Kathy Collins was appointed to position of vice president for finance at Rice University in 2005. Prior to that Kathy was the associate vice president and budget director. Before coming to Rice in 1995, she served for seven years as budget director with the U.S. Department of Transportation and nine years in the White House Office of Management and Budget. Kathy holds a bachelor of arts degree in urban studies from Mount Holyoke College and a master of arts degree in city planning from Harvard University.