Chief of Staff
Julie Barker joined Duke University’s Provost’s Office as Chief of Staff to the Provost in January 2024.
Julie’s career in higher education has spanned three decades. She came to Duke University in 2015 as Executive Director of the Office of Duke Kunshan University (DKU) Relations, providing strategic leadership and oversight of the administration and operations of Duke’s collaboration with DKU, a joint venture in China with Wuhan University. She was also Chief of Staff to the DKU Executive Vice Chancellor from 2021-23. She currently serves as Secretary of the DKU Board of Trustees.
Prior to Duke, Julie was Chief Operating Officer of Texas A&M University’s branch campus in Qatar, where she oversaw campus operations and administration and was responsible for finance, budget and reporting, human resources, facilities and health, safety, security and environment, information technology, marketing and communication, events, and visitor relations. Previously, she was Assistant Vice President and Chief of Staff in the Division of Research at Texas A&M, where she oversaw administrative activities, communications, information technology, and a variety of special projects. She also coordinated all international activities for the division with a focus on Asia, Latin America, and Qatar and played a principal role in organizing a major biennial conference series focused on U.S.-China relations for the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation.
Julie received a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M and an Executive MBA from HEC-Paris in Qatar.