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UNO CPAR Assistant Director Selected as Strategic Data Project Fellow

UNO’s Morgan Vogel, Ph.D., has been selected as a Harvard-based Strategic Data Project Fellow, advancing research to better understand and address Nebraska’s workforce challenges.

  • published: 2026/04/14
  • contact: Morgan Vogel, Ph.D. - College of Public Affairs and Community Service
  • email: unocpacs@unomaha.edu
Dr. Morgan Vogel in front of four business travelers.

Morgan Vogel, Ph.D., assistant director at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research (CPAR), has been selected as a Strategic Data Project (SDP) Fellow, representing UNO through the SDP Nebraska Strategic Data Leadership Network.

Based at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, the Strategic Data Project’s mission is to transform the use of data in education to improve student achievement. The SDP Fellowship is a capacity-building program that equips data strategists with advanced training in measurement and analysis, leadership, and change management, while supporting the execution of an applied strategic data project within their institution. Through this two-year fellowship, Vogel joins a national network of data leaders working to apply rigorous analysis to real-world education challenges.

As part of the fellowship, Vogel will lead a capstone project on behalf of UNO focused on understanding Nebraska’s “brain drain” challenge in a new way. Vogel’s project will use a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data from UNO and the Nebraska Statewide Workforce and Educational Reporting System (NSWERS) with a longitudinal qualitative study of UNO students. This study will follow a cohort of juniors and seniors to better understand their postsecondary experiences, key decision points, and how their intentions to enter the workforce evolve during their final years of college. UNO CPAR is known for its research on brain drain and population trends, making the research center a trusted partner in understanding and addressing this challenge.

“This fellowship provides a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of how students make decisions about their futures,” said Vogel. “By combining quantitative data with student voices and experiences, we will be better positioned to inform policies that strengthen connections between higher education and workforce opportunities in Nebraska. I am grateful to the Strategic Data Project and UNO for the opportunity to take a deep dive on such important work.”

Vogel’s selection underscores UNO CPAR’s commitment to producing applied, data-driven research on topics that impact the lives of Nebraskans. Josie Gatti Schafer, Ph.D., director of UNO CPAR, will serve as Vogel’s supervisor for the capstone project. Vogel will also work with a faculty advisor from Harvard University to help shape and accelerate the strategic data project.