CV

Work Phone: (515) 281-3753

Work Cell: (515) 822-3469

Email: tom.schenk@iowa.gov

Work Address:
Grimes State Office Building
400 E. 14th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319

Current Professional Affiliations

Consultant – Institutional Effectiveness & Accountability, Iowa Department of Education: January 2008 – present

Lecturer, Economics, Grand View University: August 2008 – present

Educational Background

Iowa State University, Masters of Science (M.S.), Economics: December 2007

Drake University, Bachelor’s of Arts (B.A.), Majors: Economics & Politics, Minors: Philosophy & Mathematics: May 2005.

Previous Professional Affiliations

• Visiting Graduate Fellow, American Institute for Economic Research, Great Barrington, MA: Summer 2006
• Investment Analyst, Smith Barney, Des Moines, IA: 2004 – 2006
• Iowa Council for International Understanding, Intern, Des Moines, IA: February 2003 – May 2003

Teaching & Research

• Research Assistant, Iowa State University: October 2006 – December 2007
• LaTeX Tutorial/FYS Seminar, Department of Mathematics, Drake University: Fall Semester 2005
• Tutor, Academic Success Center, Iowa State University: Summer 2006
• Tutor, Athletics Department, Drake University: February 2005 – May 2005
• Tutor, Department of Economics, Drake University: August 2004 – May 2005
• Tutor, Upward Bounds Program: February 2003 – May 2004

Book Chapters

“Workforce and Technical Skill Education and Its Assessment” in R. Howard, G. McLaughlin, & W.E. Knight, eds. Handbook of Institutional Research. Forthcoming, 2011. Jossey-Bass.

Peer-Review Publications

“Behaviors and Perceptions of High-income Investors.” (w/ Tahira K. Hira and Cazilia Loibl). Forthcoming, Financial Services Review

“A Framework for Agent-Based Computational Economics in Economic Geography.” Drake Undergraduate Social Science Journal. Spring 2006.

Other Publications

The Annual Condition of Iowa’s Community Colleges 2009. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation. 2010.

Iowa Community College Fall Enrollment Report: 2010. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation. 2009.

“Calculating Returns to Degree Using Administrative Data: 2002 Cohort.” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama). Iowa Department of Education Technical Bulletin. No. 2. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation. October 2009.

Iowa Community College Fall Enrollment Report: 2009. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation. 2009.

Iowa Community College Tuition and Fees Report: 2010. (w/ Kent Farver). Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation. August 2009.

Project Lead The Way Interim Research Report: July 2009. (w/ Frankie Santos Laanan, David Rethwisch, Soko S. Starobin, Melissa Chapman, Leaf Yi Zhang). Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation. 2009.

The Annual Condition of Iowa’s Community Colleges: 2008. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation. 2009.

“Enrollment Projections of Iowa’s Community Colleges.” Iowa Department of Education Technical Bulletin. No 1. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community College and Workforce Preparation. May 2008.

Iowa Community College Fall Enrollment Report: 2008. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation. 2008.

Iowa Community College Tuition and Fees Report: Fiscal Year 2009. (w/ Jeremy Varner). Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education.

“Exploring the Investment Behavior of Minorities in America.” (w/ Tahira K. Hira and Cäzilia Loibl).Washington, D.C.: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation. 2007.

“Examining the Investor Confidence of Minorities in America.” (w/ Tahira K. Hira and Cäzilia Loibl). Washington D.C.: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation. 2007.

Working Papers & Manuscripts

“Calculating Returns to Degree Using Student Longitudinal Data Systems” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama). Working Paper. Iowa Department of Education. February 2010.

“A Conceptual and Operational Definition of STEM for Iowa Community Colleges” Working Paper (w/ John Lund). Working Paper. January 2010.

“The Effects of Graduate-student Unionization on Stipends” Working Paper. January 2010.

“Review of Graduate-student Unionization and Their Impact.” Working Paper. January 2010.

“Student Follow-up Using State Longitudinal Data Systems: In-state Retention Rate.” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama). Working Paper. December 2009.

“Developing Iowa’s Workforce: Tracking and Visualizing Transitions from Majors to Industries” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama). Working Paper. November 2009.

The Effects of Graduate-student Unionization. Master’s Thesis. Iowa State University Library, February 2007. (Committee Members: Peter Orazem, Justin Tobias, Anthony Townsend).

“Ethnic and Racial Differences in Investment Behavior. ” (w/ Tahira K. Hira and Cäzilia Loibl). Submitted to Journal of Financial Planning and Counseling, August 2007.

