Kathren Brown
DEPUTY PROVOST - Academic Administration

 

Kat came to UVU in 2002 as an assistant professor in the Department of History and Political Science. She served as the department summer chair from 2003 to 2008, when the department elected her as full-time chair. In 2011, she was hired as the Assistant Vice President of Academic Administration. She is currently the Deputy Provost of Academic Affairs and serves on UVU’s Presidential Cabinet. Kat’s portfolio includes academic policies; academic space (including new academic buildings); faculty hiring, development, and RTP procedures; the Fulton Library; chairs training; the coordination of academic issues with General Counsel, HR, and the AA/EO offices; and the coordination of Academic Affairs issues with the President’s Office. 

In addition, Kat still often teaches to maintain a connection to students and her discipline. While it's sometimes difficult to balance all of these areas, the breadth of her portfolio, the support of her colleagues, and always-different workdays make the balancing act (almost always) nerdily joyful. 

EDUCATION 

Ph.D., Russian Economic History – Bowling Green State University 

M.S., History (Russian) – Bowling Green State University 

B.A., History – Alma College  

David Connelly
Associate Provost – Student Success

Dr. David R. Connelly is the Associate Provost for Student Successat Utah Valley University.  He is a former faculty senate president and chair of the History and Political Science Department.  His primary teaching interests are in public administration with specific interests in public management, leadership, performance measurement and survey research.  David has worked extensively in economic and community development in rural areas while working for the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs(IIRA) for eight years and teaching at Western Illinois University. He has also worked developing and implementing information technology policy at the local, state and federal levelwhile at the Center for Technology in Government (CTG) at the University at Albany.  David has a Ph.D. from the University at Albany while his MPA is from Brigham Young University.  His current research interests include public sector sustainability measures, rural policy, information technology applications for government and public management curriculum issues.

Laurie Sharp
Associate Provost - Academic Programs & Assessment

Laurie joined UVU on August 16, 2022. Prior to joining UVU, Laurie enjoyed a 13-year career in higher education at public colleges and universities in Texas. She pioneeredthree leadership positions in Academic Administration within the Office of the Provost at Tarleton State University, serving as the first Assistant Vice President for Strategic Academic Initiatives, founding Dean of University College, and inaugural Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies for First- and Second-Year Experience. Before moving into academic administration, Laurie held the Dr. John G. O’Brien Distinguished Chair in Education endowed faculty position at West Texas A&M University and served as an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Tarleton State University.Laurie also taught courses in the Associate of Arts in Teaching degree program at Tarrant County College. Prior to higher education, Laurie was an elementaryschoolteacher in Texas and Florida public schools.

Laurie has individually and collaboratively secured over $4 million in grant funding, published more than 100 works, and presented at many local, state, and national conferences. She has also engaged as a leader in service work with state- and national-level professional organizations for education and literacy professionals, including the Texas Association for Literacy Education, Specialized Literacy Professionals, and the International Literacy Association. Laurie has received several awards that recognize her significant accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, and service.

EDUCATION

Ed.D., Educational Leadership – Tarleton State University 

M.Ed., Elementary Education – University of Central Florida

Graduate Certificate, Teaching Writing Grades K-12 – University of Central Florida

B.S., Elementary Education – University of Central Florida

A.A., General Education – Daytona State College

Trish Baker
Special Assistant to the Provost

As Special Assistant to the Provost, Trish is responsible for project management, operations management, and communications from the Office of Academic Affairs. She also assists Provost Vaught and the Associate Provosts in various academic initiatives.

Trish served most recently at the state level as the Assistant Commissioner of Workforce at the Utah System of Higher Education. Previously she has held positions at UVU as Senior Director of Extended Education and Interim Associate Provost of Community Outreach & Economic Development; Assistant Director of Curriculum Assessment, Analysis and Review at Southern New Hampshire University; and as Manager of Training and Development at the Center for Public Policy and Administration at The University of Utah. She is a former UK Civil Servant, where she worked in the Scottish Court Service as a Training and Development Manager. Additionally, she has served extensively as a board and committee member for various higher education and community committees and task forces.

Trish is a native of Scotland, where she earned her bachelor’s degree jointly in History and Sociology from The University of Edinburgh. She moved to Utah to earn her Master of Public Administration degree from The University of Utah. She is a certified CliftonStrengths Coach who has coached and trained people from many different backgrounds, including participants in the UVU Women’s Leadership Program. Trish loves to sing and is an active member of the choir Utah Voices.