Willie Burgess
Director, Evaluation and Learning Research Center (ELRC)
Evaluation and Learning Research Center (ELRC)
Education Administration
Profile
As an interdisciplinary researcher, professional evaluator, and director of Purdue’s Evaluation and Learning Research Center (ELRC), Willie has over 30 years of experience developing and evaluating formal and informal education programs and methodologies for a variety of audiences. Her current work focuses on innovations that improve learning, well-being, and personal or organizational development and capacity. Inspired by her Ecology background, Willie uses a context-centered systems approach to research and evaluation that strives to understand not only what works, but why it works, for whom, and under what conditions. For example, Willie recently led a multinational team evaluating the effects of primary education models on diverse populations of learners in Somalia. Results from this evaluation are informing educational programming and policy in Somalia and contributing to our understanding of educational best practice in post-conflict and fragile environments more generally. The ELRC collaborates with faculty in all colleges across campus, as well as Colleges and Universities, Foundations, Government Agencies, and NGOs, both domestically and internationally. Currently, ELRC is a partner on Federal awards to Purdue totaling more than $48 million, including support from NSF, NIH, USDA, HRSA, USAID, and the U.S. Department of Education. ELRC also partners with external entities on projects funded by HHMI, Gates Foundation, Lumina, and many other sources. Willie arrived in West Lafayette from Pennsylvania (with a detour in Southern California) over 30 years ago. She enjoys kayaking, biking, hiking, winemaking (and drinking), and watching the ever-changing face of Lake Michigan from the bluff near her vacation cottage in Michigan.