Academic Office welcomes Krista Cupich as the new MSc/PhD Program Manager

The Academic Office is pleased to welcome their newest addition, MSc and PhD program manager, Krista Cupich. She has taken over from Gertraud Moser, who is on maternity leave.

Born and raised in America’s ‘heartland’ of Omaha, Nebraska, Krista has a lived a far more international lifestyle than your average Midwesterner. In her formative years she sang in a youth opera choir in as far flung locations as South Africa, the Baltic countries, and Russia. During her Bachelor of the Arts in International Relations from Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA), she studied in Rome for two exchange semesters, and moved to Muenster, Germany, following her bachelor graduation.

Krista also holds an MA in Global Studies joint-degree from the University of Vienna and the University of Leipzig, where she studied global history, area studies, gender studies, development studies (with a focus on early education and language policies effecting migrants), and then lived in Halle, Germany until returning to Vienna for her new post.

She brings a wealth of international expertise and ingenuity to MU, having previously held roles in Germany, the USA, and Poland as an educator, international admissions advisor, study abroad and international exchanges advisor.

She was the one-woman manger of the Office of Study Abroad at the University of Nebraska at Omaha from 2006-2009 (campus of approx. 14,000 students), responsible for coordinating exchange programs, liaising with departments, supporting students studying abroad, and developing courses and programs abroad.

At the University of Nebraska, she developed new bilateral exchange programs, created, marketed, and executed of programs, assisted in grant writing – an example of her success was in acquiring funding for sponsored Arabic instruction at the university - worked to more than double number of students participating in exchange programs, developed a network of student volunteers and workers that served both incoming exchange students and advised outgoing study abroad students, and created new procedures and policies for study abroad students. In her function as International Admissions Advisor (2006-2008), she was the first point of contact for international students, transcript evaluator, and served on scholarship committees.

Krista is not only vastly experienced in university administration; she is also an accomplished opera singer, an advocate for international education and is in particular passionate about early childhood education and care, specifically Montessori education. Her own education is also continuing, as she is currently working on a PhD in History from the University of Vienna.

In her free time she enjoys attending theater, opera, and music performances as often as possible, travelling as well as hosting family and friends met around the globe, experimenting in the kitchen, cheering for University of Nebraska (Huskers) sports teams and the Chicago Cubs (baseball), and is currently on a mission to taste Esterházy torte from every single café and bakery in Vienna. Come by the Academic Office to welcome Krista, and ask her which is her favourite!