SIU Trustees approve Denise Cobb as SIUE Provost

CARBONDALE - The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees today approved the appointment of Denise Cobb, PhD, as SIUE provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, during its regularly scheduled meeting on the Carbondale campus.

Cobb served as interim provost since October 2015. Prior to that appointment, she was assistant provost for academic innovation and effectiveness, and then associate provost for academic affairs since June 2012.  

In the Office of the Provost, Cobb’s responsibilities and achievements have included:

• Coordinating the successful reaffirmation of SIUE’s institutional accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission
• Assisting in the University’s strategic planning and assessment
• Facilitating the curricular review process and revising the University’s honors program
• Supporting the vibrancy of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Program, senior assignment and faculty development programming
• Launching a Junior Faculty Development Program in collaboration with the associate chancellor for diversity and inclusion, and the director of faculty development
• Facilitating the development and launch of new academic programs, including a rapid online program development initiative
• Supporting efforts to promote student retention and success

Cobb joined the SIUE Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies in 2003 as an assistant professor in sociology and was promoted to professor in 2015. She has been integrally involved in numerous externally funded research projects with the SIUE Graduate School and is dedicated to broadening participation and success of under-represented student and faculty populations in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) graduate programs.

An Arkansas native, Cobb earned a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1993 where she was a Donaghey Scholar. She earned a master’s in 1995 from the University of Central Arkansas and a doctorate from Tulane University in 2003.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose to shape a changing world. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of more than 14,000. 

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