Is institutional research supposed to be “Switzerland”? Many data professionals are taught to stay perfectly neutral — to present the numbers and step back. This episode asks whether that neutrality is really possible, or even desirable.
Host Debbie Phelps sits down with Jeremy Goodman, founder of Jeremy Goodman Consulting and former vice president at Olin College of Engineering. Drawing on a background that spans both theater and higher education, Jeremy explains how improv techniques — especially active listening and audience empathy — can transform the way data specialists present findings to campus stakeholders.
Together they explore how to bring your own perspective to the work without sacrificing professional credibility, the real-world consequences of rigid data categories, why meeting audiences at their current level of data literacy is the key to strategic change, and how an often-introverted field can do a better job of welcoming newcomers who are wrestling with imposter syndrome.
Key takeaways
The myth of “Switzerland”: Why pure neutrality in institutional research is harder to achieve — and less useful — than many data professionals assume.
Improv for data people: How active listening and audience empathy help data specialists present findings that actually land with campus stakeholders.
Perspective with integrity: Integrating your own point of view while protecting the professional credibility your role depends on.
Categories have consequences: How rigid data categorization systems shape outcomes for the real people behind the numbers.
Meet audiences where they are: Adjusting your presentation to your audience's data literacy level to drive strategic change.
Welcoming newcomers: Recognizing the introverted culture of IR and making room for new professionals experiencing imposter syndrome.
The full transcript for this episode is coming soon. In the meantime, listen using the player above.
Data Stakes Podcast Episode 16. Rethinking Switzerland: Empathy, Improv, and the Myth of Neutral Data. Host Debbie Phelps talks with Jeremy Goodman, founder of Jeremy Goodman Consulting and former vice president at Olin College of Engineering. Topics: the myth of neutrality in institutional research, IR as Switzerland, objectivity in data, improv techniques for data professionals, active listening, audience empathy, presenting data to campus stakeholders, data communication and storytelling, balancing personal perspective with professional credibility and integrity, consequences of rigid data categorization, meeting audiences at their data literacy level, driving strategic change with data, introverted culture of IR, welcoming newcomers to institutional research, imposter syndrome, higher education data culture.
For higher education institutions, data is everywhere—siloed across your Student Information System (SIS), Learning Management System (LMS), CRM and other sources. Institutional Research (IR) departments
