Institutional Research & Planning (IR&P) has evolved over time from a data-only shop to a full-service organization that provides a complex suite of services to support campus decision makers in their strategic thinking as they work to effect changes in their organizations and across divisions.
Stephanie Chappe, Ph.D.
Director, Institutional Research
617-552-1496
stephanie.chappe@bc.edu
Stephanie leads a variety of department activities designed to support a culture of evidence for both academic and administrative units at Boston College. She plays a central role in designing, conducting, and analyzing cyclical and special studies across Boston College constituencies, working closely with campus partners to support university priorities. She also leads the data collection for and production of the University Fact Book.
Stephanie joined the IR&P team in 2014, bringing with her a wide range of experience and knowledge in areas of quantitative and qualitative research, survey development and management, and statistical methods in educational research. Stephanie graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois with a degree in secondary education in English and a minor in studio art. She holds her Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation from Boston College. Her dissertation focused on campus housing and its impacts on college experiences and outcomes.
Stephanie enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and their dog, Barlow. She also enjoys spending time exploring New England, doing photography, and staying active in sports – including recreational softball and fencing.
Grant Cosovich
Admin. Assistant, Institutional Research & Planning
617-552-1912
cosovich@bc.edu
Grant provides high-level administrative support to the Vice President and directors in Institutional Research & Planning (IR&P). He manages complex calendars, prepares budget reports, assists with research, designs presentations, and coordinates meetings, events, and retreats. He also organizes office logistics to ensure the efficient operation of the department.
Before joining the team, Grant graduated from Boston College with a B.A. in Economics. A California kid at heart, he hopes to continue exploring the Northeast with his friends, all while improving his chef skills and getting others to dunk on the office mini hoop.
Marise Fallon
Assistant Director, Space Planning
617-552-3111
marise.fallon@bc.edu
Marise works directly with the Space Planning team to develop space programs. She determines the scope of Space and Facilities Project Requests as related to alterations and renovations, and oversees the Annual Space Planning Update for the University.
Prior to her work at Boston College, Marise worked at John Hancock for 17 years where she was a project manager and designer. She specialized in large complex relocations and high-profile executive office redesign projects.
Marise has a B.A. in Interior Design from University of Tennessee where she played intramural soccer and was on the crew team. While in school, she also interned at furniture dealerships.
Marise enjoys spending time with her husband, son, two daughters and Havanese dog named Finley. She can often be found cheering at the sidelines of basketball and lacrosse games and is very active in supporting fundraising efforts in her church and her children’s’ schools.
As VP of Institutional Research and Planning, Mara leads a collaborative, integrated, multi-domain team that provides information, analytical, and consulting services to enhance decision-making and planning at Boston College. Included in the office of Institutional Research and Planning are: Institutional Research, Space Planning and Strategic Services.
Born in Manila, she left to study art history — not from slides — and received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and MA from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She pursued her interest in cultural intersections, art, and design at New York arts organizations including the auction house Christie’s and the Frick Art Reference Library, before discovering the opportunities and challenges of art school administration, first at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis, and then at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). At RISD she initially served as Special Assistant to the President and since 2015 as founding Vice President of Integrated Planning. In her 10 years at RISD, Mara oversaw two strategic planning processes and a joint comprehensive re-accreditation.
She is the co-editor of The Art of Critical Making: Rhode Island School of Design on Creative Practice (Wiley, 2013) and co-author of At Home with Filipino Art and Artists (Anvil, 2001). She also served as editor of Spanish Artists from the Fourth to the Twentieth Century: A Critical Dictionary (GK Hall, 1996) and Lamesa: The Filipino Table (Anvil, 1999). Her professional activities include membership on the Commission on Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), and service on accreditation visiting teams for New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE) and NASAD. She has spoken nationally on planning, assessment, and critical issues in art and design education.
An avid swimmer, she also enjoys travelling with her family, contemporary fashion and design, and international cuisine.
Mara Hermano
Vice President, Institutional Research & Planning
617-552-3111
mara.hermano@bc.edu
As VP of Institutional Research and Planning, Mara leads a collaborative, integrated, multi-domain team that provides information, analytical, and consulting services to enhance decision-making and planning at Boston College. Included in the office of Institutional Research and Planning are: Institutional Research, Space Planning and Strategic Services.
