Kate McCleary

Kate McCleary works with campus and external partners on High Impact Programs (HIPs) affiliated with the International Division. The offices and individuals that she supports include: the Fulbright Coordinator, International Academic Programs, International Internship Program, King-Morgridge Scholars Program,  and the Wisconsin International Scholars Program. Please reach out to Kate if you have questions regarding any of the aforementioned programs. She has experience working in partnership on HIPs related to global learning, peer mentoring, learning communities, international internships, and capstone courses. 

Kate most recently served as the associate director of the Global Engagement Office in UW-Madison’s School of Education where she was a central figure in the creation of and day-to-day management of the office. During the Fall 2022 semester, McCleary served as the responsible officer for the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by IREX. She’s previously held positions such as the director of global education at Washington College, a higher education evaluator with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, and in study abroad offices at University of Minnesota and Lehigh University. 

Kate was the first person in her family to study abroad. She shared, “Studying abroad in Spain opened my eyes to the incredible ways that others see and understand the world around them. Becoming fluent in Spanish also contributed greatly to that. I came to understand the different perspectives that Spaniards have on contemporary and historical world issues, and what daily life (or la vida cotidiana) was like from living with a host family. This experience transformed the way that I approach working with others, especially across cultural boundaries. My initial study abroad experience was a foundation for the work that I’ve done with scholars, practitioners, youth, and communities in the various other countries in which I worked and with whom I’ve collaborated.” 

Kate received her PhD in comparative international development education from the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development at University of Minnesota. Her dissertation examined localized, Honduran youth’s understanding of agency and gender constructions in relation to an international development intervention. She did her MEd in educational leadership at Lehigh University and has a BA in Spanish and History from Muhlenberg College. Post-graduation, she was a recipient of a Fulbright U.S. student scholarship to Spain where she completed a research project on women’s rights post-civil war from 1939-1945.