Chancellor and Vice President Koch
Biography
Susan J. Koch is Chancellor of the University of Illinois Springfield, one of three campuses of the University of Illinois, which is among the nation's preeminent public universities. As Chancellor, Koch is responsible for providing leadership for the operations and programs of UIS, whose strategic directions include liberal arts education, public affairs and professional programs. She also serves as a Vice President of the University of Illinois, reporting to UI President Robert Easter and serving on the President's Cabinet, which assists the President in guiding the overall operations of the University.
Koch previously was the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Northern Michigan University, where she served from 2007-2011. Before joining NMU, Koch was the Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate College at the University of Northern Iowa, where she was also Professor of Health Education.
Koch holds a tenured faculty position in the College of Education and Human Services at UIS. Her scholarship and teaching focus on health education, international health, conflict resolution, and health and human rights. Koch is author of numerous scholarly and creative publications and was co-founder of the UNI Global Health Corps, a field-based organization that provides public health services to underserved populations in the U.S. and abroad.
Koch holds academic degrees from Dakota State University in South Dakota and the University of Northern Iowa. She is married to Dennis Koch, an executive sales manager for an agricultural seed company and farmer, and they have four grown children.
The University of Illinois Springfield serves over 5,000 students in 44 undergraduate and graduate programs in four colleges, with an annual operating budget of approximately $82 million. The university has earned a national reputation for excellence in online learning as well as for its public affairs activities which take full advantage of the university's location in Springfield, the state capitol of Illinois.