Carolyn Woo

From 2012 to 2016, Carolyn served as President & CEO of Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. In 2017, she is named the Distinguished President’s Fellow for Global Development at Purdue University. From 1997 to 2011, Dr. Woo served as dean of the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. During her tenure, the Mendoza College was frequently recognized for its leadership in ethics education and research. The college was ranked the top undergraduate business program for multiple years by Bloomberg magazine. Prior to the University of Notre Dame, Carolyn served as associate executive vice president for academic affairs at Purdue University. Dr. Woo’s teaching, research and administrative leadership have been recognized through Best Paper Awards by the Academy of Management; selection as one of 40 Young Leaders of American Academe by Change Magazine, the journal of the American Association for Higher Education; and thirty honorary doctorates from universities including the University of Notre Dame and Wake Forest. Dr. Woo was the first female dean to chair the accreditation body for business schools—AACSB: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business—and directed its Peace Through Commerce initiative. She helped launch the Principles for Responsible Management Education for the United Nations Global Compact. Dr. Woo was one of five presenters in Rome at the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment in June 2015. She also formulated the first two Vatican Impact Investing conferences in 2014 and 2016. Her faith journey and work at CRS are recounted in her book, Working for a Better World, published in 2015 by Our SundayVisitor. She was featured in the May/June 2013 issue of Foreign Policy as one of the 500 Most Powerful people on the planet and one of only 33 in the category of “a force for good.” Carolyn’s Catholic News Service monthly column took first place in the 2013 Catholic Press Association Awards in the category of Best Regular Column—Spiritual Life. She current serves on three corporate and six Catholic organizational boards. Carolyn is married to Dr. David E. Bartkus. They have two sons, Ryan and Justin.