roles in a variety of research projects including process and impact evaluations of assistance programs. Clients included the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Energy Assistance Director’s Association, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the National Science Foundation, state offices, and utility companies.
- Conducted data analysis projects that included data acquisition, data management, data integrity reviews, and multivariate statistical analysis.
- Conducted complex interview projects that involved designing interview protocols and conducting in-person interviews with operations staff, provider agency staff, and clients.
- Conducted multifaceted survey design projects, which included questionnaire design and testing.
- Managed field operations for telephone surveys, which included developing and leading an interviewer training program, monitoring telephone interviewing, and serving as relationship manager for call center management, interviewers and survey respondents.
- Authored research and evaluation reports.
- Developed and delivered presentations on a variety of policy related issues for audiences ranging from 15 to 40 people.
Selected Presentations:
- 2005. "Energy Poverty and Household Wellbeing." Presented at the Low Income Agency Summit sponsored by Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric in Atlantic City, NJ on October 5, 2005.
- 2005. "Energy Poverty: Effects on Housing and Household Wellbeing." Presented at the 2005 National Low Income Energy Conference in Phoenix, AZ on June 15, 2005 with David Carroll and Carrie-Ann Ferraro.
- 2004. "NEADA 2003 National Energy Assistance Survey Results." Presented at the American Gas Association Uncollectibles Workshop in Washington, DC on October 7, 2004.
- 2004. “NEADA 2003 National Energy Assistance Survey Results.” Presented at the NEADA Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO on June 7, 2004 with Jacqueline Berger.
Interim General Ledger Supervisor and Accounting Manager
Interim General Ledger Supervisor and Accounting Manager, Northwestern Human Services of Chester County, Lafayette Hill, PA
- Evaluated and restructured accounting procedures and internal control systems in order to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.
- Implemented and performed monthly financial closing processes: including preparation of monthly financial statements.
- Created documentation necessary for monthly closing process, monthly account reconciliations, and annual financial audits.
- Instructed and monitored performance of other fiscal department members on newly implemented procedures.
- Provided knowledge and expertise regarding accounting systems and rules to subsidiary fiscal departments.
Senior Assurance and Advisory Business Services Professional
Senior Assurance and Advisory Business Services Professional, Ernst & Young LLP, Philadelphia, PA
- Evaluated client accounting procedures and internal control systems in order to provide recommendations to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.
- Supervised and provide on the job training to Ernst & Young staff members.
- Executed audits in a broad spectrum of industries with specialization in healthcare, charitable and entertainment organizations.
- Identified areas where audit or other services can enhance client performance as well as future audits.
Intern
Publications
2011. Christensen, Kathleen; Schneider, Barbara and Donnell Butler. "Families with School-Age Children." The Future of Children 21(2): 69-90.
2010. Butler, Donnell. "Ethno-Racial Composition and College Preference: Revisiting the Perpetuation of Segregation Hypothesis.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 627(1): 36-58.
2008. Klugman, Jason and Donnell Butler (2008), "Opening Doors and Paving the Way: Increasing College Access and Success for Talented Low-Income Students." [White Paper]. The Goldman Sachs Foundation: New York, NY. Available online at http://www.princeton.edu/teacher/pupp/PUPP_GSF_White_Paper_Opening_Doors_02-09
2004. Butler, Donnell (2004), "When Race Matters: The Influence of Sex and Socioeconomic Status on Perceived Racial and Ethnic Variation in College Enrollment," Race, Gender, and Class, 11 (3), 94-111.
2003. Butler, Donnell (2003), "Heroes and Saviors Need Not Apply," pp. 151-157 in Be the Dream; Edited by Gary Simons; Workman Publishing Company.
2000. Butler, Donnell (2000), "Studies of Artists: An Annotated Directory," Working Paper # 12 of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Princeton University.
Selected Presentations
2010. "Ethnoracial Group Membership and Comfort on Campus." Paper to be presented at the 2010 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting; Atlanta, GA; August 17, 2010.
2010. "Precollege Ethnoracial Diversity Experiences and Interracial Interactions in College." Paper to be presented at the 2010 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting; Atlanta, GA; August 15, 2010.
2009. "From Segregation to Integration: Precollege Ethnoracial Diversity Experiences and Social Integration in College." Paper presented at the 2009 Sociology of Education Association Annual Meeting; Monterey, CA; February 21, 2009.
