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Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Source: Ruth Dyer, 785-532-4797, rdyer@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Cheryl May, 785-532-6415, may@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008

K-STATE ASSOCIATE PROVOST RUTH DYER TO EVALUATE ACCREDITATION AROUND NATION

MANHATTAN -- A Kansas State University associate provost has been tapped to provide expertise as a member of accreditation review teams for the Higher Learning Commission.

Ruth Dyer, also a professor of electrical and computer engineering at K-State, recently completed a three-day training session for newly appointed peer reviewers.

"The three-day program provided an intensive simulation of an actual team visit to a university, complete with assignment to a mock team, review of a self-study report and interviews with university personnel," Dyer said. "Over the course of the program, the participants worked with their mock teams to evaluate and provide
consultation to the university under review, providing information for the institution's improvement and developing accreditation-related recommendations."

Dyer said approximately 100 participants learned about the role and expectations of being a peer reviewer and were given the opportunity to practice implementing the duties associated with an actual site visit.

According to the Higher Learning Commission, volunteers are marked by their knowledge of and direct experience with higher education, their willingness to give generously of their time and expertise, their dedication to educational excellence and their commitment to the principles underlying voluntary accreditation.

"I'm pleased that Ruth Dyer has been selected as a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission," said K-State Provost and Senior Vice President M. Duane Nellis. "She has an extremely strong background in teaching, research, administration and mentoring, which will serve her well in evaluating colleges and universities around the nation."

The Higher Learning Commission is an independent corporation and one of two Commission members of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, which was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.

The Higher Learning Commission accredits, and thereby grants membership in the Commission and in the North Central Association, to degree-granting educational institutions in the North Central region: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Dyer is a Fellow of the IEEE, formerly known as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. She was recognized as a Fellow for her contributions to diversity in science and engineering education, and Hadamard transform spectrometers. She also is a Fellow of the Association for Women in Science. She is a Senior Member of the Society of Women Engineers and is a member of several national honor societies. She has received awards for both her teaching and her research at K-State.

Dyer's leadership abilities helped earn her selection as a Fellow of the American Council on Education for 2003-2004. She spent the year working with the president, provost and vice president for government relations at Ohio State University. Also known as the ACE Fellows program, it is considered one of the nation's higher education premier leadership development programs, and enables participants to learn about the culture, policies and decision-making processes at another institution.

Dyer was promoted to K-State associate provost in 2004 after serving as assistant provost from 2000-2004. For the provost, she has overseen K-State's offices of planning and analysis, assessment and summer school. She also coordinates the university's mentoring program for women and minorities in the sciences and engineering, and she coordinates academic initiatives with the Kansas Board of Regents. As investigator for university-wide research projects, Dyer has been involved in numerous ongoing grants and proposals for engagement and outreach. Since 2000, she also has managed the expansion and maintenance of K-State's many technology classrooms.

A K-State faculty member since 1983, Dyer earned the rank of full professor in 1997. She earned a bachelor's and a master's in biochemistry from K-State and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky. She joined the university's engineering faculty in 1983.