KOCH TO GIVE DISTINGUISHED LECTURE AT UNIV. OF ILLINOIS

James V. Koch, Board of Visitors professor of economics and president emeritus of Old Dominion University, will present the prestigious David Dodds Henry Lecture at the University of Illinois at Springfield Monday, March 3. Koch will speak on "TQM and Other Management Fads: Why Has Their Impact on Higher Education Been So Small?"

Since 1972, the David Dodds Henry lectures have presented noted educators such as W. Ann Reynolds, Donna Shalala, and Stanley Ikenberry speaking on topics that relate to the theory, philosophy, and/or practice of the administration of higher education. The Henry lectures were established in 1971 by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and the U of I Foundation to honor President Emeritus David D. Henry, who served as chief executive officer of the University for 16 years, from 1955 until his retirement in 1971.

Koch served as president and professor of economics at Old Dominion from 1990 to 2001. From 1986 to 1990 he held similar positions at the University of Montana.

Identified as among the 100 most effective college presidents in the country in research funded by the Exxon Foundation, Koch has been involved in the efforts of more than two dozen universities to evaluate their strategic positions. His book Presidential Leadership, which he co-wrote in 1996 with James L. Fisher, is used as a reference and textbook in many universities and leadership institutes. His forthcoming book, The Entrepreneurial College President, also written with Fisher, was supported by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation and will be published by Praeger and the American Council on Education.

Koch's seven books and more than 60 articles have focused primarily on topics in applied microeconomics, such as the economics of college athletics, the economics of discrimination and affirmative action, TQM, and the economics of education. His most recent work focuses on the economics of e-commerce and his article "Are Prices Lower on the Internet? Not Always!" appeared in the January edition of Business Horizons. He has served as a consultant or expert witness for more than 50 law firms, corporations, and universities in e-commerce cases ranging from the ordering and sale of wine via the Internet to the value of intellectual property stolen by means of the Internet.

Koch has held research and teaching positions at such institutions as Illinois State University, Ball State University, the University of Hawaii, California State University at Los Angeles, the University of Grenoble (France), and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Australia). He earned the B.A. at Illinois State and the Ph.D. at Northwestern University and has been awarded honorary doctorates by institutions in Korea and Japan.