Janet Gooch Will Be the Next Leader of the University of Illinois Springfield

Janet L. Gooch was chosen to be chancellor of the University of Illinois Springfield. When she takes office on July 1, she will also be a vice president of the University of Illinois System.

The University of Illinois Springfields enrolls about 2,600 undergraduate students and 1,500 graduate students, according to the latest available data from the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 53 percent of the undergraduate student body.

“I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to join the University of Illinois Springfield and lead this regional powerhouse in the years ahead. I look forward to getting to know the students, faculty and staff at UIS, as well as the city of Springfield, and working together as we chart a course that provides opportunities for our students and serves the region as both an educator and an economic engine,” Dr. Gooch said.

Dr. Gooch has been executive vice president and provost at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, since 2017. She has been an administrator and member of the faculty at the university since 1995. She is a professor in the department of communication disorders. Professor Gooch has been dean of Truman’s School of Health Sciences and Education and, prior to that, department chair of communication disorders. She held interim roles as dean of the School of Science and Mathematics and director of Strategic Initiatives.

Dr. Gooch received a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology in 1988 from the University of Kansas. She holds a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Kent State University in Ohio and a doctorate in speech-language pathology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.