(Editor’s Note: In the following feature, the GradPost introduces you to a new staff member in the Graduate Division this year: Francisco Herrera.)
Francisco Herrera joined the Graduate Division in June as its Institutional Research Analyst. But the title doesn’t begin to describe all the contributions of this multitalented staff member.
In his role as institutional research analyst, Herrera manages and interprets admissions, enrollment, funding and other data related to graduate studies at UCSB and develops internal reports for faculty, staff, research and course activities. He designs and analyzes survey instruments for strategic planning purposes. He also prepares reports for external reporting agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the Council of Graduate Schools. And he is helping to create a new graduate student satisfaction survey after successfully completing a new online Doctoral Exit Survey.
“My goals are to make access to data more easily accessible for our partners on campus with regard to graduate studies,” said Herrera, “and to help improve graduate programs through the development of comprehensive surveys that will inform the Graduate Division and campus, through feedback from faculty, students and alumni.”
Another role for Herrera at the Graduate Division is as Extramural Funding Advisor. He has been a presenter at pre-doctoral funding workshops for students considering graduate school and for first- and second-year graduate students, where he informs them about funding opportunities from the National Science Foundation, Ford Foundation, and various awards from the Department of Defense.
“I also presented at a workshop on fellowships for minority graduate students, and my colleagues covered writing strategies and presented examples of successful applications,” Herrera said. “As the Extramural Funding Advisor for the Graduate Division, my goal is to identify various funding opportunities for our graduate students so that they can accomplish their research and academic goals.”
Other responsibilities for Herrera include serving as the Graduate Division’s Fulbright Program Advisor and as a representative on the UC Campus Climate Assessment Local Work Team.
As Fulbright advisor, Herrera helps students interested in studying abroad with the application process and helps to coordinate the campus Fulbright candidate interview committee. “It’s been a very rewarding experience having the opportunity to hear about the exciting research that our graduate students are involved with, and providing them with feedback on their application essays,” Herrera said. “We’ve traditionally had good success in having our graduate students receive Fulbright awards, and hopefully I can help continue that success.”
On the UC Campus Climate Assessment team, he will contribute to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive campus community at UCSB. UC President Mark Yudof approved funding for a comprehensive and systematic campus climate assessment to include faculty, staff, graduate and professional students, and the undergraduate population at the 10 campuses and the Office of the President. Herrera was appointed to serve on the local UCSB panel, chaired by Maria Herrera-Sobek, Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Academic Policy and Professor of Chicana/o Studies.
Herrera came to the university from UC Davis, where he was an Evaluation Analyst at the Center for Education and Evaluation Services (CEES) in the School of Education.
He is a UCSB alumnus, earning a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2000. He also holds Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Education from UCLA.
When not serving on committees, writing reports, interpreting data and working with grad students, the Goleta resident enjoys hiking, especially at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
“While working at the CEES Center at UC Davis, I had the opportunity to work with the National Park Service at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, where I worked closely with park rangers in developing surveys for their educational outreach programs for K-12 students,” Herrera said. “Having the opportunity to hike the trails alongside the park rangers and seeing parts of the park not always open to the public was a terrific experience and I have enjoyed going back as often as I can.”