Born in Manila, she left to study art history — not from slides — and received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and MA from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She pursued her interest in cultural intersections, art, and design at New York arts organizations including the auction house Christie’s and the Frick Art Reference Library, before discovering the opportunities and challenges of art school administration, first at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis, and then at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). At RISD she initially served as Special Assistant to the President and since 2015 as founding Vice President of Integrated Planning. In her 10 years at RISD, Mara oversaw two strategic planning processes and a joint comprehensive re-accreditation.
She is the co-editor of The Art of Critical Making: Rhode Island School of Design on Creative Practice (Wiley, 2013) and co-author of At Home with Filipino Art and Artists (Anvil, 2001). She also served as editor of Spanish Artists from the Fourth to the Twentieth Century: A Critical Dictionary (GK Hall, 1996) and Lamesa: The Filipino Table (Anvil, 1999). Her professional activities include membership on the Commission on Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), and service on accreditation visiting teams for New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE) and NASAD. She has spoken nationally on planning, assessment, and critical issues in art and design education.
An avid swimmer, she also enjoys travelling with her family, contemporary fashion and design, and international cuisine.
Shadman Islem
Assistant Director, Institutional Research
617-552-8487
shadman.islem@bc.edu
Shad manages compliance reporting and data collection for external collaborations (e.g. IPEDS, Common Data Set). He also assists with survey research, student data analysis, and data warehousing. A trained mixed methods researcher, Shad uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the full scope of student success in his work.
Prior to joining as Assistant Director in 2024 he was a graduate assistant for IR&P and Ph.D. student at Boston College, having moved to Boston from New York where he worked in Student Affairs at Columbia University's School of Engineering. He holds a B.S. in Brain & Cognitive Sciences from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in Higher & Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Higher Education at Boston College.
Outside of work, Shad enjoys spending time with friends and family, going to concerts, playing RPGs, and getting up early on Saturday mornings to watch the English Premier League.
Denice Koljonen
Associate Director, Strategic Services
617-552-3739
denice.koljonen@bc.edu
As a member of the Strategic Services team, Denice works with individual departments, divisions and schools at Boston College on strategic planning initiatives. Projects range from analyzing the viability of new initiatives and programs to creating action plans for implementing new strategies. Denice previously managed the Administrative Program Review (APR) by working with department teams to complete their self-study reports, engage in external reviewer site visits, and create their action plans.
Denice has a strong background in management consulting, serving as a senior consultant at Arthur D. Little, Inc. for more than 10 years. She has worked primarily in the areas of corporate visioning, strategic analysis and planning for the communications, publishing, transportation, and medical devices industries. Prior to joining IR&P in 2010, she worked as an independent consultant.
Denice earned her B.A. in Economics and French from Gettysburg College and her MBA from The George Washington University. Denice enjoys reading so much she belongs to two book groups. She also tries to keep moving with yoga and walking her wheaten puppy in her quest for 10,000 steps a day.
Zigrida Kruckovs
Space Planning Support Specialist
617-552-6720
zigrida.kruckovs@bc.edu
Zigrida works with the University’s space data, using CAD and Archibus to update the space inventory. She implements and/or coordinates administrative database changes resulting from alteration and renovation activities as well as the annual space update, and coordinates the data exchange with the Data Warehouse. Zigrida also assists in responding to ad hoc requests for space data and in creating presentations related to space planning.
Zigrida joined the Boston College space planning team in 2000; prior to that Zigrida worked for a number of years with a small software development company focused on military security systems. Earlier experiences included a Senior Administrative Assistant position with Lotus Development Corp.
Zigrida received her B.A. in Psychology from Emmanuel College.
Zigrida is a fluent speaker of Latvian and edits her church’s quarterly Latvian-language newsletter.
Sylvia Lin
Director, Institutional Planning
617-552-4958
sylvia.lin@bc.edu
Sylvia supports university-wide planning initiatives and assists departments, divisions and schools in designing and implementing strategic, business and operational projects and solutions. She applies an integrating perspective to align and coordinate institutional planning activities through process optimization and project management. Leveraging group wisdom within and outside of IR&P through collaborative endeavors, she strives to ensure that maximum efficiency is found in organizational efforts and that resources are strategically deployed to advance Boston College priorities.
Sylvia joins from Ontario, Canada, and brings with her an extensive background in higher education evidence-based policy research, data analytics, institutional research and planning, and quality assurance. Taking on progressively responsible roles, she has worked closely with senior leadership, faculties and administrative units to operationalize institutional goals.
