The Office of Institutional Research and Analysis (OIRA) reports to the Office of the Provost and is located in suite 203 of Zilber Hall. 

Alexandra Riley, Director of Institutional Research

Email | LinkedIn Profile |  (414) 288-8049

Alix has been with Marquette University since 2007 and oversees OIRA.  She has an M.S. in Statistics and a B.S. in Statistics and Computer Science from UW-Madison. Prior to Marquette, Alix worked as a Healthcare Statistician at Assurant Health and as a Mathematical Statistician at the National Agricultural Statistics Service in Washington, D.C. Outside of Marquette, Alix enjoys spending time with family, cooking and hiking. She also coordinates a LEGO robotics league in her kids’ school and helps coach a LEGO robotics team.

Responsibilities:

  • Enrollment projections, program review, strategic planning

Laura MacBride, Associate Director of Institutional Research

Email | LinkedIn Profile |  (414) 288-6931

Laura joined OIRA in 2009. She has a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from Gustavus Adolphus College and an M.A. in Sociology from UW-Milwaukee plus additional advanced graduate study credits. Prior to Marquette, Laura worked as a Research Assistant at the Office of Applied Gerontology at UW-Milwaukee. In her free time, Laura enjoys gardening, exploring the outdoors, and trying out new recipes. She is on the leadership team for her neighborhood’s farmers market and also volunteers with the Wisconsin Illinois SAS Users group.

Responsibilities:

  • Student success analytics, Faculty Success, Qualtrics, student survey administration and analysis

Kevin Chovanec, Ph.D., Data Scientist

Email | (414) 288-5181

Kevin joined OIRA in 2021, returning home to Milwaukee after working as an Assistant Professor at Christian Brothers University (CBU) in Memphis, TN. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics and English from Marquette and a Ph. D. in English from the University of North Carolina, and he is finishing an M.S. in Computer Information Systems at CBU. Kevin spends his time outside of OIRA exploring the city with his kids, reading, enjoying this golden age of television, and visiting family.

Responsibilities:

  • Enrollment projections, admissions analytics, data management and visualization development for admissions and student enrollment data

Amanda Cook, Ph.D., Data Scientist

Email | LinkedIn Profile | (414) 288-6296

Amanda joined OIRA in 2023 after completing her Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy at Northwestern University. For her dissertation, she used nationally representative survey data to investigate student-college match, college affordability, geographic access to higher education, and college student well-being. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Cook worked for several years at the Social Science Research Council in New York and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. She received her M.A. in Sociology and her B.A. in Sociology and French from the University of California, Berkeley. In her free time, Amanda enjoys gardening and spending time with family and friends.

Responsibilities:

  • Faculty/staff analytics, course analytics, data management and visualization development for employee and course enrollment data

Jackielee Derks, Ph.D., Data and Systems Specialist

Email | (414) 288-1906

Jackie joined OIRA in 2023 after working as a Teaching Assistant Professor in English . She holds a B.A. in English and Women’s and Gender Studies from Alverno College and a Ph.D. in English from Marquette University. Prior to Marquette, Jackie worked as a freelance instructional designer and a media and design consultant. In her free time, Jackie enjoys reading, catching up on the latest TV and films, and spending time with her family.

Responsibilities:

  • Course evaluations, IPEDS keyholder, coordinate responses to institutional surveys like U.S. News and World Report rankings, College Board, and other guidebook or ranking organizations