Jeff Aper earned a Ph.D. in Educational Research and Evaluation from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1989. His dissertation research was a comprehensive review of the evolution of higher education assessment policy at the state level. Before becoming Provost at Blackburn College, he spent 13 years as a graduate professor at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, teaching primarily in the area of educational research methods. He has published more than 20 articles in professional journals on issues in education, has presented more than 20 papers at professional meetings, and is co-author of a book on the history and philosophy of U.S. higher education. He has a particular interest in issues of measurement and the nature of evidence in educational research, assessment, and evaluation.