Associate Director, Institutional Research and Assessment
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Shannon Foster, Ph.D., is the Associate Director of Institutional Research and Assessment at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). With more than twenty years of experience as a higher education practitioner and researcher, she leads university-wide assessment and evaluation initiatives focused on understanding and improving the student experience and institutional effectiveness.
Dr. Foster specializes in mixed-methods research, survey design, and qualitative inquiry, using data-informed approaches to elevate the voices and lived experiences of students, faculty, and staff. Her work spans a broad range of institutional priorities, including student success, mental health and wellbeing, sense of belonging, diversity, equity, and inclusion, sustainability, academic initiatives, human resources projects, and policy implementation across CMU’s Pittsburgh campus, domestic locations, and international campuses in Qatar and Rwanda.
She is particularly interested in the emerging role of artificial intelligence in institutional research and assessment, including the use of AI-enhanced tools to support qualitative analysis, improve research workflows, and strengthen stakeholder engagement through more accessible, actionable, and human-centered insights. Her work focuses on translating complex data into meaningful strategies that support decision-making and organizational improvement.
Empowering Stakeholders with Gen-AI: Delivering Dynamic and Accessible Data
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM East Coast USA Time