Assistant vice provost for academic initiatives announced

Catherine Golden

The Office of the Provost has announced that Catherine Golden will join Purdue as assistant vice provost for academic initiatives, beginning Dec. 8. Golden is currently the associate dean for academic affairs at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Reporting to Jenna Rickus, vice provost for teaching and learning, Golden will collaborate with faculty, academic units and external agencies to create, renew, approve and seek the accreditation of academic programs. She also will serve as a primary point of contact with senior leadership and external partners including state government, accreditation bodies, federal agencies, partner institutions and other campuses within the Purdue system.

“Dr. Golden brings an impressive track record of experience, including more than 10 years of leadership in higher education,” Rickus says. “She has held a number of director appointments for undergraduate degree programs, in addition to working with faculty on academic initiatives and educational projects serving non-degree, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students.”

During her time at GW, Golden has collaborated with faculty to build more than a dozen new academic and training programs, has presented at international and national conferences on faculty development efforts, and has served as a site visitor for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

“I am so impressed with Purdue, and I look forward to collaborating with, and supporting, the faculty, staff and students who are so clearly committed to excellence,” Golden says. “I’m excited to add my experience to the University’s strategic initiatives including Transformative Education 2.0 and other Purdue Moves.”

Golden also served as the director of the Governor’s Health Sciences Academy, where she worked with a team to establish an academy within a Virginia school district with six career and technical education pathways. The project is the first public-private partnership of its kind in the state, and funded in part by a $3.1 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Before joining GW, Golden worked in academic advising at West Virginia University.

Golden earned a Doctor of Education from George Washington University, a Master of Public Administration from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Oregon State University.