Office of Institutional Research

Staff

The Office of Institutional Research operates within the Office of the Provost. Our staff have a wide range of experiences within higher education.

  • Katharine Tracy Barnes

    Director of Institutional Research

    Tracy received a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Hispanic Studies from Brown University and an MA in Clinical Psychology from Clark University. She has been with the Office of Institutional Research since it began when it evolved from the Registrar's Office, where she had been working at the time. As Director of OIR, Tracy supports planning and evaluation efforts of the University, coordinates Brown's responses to externally mandated reporting, and provides information for institutional affiliations and accreditation. 

  • Karen Baptist

    Senior Associate Director of Institutional Research

    Karen received a Bachelor's degree in psychology from SUNY Geneseo and an MSc in education from Alfred University. She has been with the Office of Institutional Research at Brown since 2005, having previously worked in institutional research at Bridgewater State University, Colgate University, and Alfred University. Karen is a past chair of Brown's Staff Advisory Council. Her favorite type of chart is the jitter plot.

  • Kimberly Buxton

    Senior Institutional Research Analyst

    Kim earned a Bachelor’s degree at Slippery Rock University for programs in psychology and philosophy. She earned an MA in cognitive and social processes and a graduate certificate in institutional research at Ball State University. Kim joined the Office of Institutional Research at Brown in 2017. She enjoys cleaning data and proofing reports (that aren't her own).

  • Emily Hsieh

    Senior Data Analyst for Institutional Research

    Emily received a Bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Brown University. She previously worked in institutional research at Gallaudet University before returning to Brown in 2023. Emily’s love of sports informs her interest in the relationship between data and social justice.

  • Margot Saurette

    Executive Assistant and Project Coordinator

    Margot is a 33 year employee of Brown and has been with the Office of Institutional Research since summer 2018. After serving for over 32 years in the Diversity Office and the Office of Facilities Management, she currently serves the University by splitting her time between two departments. As Executive Assistant in the Office of the Provost she supports the Deputy Provost of Academic Affairs with oversight of the external department review process, Corporation meeting support and also serves as administrative support for the Academic Priorities Committee among other projects as needed. As part of her position in Institutional research, she provides administrative support for the office staff needs, tracks projects for the group for annual summaries, schedules committee meetings and provides support for larger projects as needed. She is also creating a tracking project for the NEASC accreditation process that will ease the burden of compiling ten years of information regarding the review of our program.