Dr. Denise Kwok joined USC Athletics in 2004 and currently serves as the Deputy Athletic Director for Internal Operations and Senior Woman Administrator. As a member of the USC Athletic Director’s Senior Leadership Team, Dr. Kwok manages programs focused on ensuring the academic, personal, and professional enhancement of student-athletes from admission through graduation and beyond. Her areas of oversight include athletic admissions, athletic academic services, personal and career development, student services, and DEI programming for student-athletes. During each year of her tenure, the NCAA Academic progress rate (APR) and Graduate Success Rate (GSR) have continued to reach record numbers, with a ninth consecutive record GSR of 93% in 2022.

In addition to these programs, as Deputy Athletic Director for Internal Operations, Dr. Kwok is the primary liaison for all areas of student-athlete well-being (sport psychology, athletic medicine, and nutrition). She serves as the primary point of administrative contact for Keck and the USC Athletics Compliance Office. In this role, Dr. Kwok collaborates closely with university partners to achieve alignment between the athletic department and campus practices and ensure integrity-driven, data-supported policies and practices are utilized to promote the recruitment, retention, academic and personal development of USC student-athletes. Dr. Kwok works to maintain and promote gender equity in compliance with Title IX and serves as the sport administrator for Beach Volleyball.

Prior to serving on the Senior Leadership Team, Dr. Kwok served as an Associate AD for Student-Athlete Academic Services, where she oversaw a record increase in the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) and Graduation Success Rate (GSR), and as an Assistant Athletic Director responsible for the development of a highly successful Directed Studies program within USC Athletics providing individualized academic support to facilitate the academic growth of academically vulnerable student-athletes into self-directed learners. She also served as an Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs at USC, overseeing the Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity, a program focused on providing academic support to students with Learning Disabilities, AD/HD, and other learning concerns.

Dr. Kwok earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at USC Rossier School of Education in 2004. Her dissertation research focused on the psychological help-seeking behaviors of Asian American college students. She also earned her M.S., Ed. in Counseling Psychology from USC and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Asian American Studies (with high honors) from UC Berkeley.

Dr. Kwok is originally from Tiburon, California. She is married to Dr. Roy Fu and has two children, Madelyn and Tyler.

Contact Information:
Office: (213) 821-3075
email: dkwok@usc.edu