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DECATUR -- Dr. Sarah Kottich has been appointed to serve as Millikin University’s Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. Kottich has served as a consultant to Millikin since November 2022, working on recruitment strategies.

Kottich has a long history of executive-level strategic planning and leadership, last serving as Executive Vice President at the College of Saint Mary, an all-female college in Omaha, Neb.

"I'm grateful that Sarah has joined our campus community,” Millikin President Jim Reynolds said. “She comes to Millikin with a wealth of experience at institutions like ours and she will provide significant leadership in the areas of strategic planning, enrollment management and help us to look for operational efficiencies which will set Millikin up for future success.”

In her 15 years at Saint Mary, Kottich had an increasingly larger role, including serving as Provost where she oversaw strategic planning and guided several restructurings, before becoming Executive Vice President. Before going to Saint Mary in 2007, she worked as Vice President of Finance and Administration at Midland University in Fremont, Neb.  

Kottich first visited Millikin two years ago when her daughter, Carlie Kottich ’25, took a campus visit. Carlie decided to Make It Millikin and is now a sophomore theatre design and production major.

“When they came here and saw the theatre building and met the faculty, Carlie thought, this is where we’re supposed to be,” Sarah Kottich said.

Kottich holds a Doctor of Education degree in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University and has more than 20 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant in Nebraska. She has shown expertise in multi-year budgeting and strategy-building in strengthening the business side of smaller universities.

 “I believe in the power of small private colleges, and I think we do a very good job of retaining students and graduating students when compared to bigger publics and community colleges for students who thrive in a smaller environment,” Kottich said.

Kottich plans to hit the ground running as her consulting work with Millikin will allow for a seamless transition into the position. Her first goals will be centered around recruitment for the Fall 2023 class.

“Millikin should be Macon County’s college and I love the move towards the Macon Promise - and the financial aid strategy has been excellent,” she said. “We should be Macon County’s first choice and that strategy has made it financially possible for really any student who is willing to do the hard work academically.”

Kottich and her husband, Richard, have three children, Zach, Carlie and Sadie.

About Millikin University

Millikin University is a private, comprehensive university with a diverse student population of approximately 1,800 undergraduate and graduate students. A Millikin education features Performance Learning, a unique learning approach offered only at Millikin that gives students the chance to build the confidence and skills to succeed before and after graduation. Millikin graduates enter the job market armed with experience and ready for success. In 2022, 99% of graduates gained employment or entry to graduate or professional schools within six months of graduation, compared to the 71% national average. Millikin offers more than 50 majors in the College of Fine Arts, College of Arts & Sciences, College of Professional Studies and Tabor School of Business, and is located on a 75-acre residential campus in Decatur, Ill.

For further media information, please contact Millikin University Public Relations Coordinator Matthew Flaten at 217.420.6636 or mflaten@millikin.edu.