Meet the Vice Provost for Education

Kate Barraclough, Ph.D.

Vice Provost for Education

Kate Barraclough was named as Carnegie Mellon University’s vice provost for education (VPE) in August 2024. In this role, she oversees the university’s educational programs, including the development and implementation of university-wide academic policies and procedures, new academic offerings, and curricular innovation and coordination across CMU’s schools and colleges. Barraclough partners with academic and administrative units to advance integrative learning and high-impact educational practices through the work of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholar Development and the Leonard Gelfand Center for Service Learning and Outreach, as well as the University Lecture Series and other distinctive university experiences. Under her leadership, the VPE Office develops innovative, evidence-based approaches to enhance student learning, scholarship and engagement, and tailoring programs and services to meet the diverse needs of the CMU community. 

Barraclough joined CMU’s Tepper School of Business in 2015 as the head of the school’s MBA program overseeing admissions, financial aid, student services, leadership development, and career planning and employment. From 2021 to 2024, she served as associate dean of master’s programs and teaching professor of finance, working closely with Tepper’s leadership and faculty to set the strategic direction for the school’s master’s programs and overseeing program curricula, academic policies and student success. Barraclough holds a faculty appointment at the Tepper School as a teaching professor of finance.  

Before joining CMU, Barraclough served as director of Vanderbilt University’s master’s in finance program, where she oversaw strategic leadership of the program as well as its daily operations, including admissions, curriculum, career management and alumni relations. Her career also includes work in KPMG’s Financial Advisory Services practice in Canberra, Australia, where she led budget analysis and financial models for government programs and clients. 

Barraclough earned her bachelor’s degrees in economics and commerce and a Ph.D. in finance from the Australian National University.