Kathryn E. Keeton, PhD

Kathryn E. Keeton, PhD

Vice President for Presidential Initiatives and Chief of Staff

Kathryn Keeton, PhD, serves as the Vice President of Presidential Initiatives and Chief of Staff at The University of Texas at San Antonio. In this role, she supports the President’s strategic vision by overseeing high-level institutional initiatives and leading efforts that promote organizational effectiveness, stakeholder engagement and cross-functional alignment.

As Chief of Staff, Keeton coordinates the day-to-day operations of the Office of the President, facilitates executive decision-making and serves as a liaison with internal and external partners to help advance institutional goals. She is deeply engaged in building a high-performing leadership culture and supporting long-range strategic priorities for UT San Antonio.

Keeton brings over 20 years of leadership experience spanning higher education, healthcare, aerospace and the private sector.

Prior to UT San Antonio

Prior to the creation of the merged UT San Antonio, Keeton was appointed Vice President and Chief of Staff in the Office of the President at UT Health San Antonio in July 2023. In this role, she served under President William L. Henrich, where she played a central role in coordinating strategic efforts across senior leadership, strengthening community partnerships and advancing innovation-focused initiatives aligned with the university’s mission in health care, research and education.

Preceding her role at UT Health San Antonio, she served as the Senior Executive Director for the Center for Professional Excellence in the Alvarez College of Business at UTSA and as a Professor of Practice in Management. In this dual role, she led the Executive MBA program and all executive education offerings, while designing and delivering coursework in innovation and entrepreneurship, leadership, team development and professional development. As the Executive Coach for the EMBA cohort, she applied her expertise in Industrial-Organizational Psychology to support executive growth, organizational strategy and leadership transformation. In addition to her academic leadership, Keeton has provided consulting services, where she advises clients across sectors on leadership development, cultural transformation, innovation strategy and employee engagement—bringing a practical, evidence-based approach to helping organizations achieve sustainable growth and build high-performing teams.

Spearheading Solutions

Earlier in her career, Keeton spent eight years at NASA working in the Human Health & Performance Directorate where she held leadership roles in both the Human Research Program and NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. During her tenure, she managed a research portfolio focused on team effectiveness and leadership performance in high-stakes environments. She later spearheaded innovation initiatives that leveraged crowdsourcing and open innovation platforms to solve mission-critical technical challenges—helping NASA tap into global expertise and accelerate problem-solving. Her work at NASA supported the advancement of interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation as well as laid the foundation for her continued focus on organizational development, systems thinking and large-scale transformation.

Education

  • Licensed Psychologist, State of Texas
  • PhD, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, University of Houston
  • MA, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, University of Houston
  • BA, Psychology and Sociology, The University of Texas at Austin

Distinctions

  • NASA Early Career Public Achievement Medal (2016)
  • San Antonio Business Journal Women’s Leadership Award (2017)
  • San Antonio Business Journal 40 Under 40 Award (2021)

Research/Academic Interests

  • Change Management and Organizational Development
  • Leadership and Executive Coaching
  • Team Development and Dynamics
  • Innovation and Crowdsourced Problem Solving
  • Professional Development and Learning Design
  • Google Scholar Profile

Personal

Keeton is deeply committed to serving the San Antonio community and advancing causes that strengthen education, health and family well-being. She currently serves as Board Chair for both TXReads and The Center for Health Care Services (CHCS), supporting efforts to expand literacy and access to behavioral health services across South Texas. She and her husband, John, are proud parents to their four children—Akston, Reayen, Elynn, and Tullis—and enjoy spending time together as a family outdoors, exploring nature and traveling to discover new places.