James Koch Lecture Oct. 16

Date: 10/9/06
Contact: Kathy Beal

James Koch, Board of Visitors Professor of Economics and President Emeritus at Old Dominion University, will speak on "The Influence of Religion, Moral Values, and 'Gay Marriage' Votes on the 2004 Presidential Election" at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16 in the Bone Student Center Old Main Room at Illinois State University. The lecture is free and open to the public, with a reception following the presentation.

Koch served as the president of Old Dominion University from 1990 to 2001 and as president of the University of Montana from 1986 to 1990. During his presidencies, he was identified as one of 100 most effective college presidents in the United States in research funded by the Exxon Foundation. Koch also served as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Ball State University, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Rhode Island College and chair of the Department of Economics at Illinois State University. Koch received his bachelor's degree from Illinois State and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

Koch has held teaching and research positions at California State University at Los Angeles, University of Grenoble in France, Brown University, University of Hawaii, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia. He holds honorary doctorates from Yeungnam University in Korea and Toyo University and Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan.

Koch has published nine books and over 80 refereed journal articles. His research focuses primarily upon applied microeconomic topics. Koch's work on the economics of intercollegiate athletics, the economics of discrimination and affirmative action, total quality management, the economic of education, and the economics of e-commerce have been cited frequently. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the German Marshall Fund; the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; the Illinois Board of Higher Education; and the Kauffman Foundation. Koch has served as a consultant and expert witness for more than 50 law firms, corporations and universities, and he has been commissioned by the presidents or boards of trustees of more 36 universities to evaluate their strategic position. His books, "Presidential Leadership" and "The Entrepreneurial College President" are widely used in many universities and leadership institutes.