The NIU College of Business will welcome back a familiar face when Denise Schoenbachler resumes leadership of the college, effective July 1. Schoenbachler’s appointment as interim dean was approved by the NIU Board of Trustees during its meeting Thursday, May 11.
A true Huskie at heart, Schoenbachler has more than 30 years of experience and service at NIU.
She previously served as the college’s dean for nearly a decade, choosing to step down from the role in 2016 to return to teaching. From 2016 to 2022, she served as the Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Professor in Business. During her time as dean, she also taught marketing courses, having served as a marketing professor from 1992 to 2022. Schoenbachler also served as the chair of the Marketing Department from 2002 to 2006.
“Denise is a well-respected leader in the NIU College of Business who knows its people and programs, who understands its culture and who can hit the ground running to keep the college moving forward,” said Laurie Elish-Piper, who will begin serving July 1 as the university’s interim executive vice president and provost. “Her deep commitment as a strategic, collaborative servant-leader, and her three-decade commitment to the College of Business, have informed her decision to come back to campus from retirement to provide a familiar face and a strong sense of consistency while NIU searches for a successor to Dean Balaji Rajagopalan.”
“It is an honor to once again serve the NIU College of Business as dean during this important transition time,” Schoenbachler said. “We have our Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation this fall, new faculty and staff joining the college family and numerous opportunities to continue to build on our culture. I am excited to return ‘home’ and lead the college as it seeks its next visionary leader.”
The college will continue to be in good hands, with a planned and seamless transition between Schoenbachler and Balaji Rajagopalan, who will be leaving his role June 30 and moving to a new role as dean at the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business at the University of Missouri.
Under Rajagopalan’s seven years of leadership, the college achieved curricular innovations in its undergraduate and graduate programs; expanded its global partnerships; launched the De La Vega Innovation Lab and the HAVI Center for Analytics and Technology; expanded experiential learning opportunities; and much more.
“I deeply appreciate Balaji’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion for innovation, which have unleashed imagination, creativity and productivity, both in and out of the classroom,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Beth Ingram. “I am grateful for his many contributions, as are so many others on campus, and we wish him the best in his new endeavor.”
Schoenbachler will serve as interim until after a permanent dean is hired. The national search will begin in the fall.