Sylvia graduated from McMaster University, Ontario with a Master's degree in Economics. She currently lives in Massachusetts and enjoys curling up with a book, hiking and spending time with family.
Christiana Linera
Director, Space Planning
617-552-3026
christiana.linera@bc.edu
Christiana oversees the Space Planning team that provides space management and planning for the University’s building portfolio. She works closely with her team and the IR&P team to provide programming and planning services that align BC’s space with their strategic and master plans. A key role for her team is the coordination with Facilities Management Information Systems (FMIS) to maintain and continually advance BC’s space database that is responsible for various University-wide annual reports.
Before joining BC, Christiana worked in the design consulting industry for over 20 years. She gained programming and design experience, construction knowledge, and management experience while working with institutions and corporate clients at Sasaki and Spagnolo Gisness & Associates. Her focus was design and project management for the Institutional market.
Christiana received her B.S. in Interior Design with a business minor at Ohio University and is an accredited NCIDQ Interior Designer. Focusing on her family and sneaking time to enjoy the outdoors and eat good food keeps Christiana on the go.
Gabrielle Park
Data & Visualization Specialist
617-552-1516
gabrielle.park@bc.edu
Gaby provides information design with charts, figures, dashboards, and other forms of data visualization and graphic design deliverables. She collaborates with the IR&P team as well as the greater University to provide engaging and appealing data visualizations in order to communicate institutional data to students, faculty and staff, and other partners. In addition, she works closely with the ITS department at BC in its efforts to establish and implement an intuitive data warehouse and promote data literacy across the University.
Before joining Boston College, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Massachusetts Boston where she contributed to several projects in economic research. Gaby holds a Master’s in applied economics from the University of Massachusetts Boston as well as a B.A. in economics from the same institution.
When she’s not at her computer, Gaby enjoys painting, reading, and tending to her houseplants with moderate success.
Daniel Riehs
Associate Director, Information Systems & Design
617-552-4010
daniel.riehs@bc.edu
Dan provides data and design thinking consulting services for IR&P and the University. Since joining the new office of Institutional Research in 2006, he has played key roles in the creation of a modern business intelligence infrastructure at BC, contributing as a developer, business analyst, and quality assurance lead. He currently focuses on University data governance and data literacy efforts, encouraging cross functional data sharing and collaboration.
When no data exists, Dan uses design thinking to collaborate with BC faculty and staff to tackle University challenges. In his workshops, Dan hopes to give participants an intuitive understanding of the steps of design thinking so they can adapt the process to fit their own circumstances and constraints. He has an MBA from BC and a certificate in Design Thinking from Cornell University.
When he's not working, Dan enjoys drawing and brewing homeade beer made with Mountain Dew.
Margaret Ryan, Ph.D.
Principal Research Associate
617-552-0809
meg.ryan@bc.edu
Meg conducts research projects and data analyses related to institutional policies, planning, and effectiveness across a broad spectrum of academic and administrative program areas.Meg came to Boston College in 1999, and worked in University Advancement as a Senior Associate Director for the Boston College Fund before joining the IR&P team in 2004.
She brings extensive experience in study design, data analysis, and report presentation from her earlier positions in marketing, investor relations, and management consulting.Meg earned her Bachelor's degree from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. and a joint J.D. and Master's in Public Administration from Saint Louis University. She holds a Ph.D in Higher Education from Boston College, where her research focused on Hispanic-Americans in Catholic higher education.
Originally from the South Shore, Meg currently lives in Dedham, MA and enjoys planning big and small adventures with her daughter, Nora.
Rumiko Taira
Space & Data Planner
617-552-2881
rumiko.taira@bc.edu
As a Space & Data Planner, Rumiko works under Institutional Research & Planning, tracking and reporting on college space use, managing space planning, data collection, and research support.Before joining IR&P, Rumiko worked for architectural firms in Boston and Tokyo, Japan, providing conceptual design, strategic design approaches, branding, and project management from concept to completion. She has worked with clients from private residences to multi-family housing, commercial office renovations, and university and hospital projects. She brings nearly 20 years of experience in the construction field to her work at IR&P.
Rumiko holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from West Virginia University and a Master's degree in Interior Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design.Originally from Yokohama, Japan, Rumiko enjoys walking around BC Campus and finding great space and architectural details. She also enjoys long weekend walks with her husband, daughter, and dog, Dorsey.