“Risk Tolerance and Investor Confidence.” (w/ Tahira K. Hira and Cäzilia Loibl). Submitted to Journal of Financial Planning and Counseling, August 2007.

“Bayes is the New Black: Agent-Based and Bayesian Inference in Biology.” (w/ Trin Turner). Working Paper, 2007.

Invited Presentations & Conferences

American Society of Engineering Education, “A Longitudinal Evaluation of Project Lead The Way in the State of Iowa” (w/ David Rethwisch, Frankie Santos Laanan, Melissa Chapman, Soko Starobin, Yi Zhang). Louisville, Kentucky. June 2010.

Association of Institutional Research, “Visualizing Transitions into the Workforce.” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama). Chicago, Illinois. May 2010. (Poster Session)

Association of Institutional Research, “Initial Results of a Longitudinal Evaluation of Project Lead The Way.” (w/ Frankie Santos Laanan, David Rethwisch, Soko Starobin, Melissa Chapman, Yi Zhang). Chicago, Illinois. May 2010.

Association of Institutional Research, “Calculating Returns to Degree Using Administrative Data.” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama). Chicago, Illinois. May 2010.

American Education Research Association, “Workforce Development During Economic Crisis: The Iowa Community College Response” (w/ Andrew Ryder, Linda Hagedorn, Soko Starobin, Dee Baird). Denver, Colorado. April 2010. (Poster Session)

American Educational Research Association, “Calculating Returns to Degree Using State Longitudinal Data Systems” (w/ Kiyo Matsuyama). Denver, Colorado. April 2010.

American Educational Research Association, “Initial Results of the Evaluation of Iowa Project Lead The Way” (w/ Frankie Santos Laanan, David Rethwisch, Soko Starobin, Melissa Chapman, and Yi Zhang). Denver, Colorado. April 2010.

American Educational Research Association, “Visualizing Transitions into the Workforce” (w/ Kiyo Matsuyama).  Denver, Colorado. April 2010. (Poster Session)

Midwest Association of Institutional Researchers, “Calculating Returns to Degree Using Administrative Data” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama), Kansas City, Missouri. November 2009.

Midwest Association of Institutional Researchers, “Visualizing Transitions into the Workforce” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama), Kansas City, Missouri. November 2009. (Poster Session)

Iowa Association for Career and Technical Education, “Project Lead The Way Evaluation Study”. Ames, Iowa. November 2009.

Association for the Study of Higher Education, “A Longitudinal Evaluation of Project Lead The Way in the State of Iowa” (w/ Frankie Santos Laanan, David Rethwisch, Soko Starobin, and Yi Zhang).  Vancouver, Canada. November 2009. (Poster Session).

Association of Institutional Researchers – Upper Midwest, “A Longitudinal Evaluation of Iowa ‘Project Lead The Way’ in the State of Iowa.” (w/ Yi Zhang, Frankie Santos Laanan, David Rethwisch, Soko Starobin, and Melissa Chapman), Minneapolis, Minnesota. October 2009. (Poster Session).

Association of Institutional Researchers – Upper Midwest, “Visualizing Transitions into the Workforce” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama), Minneapolis, Minnesota. October 2009. (Poster Session).

Association of Institutional Researchers – Upper Midwest, “Calculating Returns to Degree Using Administrative Data” (w/ Kiyokazu Matsuyama), Minneapolis, Minnesota. October 2009.

Iowa State University, Brown Bag Seminar, College of Education, “Longitudinal Data and Higher Education Accountability“, Ames, Iowa. September 2009.

Academy of Financial Services, “Risk Tolerance and Investment Confidence Among High-income Investors of Diverse Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds” (w/ Tahira K. Hira and Cazilia Loibl), Orlando, Florida. October 2007.

International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB), “Bayes is the New Black: Agent-Based Modeling and Bayesian Inferences in Biology“ (w/ Trin Turner), University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom. July 2007.

American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, “How Different Cultures Approach Investing.” (w/ Tahira K. Hira and Cazilia Loibl), Reno, Nevada. June 2007.

Midwest Economic Association Conferences, “The Effects of Graduate-student Unionization.” Chicago, Illinois. March 2006.

Grants

Principal Investigator: Iowa Project Lead The Way Evaluation, Kern Family Foundation: $289,025

Awards

• In-abstentia Graduate Fellow Award, academic year 2006-07
• Pi Sigma Alpha, Kappa Tau Chapter Member, Political Science Honors Society, Drake University

Affiliations

• American Economics Association
• Association of Institutional Researchers
• American Educational Research Association
• Midwest Association for Institutional Researchers
• Association for Institutional Research in Upper Midwest
• Iowa Educational Research and Evaluation Association