Professor Kinkead came to USU in 1982 as director of the Writing Center and moved from there to direct the Writing Program. In 1990, she became Associate Dean of the College of HASS and also served as interim dean. In 1999-2000, she was American Council on Education Fellow. Following that, she was appointed Associate Vice President for Research overseeing Undergraduate Research, a position she held 2000-2011. In addition, she was from 2001-2006 the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies & Research.

Named a CUR Fellow in 2012, Professor Kinkead served as a counselor in the Undergraduate Research Program Directors Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research. She is the 2013 Utah Professor of the Year, an award sponsored by CASE and the Carnegie Foundation. In 2018, she was honored by USU as the D. Wynne Thorne Career Researcher.

She was a founding member of the National Writing Centers Association, Executive Secretary of NWCA for eight years, and co-editor of The Writing Center Journal for six years. A Fulbright Scholar, she had postings in Sweden (1987) and Cyprus (1996) and served a term on the Fulbright national selection committee.