Newsletter
http://www.oregoneval.org Spring/Summer 2002

Michael Scriven to Lead Fall Conference

By Jeff Knudsen, Member Services Committee Chairperson

We are pleased to announce that Michael Scriven has committed to lead our annual conference this fall. The conference will be held on Friday, October 4th, at Shenanigans Conference Center in Portland. Dr. Scriven is a real icon in the evaluation community, responsible for many of the common terms we use today (e.g., formative and summative evaluation). He will address current controversies in the field of evaluation - and as one of the seminal figures in the field, he will surely have interesting perspectives to share. This will be a great opportunity to learn and to put your assumptions to test!

Michael Scriven took honors degrees in mathematics and then in the philosophy of mathematical logic at the University of Melbourne, and his doctorate in philosophy at Oxford. He has taught in the US and Australia, in departments of mathematics, philosophy, psychology, the history & philosophy of science, and education, including twelve years at the University of California/Berkeley. His 330 publications are mainly in the fields of his appointments and in the areas of critical thinking, technology studies, computer studies, and evaluation. He is an ex-President of both the American Educational Research Association and the American Evaluation Association and the recipient of the American Evaluation Association's Lazarsfeld Medal for contributions to evaluation theory.

Dr. Scriven is a truly one of the leading members of the evaluation community - so mark your calendars October 4, 2002!

For more information about Michael Scriven, please see the following website: http://www.cgu.edu/sbos/scriven_fac.html

Attention Students ñ Get Involved

Looking to become more involved in OPEN? We are looking for student volunteers to assist in coordinating the October 4, 2002 OPEN conference. If you are interested, please contact:

Mary McGuire, student representative for OPEN at
maguiremh@yahoo.com

What Happens at OPEN Events?

By Chari Smith, Newsletter Editor

So far this year OPEN has hosted two events. On April 3rd, OPEN organized a Research and Evaluation Exchange. More than 20 people packed into a small room discussed ideas around three areas: Criminal Justice, Health and Youth/School initiatives. Each group had the opportunity to meet others and learn about the each others ëwar stories.í One participant said, ìThe best thing about todayís OPEN program was the opportunity to converse with others working in the field.î

On June 12th, OPEN offered two technical assistance exchange sessions. Tom Darby facilitated a discussion on grant writing. With 30 years of experience under his belt, he led the group through the fundamentals of grant writing. The second session facilitated by Eric Einspruch, Ph.D., focused on SPSS. According to one participant the best thing about todayís OPEN program was, ìI learned things from others and now know who to call with questions.î

In the near future, paid members of OPEN will be assigned a password to access Ikonboard (an interactive bulletin board) on our website where discussion of these types of events will take place.

Upcoming Events and Announcements

October 4th, 2002
OPEN Conference

Newsletter submissions are encouraged. Please contact Chari Smith at: smithchari@netzero.net

For additional information, please see ëUpcoming Eventsí on the OPEN website.

Presidentís Message

As you probably are aware, we havenít had a newsletter for quite a while. Iím not sure why this happened (or didnít happen, rather), but the Executive Council agreed this year that it would be good for us to re-generate one but in the form of a ëcyber-letterí that members could access online (instead of receiving a paper newsletter in the mail). This way members can access the letter if they want. We will try to put these together in at least twice a year (instead of four times a year) since much information that typically would be shared through an organizational newsletter will be available via our website.

Itís hard to believe that Iím midway through my term as President of OPEN. It seems like just the other day that Beth Green asked me if I was interested in taking on the President-elect position a year and a half ago!

I am extremely pleased at the developments with the organization so far this year:

I am particularly excited about this yearís guest speaker for the annual conference. Dr. Michael Scriven is an internationally recognized contributor to the evaluation arena and is also well known for his exciting presentations. His presence at the conference is guaranteed to make the event one to attend for OPEN members as well as for those new to OPEN. Be sure to hold your calendar open for the entire day of Friday, October 4. More information (time, place, agenda, etc) will be available on our website soon.

Thanks for being a member of OPEN.

Scott Keir, President of OPEN