UPEI staff member wins national service award

Dr. Yuqin Gong, manager of institutional research at UPEI, won the Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association’s (CIRPA) 2023 Outstanding Service Award on Oct 23, 2023, during the annual CIRPA conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Gong’s association with CIRPA dates back to 2007. Her contribution to the association and broader IRP community in Canada has been impactful and outsized, and it continues to this day. She provided leading support for conferences hosted in Fredericton in 2011 and Halifax in 2015. She served as a board member from 2018 to 2022, making contributions to the membership committee that resulted in changes to membership tiers and guidelines.

Also, she has provided guidance and leadership to the Atlantic Institutional Researchers Group. This includes playing a crucial role in the development of the Atlantic Common University Dataset (ACUDS), an online information tool that offers key data about Atlantic universities to students, parents, and the public.

“This national award is richly deserved by Yuqin,” said Dr. Greg Naterer, vice-president of academic and research at UPEI. “Her contributions to the institutional research profession are outstanding at both the local and national levels.”

CIRPA was formed to promote and advance the study and practices of institutional research and planning across Canada. Since its inception 30 years ago, CIRPA’s membership has grown to approximately 230 research professionals. Eighty-five per cent of members come from the post-secondary education sector, with the remaining 15 per cent being employed in government and private industry.