Sarah Marie Zehr

Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Office of the Executive Vice President/Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Illinois System

Sarah brings more than 20 years of experience in industry and academia. In her current role, she works with the three universities in the system on common academic issues. Her success depends on relationship building, collaboration, negotiation, and sometimes managing conflict. Sarah also serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she teaches the introductory course on higher education for graduate students as well as a graduate course on student affairs administration. Her research interests include experiential learning and its impact on student learning outcomes, with a particular focus on internships, cooperative education, and apprenticeships. Previously, Sarah held several successive leadership roles at the Urbana-Champaign campus, including MBA admissions, student programs, career services, public engagement, and corporate and international relations.

Prior to joining academia, Sarah worked in consulting where she served a variety of clients on various business issues. She also led strategy for an innovative nonprofit organization that aimed to improve leadership in Chicago Public Schools.

Sarah earned a BS in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her MBA focused on strategy, organizational behavior, management, and marketing. Sarah has completed the Leadership Illinois program, a women’s leadership development program, and served as the organization’s president in 2019.