Karen McCleary Senior, Associate Director of Student Recruitment and Operations Contact Email Karen McCleary About Karen is the Senior Associate Director of Student Recruitment & Operations at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. In this role, she manages day-to-day systems operations for prospective students and applicants. Karen first started working in higher education at the California Institute of Technology as an Undergraduate Admissions Counselor. Upon moving to New York to pursue her master's degree, she joined Barnard College as a Senior Admissions Officer, later becoming an Associate Director. In all of her previous roles, Karen has read applications, planned recruitment and yield events, developed marketing/communication strategies, and taken a lead role in Slate systems management. Karen completed her undergraduate education at Carleton College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics in 2014. In 2022, she earned her Master of Education in higher and postsecondary education at Teachers College, Columbia University.