Dr. Lisa Kirkpatrick is Vice President for Student Affairs, as of September 1, 2015, at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. She reports to the university president and serves on the president’s cabinet, while providing supervision to the associate vice president and director for Athletics, associate vice president for Student Affairs, directors of Residential Education and Housing, director of Health & Counseling Center, and Dean of Students. Additional areas in her portfolio include Student Activities, Student Transitions and Family Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion, and Recreation & Wellness. She served in the Associate Vice President role since 2008, Dean of Students since 1998, and continues to serve as Title IX Coordinator since 2012.
In her current position, Dr. Kirkpatrick serves as one of four vice presidents on the Risk and Emergency Management Team for St. Edward’s. She provides oversight to the university’s Behavioral Intervention Team, Bias Incident Response Team, Title IX Team, and serves as an executive sponsor for the President’s Advisory Council for a Respectful, Inclusive Community.
Dr. Kirkpatrick has been actively involved in campus housing expansion and renovation projects, including the development of six new residence halls and an apartment complex, as well as meeting with students, and engaging in strategic planning for the division in connection with the St. Edward’s Strategic Plans, Investing for Our Future initiative and Student Success Initiative. She also led a Student Affairs staff development initiative to prepare staff to serve in their practitioner roles in a Catholic Higher Education (CHE) context and has presented the staff development model at national CHE conferences, including those sponsored by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) and the Association of Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASACCU).
Inspired by St. Edward’s founding order, the Congregation of Holy Cross, Dr. Kirkpatrick has maintained a student-centered approach and ethic of care for students and families that inspire students to thrive, overcome adversity, and give back to their communities, graduating with the intention of making a positive difference in the world. Her leadership fosters inclusion, agency, connectedness and enthusiasm while building community and engaging staff, faculty and students in campus wide initiatives.
Dr. Kirkpatrick earned her Bachelor of Science in Journalism/Public Relations in 1991 and Master of Education/College Student Personnel in 1994, both from The Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, "Elders in Assisted Living: Excavating Hospitality from Within," on March 12, 2015, earning her PhD in Education from Texas State University. She is a 2019 graduate of the ACPA Institute Leading with a Racial and Social Justice Lens, as well as Austin’s Beyond Diversity I and II, 2015 graduate of the Council for Independent College’s Senior Leadership Academy, 2009 graduate of Leadership Austin and 2006 graduate of Harvard University’s Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. She served as a visiting faculty member for two summers at the University of San Diego Catholic Mission Integration Institute and is an adjunct instructor for the St. Edward’s University masters programs in College Student Development and online doctoral program in Education, as well as graduate program in Student Affairs at Texas State University.
As a student development practitioner in CHE, Dr. Kirkpatrick’s scholarship focuses on how Catholic character, mission and social thought inform the college student experience and work of student development practitioners. She co-edited Student Life in Catholic Higher Education: Advancing Good Practice (2017), as well as serving as a chapter author. She also chaired the planning committee for the ACCU senior student affairs officer annual meeting for 2019 and 2020, and currently serves as an ASACCU board member. As a student affairs administrator, she presents on a number of topics related to leadership, diversity, spirituality, Catholic hospitality, co-curriculum, and feminism.
She is also trained in dispute resolution from the Dispute Resolution Center in Austin, Texas; a graduate of the Landmark Forum and Advanced Course; trained as a facilitator for interfaith dialogue sponsored by Interfaith Action of Central Texas (IACT); trained as a Title IX coordinator by ATIXA; and previously served on the St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic School Advisory Board, St. David’s South Austin Hospital Board and San Leanna Education Facilities Corporation.
