Amanda Kraus

Dr. Amanda Kraus currently serves as the Interim Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Arizona, where she has worked for over twenty years. Dr. Kraus serves as the university's senior leader for extracurricular student experiences that complement their academic pursuits and will oversee programs and departments that contribute to student satisfaction and welfare. The Vice President for Student Life will partner with units across campus to foster an environment for academic and personal growth.  

Dr. Kraus is also Associate Professor of Practice in Arizona’s Center for the Study of Higher Education where she has instructed courses on student services, student development, and disability in higher education. Her research has focused on universal design in student services, student veterans, and disability dynamics in higher education.

Prior to her current appointment, Dr. Kraus was Assistant Vice President for Campus Life and Executive Director of the Disability Resource Center. The university’s Disability Resource Center is one of the largest in the nation, and considered an international model of progressive service delivery, uniquely positioned to approach campus access systemically. Dr. Kraus is Immediate Past President for the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and previously chaired its committee on diversity and inclusion. 

Dr. Kraus has had the privilege of working with institutions and organizations such as Singapore Management University, Duke, Wake Forest, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to promote inclusion and equity in higher education. Dr. Kraus was invited to join two delegations convened by the US Department of State to engage in dialogue on disability access in education and employment in Beijing, China and again in Washington, D.C. and has consulted internationally on universal design at Temasek Polytechnic University in Singapore and United States International University of Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.

Outside of work, Dr. Kraus plays wheelchair tennis and served on the Board of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Southwest Section for many years to increase the visibility of wheelchair tennis. Currently, she serves on the Board of Visit Tucson.

Dr. Kraus earned her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in Higher Education, and her B.A. in Social History at Carnegie Mellon University.