Nicole Kontak Ph.D

Dr. Kontak serves as Assistant Dean for Curricular and Academic Affairs for CAST. She provides support for the program development and approval processes, curriculum design and maintenance, program assessment, and is committed to developing and maintaining transfer pathways, articulation agreements, and industry partnerships. Her role includes oversight of various Student Services at CAST including Academic Advising, Career & Engagement, Marketing and Communications, Recruitment and Enrollment, and Retention. Dr. Kontak has been a professional at the University of Arizona for nearly 20 years, primarily as an academic administrator. She is a native Tucsonan, Arizona community college transfer student, and completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Arizona.  

Prior to CAST, Dr. Kontak provided oversight of Curriculum and Academic Affairs for Microcampus Dual Degree programs within Arizona International, ensuring academic quality, faculty professional development, and curricular alignment. Dr. Kontak developed the office of Transfer Credit & Articulation where she served as the Executive Director and provided oversight of all domestic and international course articulation, faculty transfer course evaluations, transfer pathways, and articulation agreements. In 2022, Dr. Kontak was named a 40 Under 40 Honoree by the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She was awarded the statewide AZ Transfer Leader Award in 2019 from AZTransfer for her contributions to the Arizona Transfer System. Dr. Kontak also led the Transfer Student Center where she and her team provided programs, services, activities, and engagement opportunities for transfer students. Under her supervision, the Transfer Student Center was awarded a campus wide Impact Award for Outstanding Department in 2016. She was also awarded a campus wide Impact Award for Seasoned Professional in 2015.