Sarah Ballard

Acting Senior Executive Director for Strategic Enrollment

Sarah Ballard currently serves as the Acting Senior Executive Director for Strategic Enrollment Management. Sarah holds both a Master’s and Doctorate degree in History at the University of Kentucky. She began her career in higher education in the classroom, teaching undergraduate history and writing. This foundation has deeply informed her approach to student affairs, where she has worked to reimagine the intersection of academic and career/pre-professional advising for undergraduate students, foster community relationships and industry partnerships, and integrate curricular and co-curricular experiences to support student persistence, improve retention, and empower students to achieve their academic, career, and personal goals. 

A native Kentuckian, Sarah is passionate about the transformative power of higher education and has seen firsthand how earning a degree positively impacts students and their families. In her current role, Sarah collaborates with teams across the University to design and implement data-driven strategic initiatives that promote student success, advance institutional priorities, and address the needs of the Commonwealth.