“One of my biggest concerns is that the University of Illinois degree will be inaccessible to students,” she says, noting Illinois’ poor fiscal condition, which has resulted in waning state financial support for higher education and increased costs to students. “We’re part of the solution. We want to be able to graduate more and more students so that they can contribute and be successful citizens and contributors through the state of Illinois and beyond.”
The U of I, through its fundraising organization, the University of Illinois Foundation, seeks to tap alumni and other private donors to fuel the Access Illinois scholarships.
Eventually, Koch hopes UIS will accomplish its goal of serving 6,000 students each year, up from about 5,100 this year. The goal was established in the university’s 2006 strategic plan, which Koch says she plans to re-examine.
Koch is also hoping to enrich student life by diversifying the campus, not only by bringing more international students to UIS but also by bringing in faculty members from diverse backgrounds.
“Diversity is important for many reasons for all of our students. Any one of our students, whatever their background, is graduating into a diverse workforce. We want them to have a global perspective and to be able to work with people from different backgrounds,” Koch says.
In the 2010 school year, Caucasians made up 75 percent of the UIS faculty. Blacks and Hispanics each accounted for less than 4 percent, Asians about 9 percent, and “foreign” about 5 percent.
Koch says UIS needs to position itself so that it can be more competitive in recruiting a talented and diverse faculty. “A highly qualified faculty member who comes from a diverse background is going to be a very sought-after candidate. We really need to be able to have something to offer them, not necessarily salary – sometimes some additional opportunities to set up a laboratory they need, maybe some additional opportunities to travel to academic conferences,” Koch says.
In terms of study areas, Koch says it’s important to focus on all of the areas UIS’ founders chose to focus on, including public affairs, liberal arts and, less developed at the university, health care.
“Almost everyone I’ve talked to about that [health care] has been surprised that was one of the founding directives in our documents,” Koch says. “What our role ought to be in health care is a question yet to be answered, but I’ve been starting to explore that both internally and externally.”
Bombarded with questions and ideas on a wide range of topics at recent open forums, Koch freely admits that she’s still learning and, when stumped, invites others to continue an open dialogue.
So far, the approach has gone over well, says Tih-Fen Ting, professor of environmental science and faculty senate president. Ting also chaired the search committee that selected Koch for the chancellorship.
“She’s intent on listening and listening to different constituent groups and to have a better understanding of what UIS is,” Ting says.
“I think that she is doing what any new chancellor who’s passionate about the position and the institution would do.”
“We are ready to move forward and I want to say that what she has brought to UIS is a new level of energy.”
Contact Rachel Wells at [email protected].
