Rachelle Keck
{{Short description|American lawyer and academic administrator}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Rachelle Keck
| office = 14th President of Grand View University
| term_start = June 2022
| predecessor = Kent L. Henning
| office1 = President of Briar Cliff University
| termstart1 = 2018
| termend1 = 2022
| birth_date = {{Birth based on age as of date|52|2022|3|22|noage=}}
| education = Wartburg College
University of Iowa
Drake University
| children = 4
| birth_name = Rachelle L. Karstens
}}
Rachelle L. Karstens Keck (born {{Birth based on age as of date|52|2022|3|22|noage=y|slash=y}}) is an American lawyer and academic administrator serving as the fourteenth president of Grand View University since 2022. She was president of Briar Cliff University from 2018 to 2022.
Life
Keck was born in {{Birth based on age as of date|52|2022|3|22|noage=y}} to Gene and Miriam Karstens.{{Cite web |last=Joens |first=Philip |title=Grand View University hires Iowa native Rachelle Keck as new president |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2022/03/22/rachelle-keck-first-female-president-grand-view-university-des-moines/9455176002/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=The Des Moines Register |language=en-US}}{{cite thesis |last1=Karstens |first1=Rachelle L |date=2020 |title=Sensemaking & Rainmaking: A Phenomenology Examining the Fundraising Experiences of Presidents at Private, Nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/637e05dc924c4f05525e8b29453101ee/1 }}{{pn|date=January 2024}} She has eight siblings. Keck lived in Mount Pleasant, Iowa and graduated from high school in Clinton. Keck earned a B.A. in psychology, summa cum laude, from Wartburg College.{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Rachelle Karstens |date=2022 |title=CV |url=https://www.grandview.edu/filesimages/KECK.pdf |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=Grand View University}}{{Cite web |last=Day |first=Connor |date=2022-03-22 |title=Grand View University names Dr. Rachelle Keck as new president |url=https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/education/grand-view-university-names-new-president-dr-rachelle-keck/524-84f62d98-9d69-42d3-9b7b-ec9dec5cb5d5 |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=weareiowa.com |language=en-US}} She completed a J.D. with distinction from University of Iowa College of Law. Keck graduated with a Ph.D. in education from Drake University in 2020. Her dissertation was titled, Sensemaking & Rainmaking: A Phenomenology Examining the Fundraising Experiences of Presidents at Private, Nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education. Robyn M. Cooper was her doctoral advisor.
Keck worked as an associate attorney in Montezuma, Iowa from 1995 to 1998. She was an assistant prosecutor in the Poweshiek County attorney's office from 1995 to 1999. She was a general counsel at Johnson & Johnson from 2000 to 2014. From 2014 to 2015, she served as the director of planned giving at the University of Iowa Foundation. Keck was the executive director of philanthropy and alumni relations at Indian Hills Community College from 2015 to 2017.
Keck joined Briar Cliff University in 2017 as its chief of staff and university counsel.{{Cite web |last=Rushing |first=Ty |date=2017-06-11 |title=Karstens named chief of staff and attorney for Briar Cliff |url=https://siouxcityjournal.com/business/local/transitions/karstens-named-chief-of-staff-and-attorney-for-briar-cliff/article_d4e64042-85c5-5d5e-b25d-cf1b4301f929.html |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=Sioux City Journal |language=en}} She was also an executive president and acting vice president of enrollment management. She served as president from 2018 to 2022. She was succeeded by interim president Patrick Jacobson-Schulte on July 1, 2022.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-12 |title=Briar Cliff University announces interim president |url=https://www.ktiv.com/2022/04/12/briar-cliff-university-announces-interim-president/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=www.ktiv.com |language=en}} In 2022, Keck became the fourteenth president of Grand View University, succeeding Kent L. Henning. She is the first female to lead the university.{{Cite web |last=Yamada |first=Caitlin |date=2022-03-22 |title=Briar Cliff President Rachelle Keck bound for Grand View University job |url=https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/education/briar-cliff-president-rachelle-keck-bound-for-grand-view-university-job/article_f972cd4c-df9a-520e-925a-4461bb5467aa.html |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=Sioux City Journal |language=en}}
Personal life
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keck, Rachelle}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:People from Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Category:People from Clinton, Iowa
Category:Wartburg College alumni
Category:University of Iowa College of Law alumni
Category:Drake University alumni
Category:Briar Cliff University faculty
Category:Grand View University faculty
Category:21st-century American women lawyers
Category:21st-century American lawyers