Catherine “Katie” Cooper

Catherine “Katie” Cooper was selected as the vice provost for faculty affairs and development in June 2026. She is also a professor in the School of the Environment and previously served as associate dean for faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.

In her role as vice provost, Cooper provides leadership for faculty development, advancement, and recognition across the WSU system. She oversees initiatives that support faculty success at every stage of their careers, working collaboratively with academic leaders, faculty, and staff to strengthen policies, processes, and systems that enable a thriving and inclusive academic community.

Prior to her appointment as vice provost, Cooper supported faculty across 19 departments, schools, and programs spanning four campuses. Her leadership has focused on improving clarity and effectiveness in promotion and tenure processes, advancing faculty equity, and fostering professional growth. She chaired WSU’s Salary Equity Task Force and helped lead the university’s first comprehensive salary study in decades, contributing to a plan to address gender-based pay disparities.

An accomplished scholar, Cooper is a geodynamicist whose research explores plate tectonics, mantle convection, lithospheric deformation, and planetary evolution. Her work combines theoretical modeling and high-performance computing to better understand the processes that link Earth’s interior dynamics with surface expressions.

Cooper earned her bachelor’s degree in geophysics from Texas A&M University and her Ph.D. from Rice University. She completed postdoctoral research at the Carnegie Institution for Science. She joined the WSU faculty in 2008 and brings more than a decade of experience in faculty-focused leadership roles. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys reading and spending time with her husband, stepson, and their cranky orange kitty.