Regis College is pleased to announce the appointment of William S. Koehler, PhD, as dean of the School of Business and Communication.
Koehler has worked for the past 25 years in higher education with experience as an educational entrepreneur, professor, graduate program director, department chair, and dean. In this role, Koehler will be responsible for academic and strategic leadership of the School including oversight of programs and assessment. Koehler will work with faculty and administration to ensure ongoing responsiveness, adaptation, and continuous curriculum review in response to market demands.
“Dr. Koehler’s industry expertise will provide a high level of strategic leadership to the School of Business and Communication,” said Regis President Antoinette Hays, PhD, RN. “He brings extensive entrepreneurial and academic experience to this role which will ensure implementation of quality, distinctive and innovative graduate and undergraduate programs at Regis.”
“I am honored to be the inaugural dean of the School of Business and Communication and excited to bring my passion for entrepreneurship to Regis,” said Koehler.
Koehler most recently served as the dean of the School of Management at Bay State College in Boston where he managed 20 degree programs.
Prior to joining Bay State as chair of Business in 2009, Koehler was the assistant dean for Graduate and International Programs at the College of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. He previously founded and ran a successful educational startup, Peirian Educational Preparation. He began his career in business as a professional recruiter, operations manager, founder, and entrepreneur with Marathon Personnel in Boston.
Koehler has written numerous publications, including his book The Politics of Singing and papers such as “Socially Conscious Ventures and Experiential Learning,” “The Great Recession: The Changing Career Aspirations of Graduate Students in Economics,” “Regulatory Privacy Practices in Europe,” and “Adjunct and Full-Time Faculty Grading, Workload, and Evaluation Practices in Post-Secondary Education.” He serves on the editorial boards of the Transnational Journal of Business, Journal of Ethics and Entrepreneurship, and European Management and Marketing Association. Koehler also serves as a consultant for small start-up businesses and nonprofit organizations in greater Boston.
Koehler earned his bachelor’s degree in history at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, and master’s degrees in comparative European history and women’s studies, and a PhD in European labor history from Brandeis University. He has also studied and researched at the University of Chicago, Boston University, the University of Lapland, the University of Applied Sciences Frankfurt, and the Friedrich-Wilhelm University of Bonn.
