PRESS RELEASES

Academic Career & Executive Search (ACES) Places Assistant Vice President for Institutional Research and Assessment at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)

(June 9, 2026, WEST HARTFORD, CT) Following a national search, Academic Career & Executive Search (ACES), a leading higher education focused executive search firm, is pleased to announce the successful placement of Dr. Ismael E. Carreras, securing the role as Assistant Vice President for Institutional Research and Assessment at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt).

Dr. Ismael E. Carreras, is a senior institutional research and analytics leader with 30 years of experience translating complex data into strategy across higher education, consulting, and biopharma. Most recently, he served as Associate Dean for Strategic Analysis at Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), where he oversaw an analytics and IR team serving the university’s largest academic division for enterprise data platform modernization. He also co-chaired the Subcommittee on Administrative Innovation of the FAS Generative AI Task Force, where he designed and delivered AI adoption workshops for more than 300 staff and administrators. Prior to Harvard, Carreras served as Chief Data Strategist and Director of Analysis at the University of Massachusetts Office of the President, where he transformed an underperforming IR function into a valued strategic asset for the five-campus system, presenting enrollment, outcomes, and retention analytics to the Board of Trustees and securing continued funding for student success initiatives. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation from Boston College and has taught graduate statistics for more than two decades, currently as Adjunct Faculty at the University of Connecticut and through a new engagement with Brown University’s School of Professional Studies (SPS) to develop and teach courses in Applied AI and Business Analytics. Reporting to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Carreras will work closely with academic and administrative partners across campus and lead efforts to align data collection, analysis, and reporting with institutional priorities, state and federal requirements, and ongoing strategic initiatives.

Founded in 1873, Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), is the nation’s first and only independent, free-standing public college of art and design. MassArt is an inclusive community of thinkers, doers, makers, educators, innovators, and leaders striving to shape the future through art and design. Located in Boston’s hub of arts and culture along the Avenue of the Arts, MassArt enrolls 2,000 students and offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in 18 disciplines, as well as continuing education and youth programs. MassArt is a diverse and inclusive campus community that prepares artists, designers, and educators from diverse backgrounds to shape communities, economies, and cultures for the common good. The College offers twenty-two areas of concentration in fine arts, design and art education, and awards one undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, and graduate degrees including the Master of Fine Arts, the Master of Art in Teaching, Master of Education, Master of Design Innovation, and the Master of Architecture. The college also offers certificate programs in Communication Design, Fashion Design, Furniture Design, and Industrial Design.

Affordable Excellence 

Academic Career & Executive Search, a higher education focused search firm, specializes in affordable excellence, providing perfectly matched candidates to institutions quickly and accurately. Their methodologies, based on frequent touchpoints, pinpoint ideal candidates with speed and meticulous care resulting in highly successful placements.

They offer flexible service/pricing levels for all positions, ensuring affordability.

Contact Jennifer Muller, Managing Partner, at 860-740-2600 or Jennifer@ACESrch.com, or visit https://acesrch.com/.