Letter from the Executive Director

Following 2023-24’s excitement of record-breaking federal grants, opening the Evaluation Lab, launching Valeo, and receiving the 2024 Michigan Association for Evaluation Friend of Evaluation Award, this year seemed subdued. However, within 2024-25’s back-to-normal operations for The Evaluation Center lie multiple achievements and an unshakeable commitment to service and excellence. Here are some seasonal highlights:

In late summer 2024, we wrapped up several months of work to clarify our mission, vision, and values. The process reinforced our shared identity as we reflected on who we are and how we work. The resulting statements created a strong foundation for moving forward. 

In the fall, we celebrated the national recognition of Evaluation Center principal research associate, Dr. Lyssa Wilson Becho, who received the American Evaluation Association’s prestigious Marcia Guttentag Promising New Evaluator Award. 

As the administrative home of the US-Canadian Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation, we hosted the organization’s two-day annual meeting at WMU. Members worked on a major update of the Program Evaluation Standards. 

In winter, we marked the Evaluation Lab’s one-year anniversary. The lab provides evaluation services to local nonprofits and public agencies while delivering experience-driven learning to WMU students. In 2024-25, the lab employed 12 students, including 10 undergraduates and two graduate students. 

In early 2025, we experienced the effects of Federal budget cuts that impacted universities nationwide. Despite having three projects canceled due to a change in Federal priorities, we persevered in submitting grant and contract proposals to a variety of sponsors and forged new collaborations.

In spring, we hosted a visit by the sitting American Evaluation Association president, keeping up a now 13-year tradition. The various events associated with these visits provide evaluation students, staff, faculty, and members of the local evaluation community an opportunity to network, learn, and grow professionally. 

Closing out 2024-25 in early summer, we published an open-access special issue of New Directions for Evaluation, focused on the evaluation of evaluation capacity-building. 

Throughout the year, we supported the evaluation profession locally and nationally through the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation, Evaluation Café, Evaluation Checklist Project, and Valeo. We sustained our commitment to advancing evaluation theory and practice through conference presentations, scholarly publications, service roles, blogs, trainings, and resources. We also leveraged our evaluation expertise to serve WMU. Three staff members serve on the workgroup that provides direction and hands-on data collection, analysis, and interpretation to inform strategic use of WMU’s historic Empowering Futures Gift.  

None of this would be possible without the trust of our partners and sponsors and the support of WMU’s Office of Research and Innovation. I’m proud of our team’s work this year and excited to share it with you in the 2024-25 Evaluation Center Annual Report.

Warm regards,

Lori A. Wingate, Ph.D.

Executive Director

The Evaluation Center