AALHE has established a memorial fund in honor of Jen Sweet, a dedicated volunteer and passionate advocate for the assessment community. Jen was deeply committed to the mission of AALHE, and her contributions have left a lasting impact on our work and on the field of assessment. This fund will support travel grants for individuals who wish to attend the AALHE Annual Conference, in the spirit of providing opportunities for assessment professionals to learn from their colleagues and to work collaboratively to support student learning in the widest sense, both of which were central to Jen's vision of advancing assessment practices.

We invite you to contribute to this memorial fund as a way to celebrate Jen’s legacy and continue the work she so fervently believed in.

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In Memoriam:
Jennifer M. Sweet

Jen was born on September 7, 1978, in Wausau, Wisconsin. She earned her BS in Biology with minors in Spanish and Psychology (2002) from the University of Wisconsin River Falls; an MS in Counseling and Student Personnel (2005) from Oklahoma State University; and a PhD in Educational Psychology, with a focus on Measurement, Statistics, Evaluation, and Assessment (2016), from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Her dissertation focused on developing a practical model for survey design to reduce cognitive load in survey items and instruments. 

Jen was very active in the field of assessment.  She served as an Assessment Specialist at the University of Illinois at Chicago and, most recently, as the Director of Assessment at DePaul University's Center for Teaching and Learning.  She was also very involved in both the Chicago Area Assessment Group (CAAG) and in AALHE.  Her involvement with AALHE included numerous conference presentations and volunteering on the Conference and Professional Development Committees.  In addition, she was one of the co-founders of the Collaborations and Partnerships Task Force.

On the personal side, Jen was a great friend, daughter, sister, and aunt.  She loved running, being competitive, the Green Bay Packers, her family and friends, and her beloved toy poodle, Madi.  

Jen passed away on Saturday, April 6, 2024, after a 16-year battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer.  Given her deep love of education and assessment, we are thrilled to announce this Memorial Fund Scholarship in her honor.