professor emeritus of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin. He taught chemistry at Loyola College and Virginia Polytechnic, and worked as a research chemist for Colloid Corporation, Kellex Corporation, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Dr. Hackerman was a member of the National Science Board from 1968 to 1980 and chairman from 1957 to 1980. He was editor of the Journal of the Electrochemical Society from 1969 to 1989. He is a member of the NAS, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and belongs to numerous scientific organizations. He is author or coauthor of 225 publications. In addition to several previous awards, Dr. Hackerman received the American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal in March 1978, the Mirabeau B. Lamar Award of the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities in 1981, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from The Johns Hopkins University in 1982, the Edward Goodrich Acheson Award of the Electrochemical Society in 1984, the Alumni Gold Medal for distinguished service to Rice University in 1984, the Charles Lathrop Parsons Award of the American Chemical Society in 1987, the AAAS-Philip Hauge Abelson Prize in 1987, the Vannevar Bush Award of the National Science Board in 1993, and the National Medal of Science in 1993. Dr. Hackerman serves as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Robert A. Welch Foundation.

Trudy Banta is vice chancellor for planning and institutional improvement, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. She has edited five published volumes on assessment, contributed 15 chapters to other published works, and written more than 80 articles and reports. Making a Difference: Outcomes of a Decade of Assessment in Higher Education was published by Jossey-Bass in October 1993. Dr. Banta’s most recent work, Assessment in Practice: Putting Principles to Work on College Campuses, was published by Jossey-Bass in early 1996. She is the founding editor of Assessment Update, a bimonthly periodical published by Jossey-Bass. Dr. Banta has developed, coordinated, and addressed conferences worldwide on assessing quality in higher education and matters related to outcome assessment. She has consulted with faculty and administrators on campuses and at statewide conferences in 37 states. In 1997, she was recognized by the American Productivity and Quality Center for leadership of one of the seven most effective programs in the world for using management information in decision making.

John Centra is a research professor and professor emeritus at Syracuse