About Iris S. De Lis
I barely graduated high school — I needed an extra semester to finish — and I have since maintained a 4.0 across multiple degrees. That contradiction is the heart of why I do this work. The GPA is proof of persistence; it has never been proof of what I most care about, which is authentic learning, meaningful feedback, and a sense of belonging. I have lived both the promise and the harm of how we grade and assess in higher education, and I came to this field determined to change it.
I am a sociologist of higher education focused on how learning assessment, institutional governance, and campus cultures shape who is able to thrive in college — and who is systematically pushed to the margins. My work is grounded in equitable assessment and pedagogy, student and faculty success, and a deep commitment to higher education as an accessible public good in service of a democratic society.
My path here is not a straight line. I came to college as a first-generation transfer student after two decades in the corporate world, and a week before my first term I started working in my university’s disability services office, remediating inaccessible course materials. That queue was rarely empty — so much of what gets assigned is inaccessible on so many levels — and it taught me that the barriers instructors can’t see become students’ daily reality, with grading systems often compounding the harm. I have since seen the other side of it too: as head of Academic Testing Services, I’ve watched students no-show for high-stakes exams, arrive in tears, leave in panic. And I’ve heard from faculty whose early joy in teaching has quietly given way to dread. Those scars and lessons are what this work is built on.
As Assistant Director of Academic Testing Services at Portland State University, I lead efforts to redesign assessment systems so they are more accessible, trauma-informed, and growth-oriented. Through this role and my service in Faculty Senate, campus climate initiatives, and cross-campus collaborations, I help move PSU toward learning environments where rigor, care, and belonging are not in tension but mutually reinforcing.
My doctoral research in Sociology examines the sociology of higher education and the redesign of learning assessment, building on a master’s in Postsecondary, Adult & Continuing Education and undergraduate work in Sexuality, Gender, and Queer Studies, the University Honors College, and the Spanish language. Across these spaces, I bridge theory and practice to support institutions in confronting structural inequality rather than simply managing its symptoms.
I also work at the intersection of technology, AI, and higher education, drawing on two decades in software and digital services, much of it in an international, multilingual context. My focus is on critical, human-centered AI and academic integrity: helping institutions align AI use with ethics, accessibility, labor, and academic freedom — rather than treating “AI adoption” as a purely technical or efficiency problem.
Current projects include leading Academic Testing Services at PSU, co-leading a cross-institutional community of practice on student-centered grading, and developing the Growth-Oriented Assessment for Learning (GOAL) Framework to support more just, transparent, and relational approaches to learning assessment. I believe we can reclaim learning assessment as a site of connection and care — for students and for faculty alike. I welcome conversations with institutions, networks, and funders interested in learning assessment redesign, justice-centered student and faculty success, and critical, futures-informed approaches to AI and socio-technical change in higher education.
If you’d like the longer version of why this matters to me, I’ve written about it here: Why GOAL Matters to Me.
“When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”
— Audre Lorde
Want to talk? Get in touch, or explore my projects and writing & talks.