Meet the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Catherine Edmonds, Ed.D, an established leader in public and higher education, serves as interim provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, her alma mater. She assumed the role on July 1, 2025.

As the university’s chief academic officer, Edmonds oversees academic and student success operations across 22 units, including N.C. A&T’s 11 colleges and schools, supporting the institution’s land-grant mission and continued status as the nation’s largest historically Black university.

Edmonds brings more than 30 years of experience in North Carolina’s public education system, including a decade of leadership across the University of North Carolina System and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. She previously served as interim chancellor of Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), where she led the university to record enrollment gains, including its largest entering and transfer classes in more than a decade.

Prior to ECSU, Edmonds served as chief of staff at North Carolina Central University, where she advised and supported the chancellor on strategic initiatives, managed daily operations for the Office of the Chancellor and represented the institution in key leadership forums. She also served as deputy state superintendent at the Department of Public Instruction, where she spearheaded statewide efforts to advance educational equity, inclusion and student achievement across North Carolina’s K-12 system.

Her career also includes roles as superintendent of Bertie County Schools and Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools, director of Educational Leadership and Development for the UNC System, and executive coach with NC State University’s Northeast Leadership Academy.

A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Edmonds has presented at national and regional conferences on topics including educational equity, diversity in leadership, pandemic learning recovery and the economic impact of HBCUs.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics education from N.C. A&T, and both a Master of School Administration and Doctor of Education in educational leadership from North Carolina State University.

Edmonds serves on the boards of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority and the Regional Education Laboratory Southeast. She also previously served on the advisory board for A&T’s College of Education.