Charles Chang’s relationship with Erikson Institute began in 1996 while he was working with the Social Sciences Computing Center at the University of Chicago. Toby Herr, who was then leading Project Match, a welfare-to-work program housed at Erikson, was looking for someone who could analyze the project’s monthly employment data. When she called U. of C., Chang happened to answer the phone, and after talking with him, she realized he was the person she was looking for.
Herr ultimately recruited Chang to join Erikson and Project Match, where he focused on institutional and project research as well as data collection and analysis. He also taught research methodology and statistics. The tracking system he created for workforce development and social service organizations, called “Chang,” was subsequently used by several community-based groups in a MacArthur Foundation community project.
Appointed to Chief Institutional Research Officer in 2008, Chang created a structure for collecting and reporting institutional data and explored a systematic way to analyze institutional data to better understand student outcomes, faculty and staff output, and cost structures.
He subsequently became Chief Research and Strategy Officer with additional oversight for the Herr Research Center, responsibility for program evaluation and assessment, system-wide strategic plan execution and tracking, accreditation, and oversight of Erikson’s IT infrastructure and response.
Charles received his Bachelor of Laws degree in comparative law in Taiwan and also served as the associate publisher for Computer World Taiwan and Editor-in-chief for PC World Taiwan before coming to the United States. He received his MA in sociology at the University of Chicago in 1995.