Professor Loretta O'Donnell is a senior higher education leader with extensive international experience in research-intensive universities, accreditation, governance and executive education.  After serving as Associate Dean (Education) at UNSW Business School, in 2013 she was appointed to the role of Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. During her tenure, Nazarbayev University achieved a top 23 percent place in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking. She oversaw institutional accreditation by UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and program accreditation across Business, Medicine, Public Policy, Education and Foundation Studies. She initiated international academic integrity conferences and student-led integrity roundtables. In  2025, she was awarded a gold medal by the Government of Kazakhstan for outstanding contribution to scientific activities.

 

Prior to her academic career, she worked with a global consultancy in Sydney and Chicago. She is a board member of Canterbury Institute of Management and Chapter Zero Kazakhstan, a country expert for FIBAA accreditation and a former board member of Zhubanov University.