Batavia resident named dean of business school at Kendall College

Michelle Coussens of Batavia has been named dean of the school of business at Kendall College in Chicago.

The 44-year-old mother of three teenagers began her job there June 16.

"This was the next step I wanted in my career," Coussens said. "I don't necessarily believe in magic, but I had just begun exploring with my colleagues what kind of job would interest me most. I did some brainstorming, and three weeks later I got a call about this position. It has everything I was looking for."

Coussens said her post at the college gives her "the best of both worlds" as she has a passion for business and for teaching.

"I will teach courses for which I will develop the curriculum," Coussens said. "At the same time, I'll be a manager and a representative of the college in the business world.

"It's a dream come true," she added. "I like being part of something that I can see is going to continue to grow."

Just before her appointment, Coussens worked for the Federal Reserve Bank, most recently as a senior analyst, and had her own consulting business. As a consultant, she has taught management strategy and organizational behavior classes at DePaul University's College of Commerce. She has also been on the faculty for the American Management Association and she teaches seminars in business plan development and positioning strategy for NeighborWorks America, a federally-funded program providing technical assistance for community development.

Coussens holds an MBA with a concentration in marketing from DePaul University a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Northwestern University.

Coussens said her first task at Kendall College was assessing the curriculum and positioning of the college.

She said she wants to make sure that the college's business graduates are professionally savvy, globally driven and service oriented. She has already founded an advisory board that includes members who represent public and private industries and for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

Coussens has lived in Batavia since 1992. She and her husband have an 18-year-old daughter, a 16-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son. She balances her career and home life with help from her husband, who has been a stay-at-home father for 15 years.

"It has made all the difference," she said. "He was supposed to stay home for five years, but we re-evaluated it every year and we didn't want our children to have to give up activities."

Kendall College offers degrees in business, early childhood education, culinary arts and hospitality management.