Dr. Daniel L. Stufflebeam’s Vision for
the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Evaluation

The Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Evaluation (IDPE) is unique in its interdisciplinary  nature. Its involvement of students and faculty from a wide range of disciplines and service areas and its offering of Ph.D. degrees in evaluation from four distinct colleges is unmatched by other doctoral programs anywhere on the planet. Significantly, the program stresses that, beyond formal coursework, IDPE students should develop evaluation expertise by doing evaluation work, i.e., carrying out tasks required to conduct evaluations, evaluate evaluations, and help develop the evaluation discipline.

My concept of how the IDPE should prepare its students is represented in a  career ladder for accelerated entry of graduates into the evaluation field . In my view, the program should provide students with progressively increased areas of responsibility and authority in serious evaluation work, so that, upon leaving the program, they emerge as nationally and internationally recognized professionals with excellent preparation, significant experience, and a track record of publications or other noteworthy contributions.

I am pleased that the IDPE and The Evaluation Center have a  symbiotic relationship. From experience at The Ohio State University, where the first incarnation of The Evaluation Center included master’s and doctoral programs in evaluation, I know that the Ohio State Center’s success was greatly aided by its embedded graduate program in evaluation. Moreover, the Center’s masters and doctoral students in evaluation prospered greatly by their active, in-depth participation in the Center’s wide range of projects and professional involvements. The Center effectively supported the students’ needs for a rich, dynamic learning laboratory.

IDPE’s students are privileged to be aligned with Western Michigan University’s Evaluation Center. It has a long  history of advancing the theory, practice, and utilization of evaluation. It affords students a rich set of  experiences in research, development, service, dissemination, instruction, and leadership related to evaluation. IDPE students have access to The Center’s national and international involvements, e.g., engagements with the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation; the American Evaluation Association; the Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation; collaborating universities; and a number of charitable foundations, government agencies, and other national and international organizations. The Center provides many IDPE students with funded research associateships plus other forms of financial support. By virtue of the IDPE being embedded in The Evaluation Center, the Center is contributing significantly to the development of leaders for the evaluation field and, of course, the IDPE students are contributing much to The Evaluation Center’s services and accomplishments.

It is also noteworthy and important that the Colleges of  Arts & Sciences,  Education,  Engineering and Applied Sciences, and  Health and Human Services are providing the academic foundation for the program. Their involvements help ensure that each student will graduate with specializations in both evaluation and a selected academic discipline, such as blind rehabilitation, computer science, economics, mechanical engineering, nursing, political science, school administration, social work, special education, sociology, or statistics. Moreover, together with The Evaluation Center, the four colleges are providing IDPE students with major professors, other doctoral committee members, dissertation chairpersons, and internships.

I wish all IDPE students much success as they proceed up their career ladders to become outstanding practitioners of evaluation and effective leaders for the evaluation field.