Dr. O’Connor serves Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences as provost and executive vice president for Academic, Research and Student Affairs. In these roles, he provides leadership, vision, direction and advocacy to best support students in meeting their academic and career goals. He is also responsible for advancing KCU’s goals for research through continued collaboration with key partners.

Dr. O’Connor comes to KCU from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska where he served as provost and chief academic officer, and professor in both the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Medicine. At Creighton, Dr. O’Connor spearheaded the merger of two academic divisions focusing on the creation of cross-campus collaboration and heightened communication. Additionally, he worked to restructure the university’s faculty, interdisciplinary, basic science, clinical, and translational research and scholarship opportunities. While at Creighton, he also worked to establish the Center for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research, which encourages cross-education programs. Prior to his tenure at Creighton, he held several positions at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.

Dr. O’Connor earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience at the Albany Medical College Graduate School of Health Sciences in Albany, New York; a Master of Business Administration in Health Care Leadership from Yale School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut; and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from State University of New York at Albany.

Dr. O’Connor has served on the board of directors for Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and was involved in helping CHI become an academic health system in the Nebraska/Western Iowa geographic region. In addition to authoring many publications, he has served in leadership and committee positions on the local, regional and national levels, holds membership in several professional societies and is the recipient of prestigious honors and awards.