Dr. Sarah J. Swierenga, Ph.D., C.P.E. is the director of the MSU Usability & Accessibility Center (UAC) and Professor by Courtesy in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media. She is responsible for developing and disseminating innovations in theory building, research methodologies, and technologies to enhance usability and accessibility in Web and information technology contexts. The UAC serves faculty, students, and organizations at MSU, as well as external clients, through consulting, collaborative research, educational programming, publications, and the sponsorship of open houses, workshops, and symposia.
A researcher and a practitioner with 20 years of experience in the scientific study of users in commercial, military, and academic environments, Dr. Swierenga formerly held a joint appointment as a senior human factors research psychologist in the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) and visiting assistant professor of psychology in the Psychology Department. She possesses extensive skills in user interface design, data collection tools, and methodologies including usability tests, accessibility compliance evaluations, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and expert evaluations.
At her previous employer, LexisNexis, Dr. Swierenga led a corporate accessibility compliance initiative, providing technical consulting on over 50 products and creating an organizational strategy for implementing Section 508 (Rehabilitation Act) standards. She continued this effort under contract through UDRI. She also co-authored Constructing Accessible Web Sites, and her most recent chapter appeared in The User-Centered Design Casebook. She has presented widely on accessible Web site design, usability techniques, e-learning effectiveness, and health communication technology which comprise her research programs.
Swierenga received a Ph.D. in human factors psychology with a concentration in human-computer interaction from the University of South Dakota, and a B.A. in psychology from Calvin College. She is an alternate member of the U.S. Access Board 508/255 refresh committee, and a member of the UPA Voting and Usability Project. She is also a Certified Professional Ergonomist (C.P.E.).
View Dr. Swierenga's Vita (PDF).