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Academic Leaders

Office of the Provost

Advancing Education to Meet Real-World Challenges

As the landscape of higher education shifts to meet evolving student needs, the University of Denver is in a prime position to deliver the learning and outcomes that students require to succeed. Together, we create and advance initiatives that enhance the quality of the education and life at DU in order to meet overarching challenges. 

Meet the University leaders who support our colleges, schools, departments, centers, institutes, faculty and students in our unified mission to make DU an outstanding place to advance knowledge.

Curious about DU's organizational structure?

Explore our organizational chart for more information.

Org Chart

Meet the Office of the Provost

  • Corinne Lengsfeld, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor (interim)

    Dr. Corinne Lengsfeld serves as the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor at the University of Denver. Serving in an interim capacity, Corinne is deeply respected teacher, researcher, administrator and colleague who has been part of the DU community for 20 years. Prior to being named interim provost, Corinne served as Senior Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education. As a faculty member still active in research, Dr. Lengsfeld specializes in interdisciplinary research in meso- and micro-scale fluid systems. She served as Editor-in-Chief of Atomization and Sprays between 2009 and 2015. Her research has been cited more than 600 times with an H-index of 14. She has been awarded nearly five million dollars from agencies like NSF, DHHS, DOL, DOD, State of Colorado, Keck Futures and others. Corinne earned her bachelors, masters, and Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California at Irvine and completed post-doctoral work at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Vice Provosts

  • Jennifer Karas, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

    Dr. Jennifer Karas serves as the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of Denver. (Learn more about University Academic Programs.) She acts as the provost's chief advisor and representative in matters related to the curriculum and the credentials produced by the academic units. In this position, she advocates for all undergraduate and graduate academic programs, providing leadership to faculty and academic staff to ensure consistent quality standards in curriculum and programs that meet the needs of students and reflect the mission of the University. Dr. Karas joined the University of Denver as a lecturer in sociology in 1995, and was appointed to the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences dean's office in 2001, first as an assistant dean and then later promoted to associate dean. She joined the Office of the Provost in 2006 as an assistant provost, was promoted to associate provost in 2011, and most recently to Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. In this position, Jennifer oversees many high impact curricular and co-curricular programs that have the potential to reach all undergraduate students across the campus. Additionally, Jennifer oversees the undergraduate common curriculum and serves as the University liaison to this region's accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission. Jennifer earned her Ph.D. in sociology from Cornell University in 1999. She is a scholar of the sociology of immigration and ethnic group socioeconomic inequality. She is the author of Bridges and Barriers: Earning and Occupational Attainment Among Immigrants. Her areas of academic interest include: inequality and social change; immigration; racial and ethnic relations; life course and transition to adulthood; gender and family.

  • Linda Kosten, Vice Provost for University Budget, Planning & Administration

    Dr. Linda Kosten has served in this office since 2006 as Assistant Provost, Associate Provost, Senior Associate Provost and now Vice Provost for Budget, Planning & Administration. Prior to joining the Provost’s Office, Linda served as the Director of Budget and Planning for the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences divisions at DU, and worked in DU’s Department of Residence prior to that. Linda received her bachelor’s degree from University of California Santa Cruz, and her MA and Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Denver. The Office of Institutional Research and Analysis also reports to Linda and works very closely with the budget and analysis team on providing data and decision support.

  • Kate Willink, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

    Dr. Kate Willink is the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (VPFA) at the University of Denver. Kate has served for the last twelve years as a faculty member in DU's Department of Communication Studies and most recently served as the Faculty Director of DU's Office of Teaching and Learning. As VPFA, Kate advises DU leadership on a broad range of faculty affairs and professional development programs and services, including hiring, promotion, leadership development, and diversity initiatives for tenure-track, teaching-track, professional-track, and academic administrators. Through collaboration and innovation, Kate works closely with deans and department heads to support their work and to recruit and retain high-quality faculty, as well as to work with them to improve transparency, equity, and trust. Kate earned her bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies from Cornell university, her master’s from University of New Mexico, and her PhD in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 

Institutional Research

University Academic Programs

  • Sarah Hoffman, Assistant Provost, Student Success

    Dr. Sarah Hoffman came to the University of Denver in 2006, after serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Albania. While completing her MA in International Studies, she worked as the assistant to the associate dean at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. She later came to the Office of the Provost as the faculty data manager. That experience influenced her decision to pursue a PhD in Higher Education at the Pennsylvania State University.

    While at Penn State Dr. Hoffman worked in the Office of Planning and Institutional Analysis and served as the managing editor of the Comparative Education Review. In 2014, she returned to DU to work in University Academic Programs, and is now the Assistant Provost for Student Success, and directs of all academic and persistence initiatives at DU. 

    Dr. Hoffman completed her PhD in 2017. Her dissertation research focuses on academic unions and the factors that influence successful unionization across faculty type. She is also interested in assessment, student persistence, international education, and labor issues.

  • Leah O'Grady, Assistant Director for University Academic Programs

    Originally from the metro Atlanta area, Leah graduated from the University of Georgia with dual Bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Child and Family Development. Throughout her career, she developed a large interest in civic engagement initiatives, which eventually relocated her to Colorado for an adventurous year with AmeriCorps NCCC. Throughout this and other experiences, she became very passionate about working with young adults in identifying and realizing their civic, academic, and professional goals. This passion ultimately led her to complete the Higher Education MA program at the University of Denver in August 2016.

    Prior to working in University Academic Programs, Leah served as an Academic Advisor in the central Academic Advising office for two and a half years. Her role largely involved utilizing an academic coaching model to advise students on DU's curriculum, and assist with degree planning, interpreting university policies, and orienting students during their transition to campus. Prior to Academic Advising, she served as the Campus Visit Coordinator in Undergraduate Admission at DU, helping to assist over 40,000 students in navigating the college search process and in finding their ultimate collegiate home. Leah now resides in University Academic Programs, where she manages the First-Year Seminar program, the Undergraduate Research Center, the One Book One DU program, and Interterm programming.

  • Grace Warner, Program Coordinator for University Academic Programs

    Grace is a recent graduate from the University of Denver, class of 2018, with double Bachelor of Arts degrees in Biological Sciences and International Studies. She is originally from Indianapolis, IN and hopes in the future to pursue a graduate degree in Global or Public Health with a specialization in Microbiology or Virology. Grace hopes to integrate her knowledge of human biology and international relations to navigate difficult issues surrounding international health crises while pursuing her passion for community-based development and the environment. After spending the last four years pursuing her education at DU, Grace now looks forward to growing as a professional and giving back to the DU community. As Program Coordinator for University Academic Programs, Grace provides programmatic support for the First-Year Seminar program, the Undergraduate Research Center, the Office of Teaching and Learning, and Interterm programming.  

University Budget & Analysis

Administrative Support

University Councils

The Provost meets with various special councils throughout the year in order to ensure we're meeting our goals and fostering an atmosphere of academic excellence.

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