Meet the Executive Vice President and University Provost

Kathryn (Katie) Cardarelli is the University of Louisville's executive vice president and university provost EVPUP). In this capacity, she is second in authority over the university, serves as the chief academic officer and oversees all colleges, schools and deans. Cardarelli manages the day-to-day and long-term academic operation of the university, provides leadership for academic affairs, sets the university’s academic course, through collaboration with faculty, staff and students, serves as an advisor to the university president and acts as president during presidential absences.

Cardarelli joined UofL as dean of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences in April 2024. In March 2025, she was appointed interim university provost to provide leadership for academic affairs and set the university’s curricula through collaboration with faculty, staff and students.

Cardarelli’s priorities focus on student success. As executive vice president and university provost, Cardarelli plays a key role in several initiatives such as the development of the university’s 2026-30 Strategic Plan, establishment of the Navigating Teaching Challenges program to support educators as they navigate legislative and policy changes and the development of the Student Success Task Force, which uses informed data and real-time problem-solving to improve student success.

Before coming to UofL, Cardarelli spent 10 years at the University of Kentucky, where she served in several positions, including senior associate provost for administration and academic affairs. She also served as assistant provost and senior assistant provost for faculty affairs, associate dean for academic student and faculty affairs, and department chair at UK. Her research focuses on community-engaged approaches to reducing chronic diseases in rural and urban communities. She has served as principal investigator on more than $14 million in grants funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of Agriculture and other sponsors.

A professor of epidemiology and population health, Cardarelli received her Master of Public Health degree at University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. She went on to earn a doctorate in epidemiology at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and completed the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine fellowship at Drexel University.