Katherine Smith is associate dean for strategic initiatives at Duke Divinity School, where she develops and supports programs and initiatives to advance the school’s mission, sustainability, and institutional effectiveness. Dr. Smith brings two decades of higher education leadership experience including enrollment management, vocational formation, sponsored programs, student affairs, communications, and accreditation. She is a regular consultant to theological schools and undergraduate colleges in the United States on matters of higher education policy and practice.
An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Dr. Smith serves on the Committee on Theological Education for the General Assembly and chairs the Theological Education Fund Advisory Committee. Prior to Duke, she served as assistant dean for admissions, vocation, and stewardship at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn., overseeing the school’s enrollment management and career services teams. She previously served as director of the Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation at Duke Divinity School and as managing director of Princeton Project 55, Inc., a nationwide nonprofit organization that seeks to mobilize civic leadership for the public good.