As of May 2026, WashU’s Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration is excited to share two leadership changes that underscore our ongoing commitment to strengthening the university’s enterprise capabilities in operations, infrastructure and decision support.
Melissa Rockwell-Hopkins has been named Vice Chancellor for Enterprise Physical Operations, Infrastructure, Capital Programs & Real Estate. This enterprise portfolio brings together responsibility for the University’s physical environment, long-term capital stewardship, and real estate strategy under a single, coordinated framework to support alignment, consistency, and long-range planning across the institution. As part of this transition, the Real Estate team will report directly to Rockwell-Hopkins in her new role. This change reflects the integration of real estate strategy within the broader enterprise physical operations portfolio and positions the team for continued success under unified leadership. Rockwell-Hopkins will report directly to Nichol Luoma, Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).
Under Rockwell-Hopkins’ leadership, WashU Medicine has delivered more than $2.4 billion in mission-aligned capital projects since 2013—investments that have strengthened the University’s ability to support research, education, patient care, and campus life. Her work has involved major campus-renewal efforts, including the Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building; Susan & Steven Lipstein BJC Institute of Health vertical expansion; Gary C. Werths Building at Siteman Cancer Center; Mid Campus Center; Debra and George W. Couch III Biomedical Research Building; and the Child Development Center at the Taylor Avenue Building. Rockwell-Hopkins has carried out many of these projects in partnership with BJC HealthCare. She has also led critical infrastructure, mobility, and safety improvements that reinforce long-term campus resilience.
Rockwell-Hopkins brings an enterprise perspective grounded in a People, Place, and Planning framework—connecting our values to how we work, where we work, and how we plan. This approach is informed by her doctorate in education, leadership, and organizational change from Baylor University and reflects her longstanding commitment to inclusive, people-centered leadership.
Tate Duch has been named Vice Chancellor, Enterprise Decision Support & CAO Administration. In this enterprise-wide role, Duch will continue to oversee day-to-day administrative operations across the CAO portfolio while leading the University’s Enterprise Decision Support function as a shared center of excellence, integrating strategic analysis, financial strategy, and operational insight to support senior decision-making across the enterprise. Duch will continue to report directly to Nichol Luoma, Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration and Chief Administrative Officer.
Duch previously served as Associate Vice Chancellor, Head of Administrative FP&A, and Special Advisor to the CAO, and he has played a central role in strengthening enterprise financial insight, board-level analysis, and executive decision support across the University. His work has included the development and review of complex business cases, scenario modeling, financial and operational tradeoff analysis, and long-range planning, supporting leaders in areas spanning capital planning, real estate, supply chain, workforce strategy and enterprise governance.
Most recently, Duch played a central role in a multi-unit cost review that contributed to more than $40 million in expense reductions, much of which decreased prorations, strengthening financial sustainability across the institution.
In this expanded capacity, Duch will bring analytical and strategic capacity to the University’s most consequential decisions—supporting long-range planning, investment prioritization, and enterprise-wide tradeoff analysis in close partnership with Finance, HR, IT, Enterprise Physical Operations, and other institutional units. His work will continue to focus on areas where institutional complexity benefits from integrated perspective, including structural cost drivers such as fringe rates, the financial sustainability of enterprise operations across the CAO portfolio, and partnership integration such as UHSP. Duch will serve as a collaborative resource to senior leadership across the enterprise, providing decision-ready analysis in support of the university’s administrative and governance priorities.