2009. "Carefully Taught: The Effect of Precollege Ethnoracial Diversity Experiences on Interracial Interactions in College." Paper presented at the 2009 Eastern Sociological Association Annual Meeting; Baltimore, MD; March 21, 2009.
2008. "Using Campus Life Research Data to Transform Institutional Policies and Practices." Presented at the Annual Convention of the American College Professionals Association in Atlanta, GA on April 1, 2008 with John Ford, Casandra Harper, Jennifer Keup, Carolyn Livingston, and Daniel Teodorescu.
2005. "Energy Poverty and Household Wellbeing." Presented at the Low Income Agency Summit sponsored by Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric in Atlantic City, NJ on October 5, 2005.
2005. "Energy Poverty: Effects on Housing and Household Wellbeing." Presented at the 2005 National Low Income Energy Conference in Phoenix, AZ on June 15, 2005 with David Carroll and Carrie-Ann Ferraro.
2004. "NEADA 2003 National Energy Assistance Survey Results." Presented at the American Gas Association Uncollectibles Workshop in Washington, DC on October 7, 2004.
2004. “NEADA 2003 National Energy Assistance Survey Results.” Presented at the NEADA Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO on June 7, 2004 with Jacqueline Berger.
2002. "When Race Matters: Racial Variation in College Enrollment Revisited." Paper presented at the 2002 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting in Chicago. Paper awarded 2002 Race, Gender, and Class Section Graduate Student Paper Prize.
2001. "Diversity in the Classroom." Seminar presented at Princeton University's Harold W. McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning. September 6, 2001. Web resources available online at: http://www.princeton.edu/~djbutler/ditclink.htm
1997. "Race Relations on Predominately White College Campuses in the 1990s: A Longitudinal Case Study." Co-authored paper presented by Dr. Katherine McClelland, Ph.D. at the 1997 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting in Toronto.
Professional and Institutional Service
2011. Session Chair, American Educational Research Association
2010. Session Chair, Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness Annual Meeting
2002 – 2003. Treasurer, Princeton University Graduate Student Government
2001 – 2002. Graduate Student Representative, Council of the Princeton University Committee
2000 – 2002. Alumni Board Member, Programs Committee, Franklin and Marshall College
2000 – 2002. Departmental Representative, Princeton University Graduate Student Government
2002. Graduate Admissions Committee, Princeton University Department of Sociology
2001. Recruiter for Princeton University Graduate School at McNair Research Conference
2001. Committee Member, Ad-hoc Short Term Housing Committee, Princeton University
2001. Committee Member, Dining Services Committee, Princeton University
1998 – 1999. Sociology Department Graduate Student Advisory Council, Princeton University
Professional Memberships
American Educational Research Association (AERA), Division J: Postsecondary Education
American Sociological Association (AERA), Education and Sociological Practice and Public Sociology
Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE)
Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
Fellowship Grants and Awards
2002. Princeton Woodrow Wilson Scholars Fellowship Prize, 2002-2003
1998. National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Award, 1998-2001
1998. American Sociological Association, Fellowship Award (declined for National Science Foundation)
1998. Ford Foundation, Predoctoral Fellowship (declined for National Science Foundation)
1994. United Parcel Service Scholarship, Franklin and Marshall College, 1994-1995
1991. John Marshall Scholarship, Franklin and Marshall College, 1991-1995
1991. William Gray Scholarship, Franklin and Marshall College, 1991-1995
Academic Honors and Prizes
2002. American Sociological Association, Race, Gender, and Class Section Graduate Student Paper Award
2002. Marvin Bressler Graduate Student Teaching Award, Princeton University
2002. Patrice Y. Johnson Memorial Service Award, Association of Black Princeton Alumni
1995. Williamson Medalist, Franklin and Marshall College
1995. Phi Beta Kappa: International Liberal Scholarship Honor Society
1995. Pi Gamma Mu: International Social Sciences Honor Society
1995. Alpha Kappa Delta: International Sociology Honor Society
1995. William M. Kephart Sociology Prize, Franklin and Marshall College
1995. Muhlenberg Goodwill Award, Franklin and Marshall College
1994. Who’s Who among Students in American Universities & Colleges, 1994-1995
1993. Charles A. Dana Scholar, Franklin and Marshall College, 1993-1995
1993. Albert L. Bell Accounting Prize, Franklin and Marshall College
Social Networks
This VisualCV is available as a printable .pdf file