Katherine tennis, PhD

Faculty Director, Center for Undergraduate Scholarship and Honors

Kate Tennis is the director of the Center for Undergraduate Scholarship and Honors and the Faculty Director of the Honors program. She is a Teaching Assistant Professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Kate began her career at the University of Denver in 2017 after serving as an EU Borders Visiting Scholar at the University of Victoria and completing her Ph.D. program at American University.  Her academic areas are interdisciplinary in nature; her scholarly work spans multiple research areas including migration, population research, economic development, and human security.  Her book, Outsourcing Control: The Politics of International Migration Cooperation, was published by McGill-Queens University Press in December 2020.  Kate has served in a variety of professional and leadership capacities during her time at the University. These include her leadership as the faculty director of the Undergraduate Research Center, service on Faculty Senate, supporting the DU Undergraduate Research Journal as a faculty mentor, and supervising student theses.

kira castle

Program Manager, University Honors Program

Kira Castle is the program manager for the University Honors Program. She is a native Midwesterner who joined the University of Denver community in October '21. Kira is a proud alumna of a small liberal arts college in Michigan called Kalamazoo College, where she majored in English/Creative Writing and Economics & Business. She also holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership from Western Michigan University. She has worked in higher education for over a decade in a variety of roles, including program management, admissions, academic advising, and orientation.