KAREN BLACKWELL has been with UNCG for 26 years. She began as a programmer/analyst in Institutional Research (IR) back when IR was first under ITS.  Her areas of expertise are Cohort Studies, Student Data Files, SAS Programming, and Data Analysis & Reporting. For the past 12 years, she has served as Assistant Director of IR.  Karen is excited to be back in the ITS family and for the opportunity to lead a talented group of professionals in the areas of Data Science, Data Reporting & Visualization, and Data Management. In her leisure time, Karen enjoys skiing, golf, and fishing as well as spending time with family, friends, and her dog.

JOHNNY LAIL is the Associate Director of Institutional Research and Enterprise Data Management. From his home office, Johnny educates the clients on how to consume data in smart, efficient ways and administers Student Data Mart, enterprise data quality efforts, and student data as they relate to state appropriations. Outside of work, Johnny enjoys spending time with his family, which includes his wife, two kids, two cats, and an 8-year-old Great Dane named Arwen, and vegan cooking.

ALICE HERRING, IR’s Enterprise Data Governance Manager, has been with UNCG for 20 years. From her home office, Alice manages data governance, metadata management, and data quality for the campus. Outside of work, she enjoys yoga, reading, and walks with her dog.

SUZANNE DELLINGER is a BI/Data Analyst Lead. From her home office in the little town of Midway, NC (pop. 4,500), Suzanne delivers reports, visualizations, and ad hoc analysis requests to the University. She also leads a project to assess and rebuild the Delaware Cost Study data submissions and overall workload reporting needs. Outside of work, Suzanne enjoys concerts with her daughter, watching soccer with her son, watching her dogs herd the birds in her yard, reading, and baking cookies (especially around the holidays).

KATHY BAKER is currently a Research Associate and soon to be a Data Analyst. From her campus office at 125F McNutt, Kathy is the “Survey Queen” for IR. External surveys, internal surveys, course evaluations—she does them all! She is also the data contact for a number of student success projects. When she’s not working survey data magic, she plays handbells for a church and with The Raleigh Ringers. 

MARK A. DAVENPORT, a 21-year UNCG staff member, is a Senior Research Associate. Working in McNutt 125H, Mark conducts statistical research and data mining studies for University clients. Outside of work, he enjoys reading, genealogy, board games, and anything Tolkien.

NATE DZBENSKI is a Data Scientist who “predicts the future like a tarot card reader with a computer” from his home office. When not foretelling with data, Nate enjoys Sasquatch investigation and finding words in crossword puzzles that weren’t meant to be there.

KELLY FEI is a Business & Technology Applications Analyst. Kelly is responsible for all Student Data Mart views, surveys, and various ad hoc requests and serves as IR’s webmaster. In her free time, Kelly enjoys gardening and cooking. 

DAN CHEK is a Business and Technology Applications Specialist who makes UNCG customers’ jobs easier by turning data into actionable information. Working from his home office, Dan provides development and support for enterprise reporting using Argos, WebFOCUS, and Power BI for Student, Finance, and HR data. In his free time, Dan enjoys spending time with his family including his wife, twin teenage sons, adult daughter, and 16-month-old twin grandbabies. He also squeezes in a little golf when he can. 

BOB ZINN is a Business and Technology Applications Specialist who’s been with UNCG for 16 years. Also, a remote team member, Bob’s primary responsibilities are in University operational reporting in the areas of accounting, budget, finance, human resources, and payroll. When he’s not reporting University business data, he’s probably hiking. 

ADRIAN RANKIN is an Enterprise Report and Visualization Developer who joined ITS three months ago and works remotely. He is responsible for developing and maintaining the Power BI dashboard. Adrian enjoys spending time with his wife and dog, loves cooking and reading, and is a huge Boston sports fan. 

DANA ZHANG is an IT Analyst/Programmer II and has been with UNCG for 7 years. She is responsible for development, implementation, and maintenance of dashboards. This includes developing ad hoc and data analysis reports and visualizations. Dana works remotely and loves cooking and travel.