Our Team

Deborah L. Panter, JD

Associate Vice Provost for Educational Effectiveness
dpanter@usfca.edu, ext. 4588

Deborah Panter is the Associate Vice Provost for Educational Effectiveness at the University of San Francisco. She joined USF in June 2016.

Deborah comes to us from John F. Kennedy University, where she served in the same position and was responsible for leading JFKU through its self-study and reaffirmation of accreditation. She has bachelor's degrees in philosophy and economics from the University of California at Irvine and a JD from Golden Gate University School of Law. Deborah has been teaching in the BA Legal Studies programs at JFKU and St. Mary's College since 2003. She graduated from WSCUC Assessment Leadership Academy in 2015.

Deborah's team leads USF’s reaccreditation and assessment efforts on campus, including program review and yearly assessment of programs and courses; provides training and education on all aspects of assessment; prepares or assists in writing accreditation reports for USF’s professional schools and the University as a whole; assists the NCAP process, ensuring that assessment is built into programs from the beginning.

Melissa c. Thompson, MA

Associate Director of Research and Assessment
mcthompson3@usfca.edu, ext. 4349

Melissa Thompson joined USF in August of 2019. Prior to joining USF, Melissa was the Director of Compliance & Regulatory Affairs at Alliant International University where she worked to create a culture of compliance and instill best practices throughout the university.

Melissa’s work in assessment and accreditation began at Expression College, where she was the Manager of Compliance & Regulatory Affairs. There she led the college’s accreditation and assessment efforts helping the college secure initial accreditation as well as programmatic approvals and renewals of accreditation. She also led strategic planning and assessment efforts and conducted workshops on topics such as strategic planning; assessment methodologies and practices; data-based decision making; and leading through organizational change.

Melissa received a BA in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in English/Literature from the Evergreen State College, and a MA in Organization and Leadership from the University of San Francisco. Her graduate work examined the relationship between attribution theory, organizational change, and the leader, follower, situation dynamic.

Melissa supports USF’s accreditation and assessment efforts on campus by working with programs to close the loop on the university’s program reviews and yearly program assessments, managing institutional surveys, and managing projects related to accreditation.

Marisa C. McCarthy, MA

Associate Director of Curriculum Management
mcmccarthy2@usfca.edu, ext. 2091

Marisa C. McCarthy joined USF as the Project Manager in October 2017. Prior to joining USF, Marisa spent seven years working at Stanford University in the Office of the Provost and the Office of Community Standards. In the Office of Community Standards, Marisa served as an Assistant Dean of Students, managing the university’s judicial process. Marisa’s work in the Office of the Provost included helping to secure Stanford’s re-accreditation by WSCUC, supporting the Board of Trustees Committee on Academic Policy, Planning and Management, and staffing both the Provost’s Task Force and Advisory Group on Sexual Assault Policies and Practices.

Marisa supports USF’s accreditation and assessment efforts on campus by working with programs to close the loop on the university’s program reviews and yearly program assessments, and managing all projects related to accreditation, including organizing the school’s upcoming WSCUC site visit.

Marisa received a BA in English from Boston College, and an MA in Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies, with a focus on Higher Education, from the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Her graduate work examined sexual violence and higher education.

Marisa is a San Francisco native and a graduate of St. Ignatius College Preparatory and San Francisco Day School.

Katie F. Hoffman, MFA

Project Manager
khoffman@usfca.edu, ext. 6296

Katie Hoffman joined the OAAS team in April of 2019 after working for five years with the Tracy Seeley Center for Teaching Excellence as Program Assistant. Katie enjoyed working with USF faculty and learning about all things pedagogy. In her time with CTE, Katie relished thinking about the care and challenges that go into teaching and how these specific teaching experiences can apply across experiences working in higher education, from working as a team to rise to challenges together, through to promoting a sustainable culture of innovation and collaboration in small, everyday interactions on campus. Katie's goal in her new role as Project Manager is to promote a culture of sharing and collaboration, of support and growth through the exciting possibilities and opportunities assessment can bring.

Katie has previously worked with learners of all ages, from elementary and middle school students in San Francisco's public schools as a classroom and after-school tutor, to substituting students at a private high school, to teaching undergraduate and continuing education students. Katie received a BA in English from USF, and an MFA in writing from the MFA Program for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Katie supports USF’s accreditation and assessment efforts on campus by working with programs to close the loop on the university’s program reviews and yearly program assessments, and managing all projects related to accreditation, including coordinating state authorizations for USF's online programs.