Laura Boche, PhD

Program Officer Laura Boche, Ph.D., oversees a strategically responsive portfolio of grants focused on advancing innovation and transformation across key areas in postsecondary education.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Laura spent more than 15 years in higher education in both academic and student affairs. Most recently, she served as the coordinator of strategic initiatives at the Minnesota State system office, launching and scaling strategic priorities across the 33-institution system (seven universities and 26 colleges). Laura also served as the dean of liberal arts at Century College, a two-year college in the Minnesota State system. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member, teaching courses in graduate education programs. Laura’s background includes serving a breadth of higher education institutions in a variety of student success roles including academic advising, student involvement, first-year seminars and new student orientation among others.

Laura has published peer-reviewed scholarship on transfer and women in higher education leadership, and has additional research interests in higher education as a workplace. She currently serves on the board of College Possible Minnesota.

Laura holds a Doctor of Philosophy in educational leadership-higher education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her dissertation explored the experience of mother executive leaders in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also holds a Master of Arts in leadership in student affairs from the University of St. Thomas and a Bachelor of Arts in music industry from Valparaiso University.

Why are you working at ECMC Foundation and committed to working toward improving higher education for underserved learners?

I’m at ECMC Foundation because our values align. This work is personal and professional for me. I’ve spent my career supporting students—especially those who’ve been historically underserved—and I know how much impact the right support and systems can have on a learner’s journey. I’ve had the opportunity to lead student success initiatives and engage in campus-level and system-level policy and practice reform efforts, working closely with faculty and staff to make sure equity is at the heart of our work. Working at the Foundation gives me the chance to take all of that experience and contribute to postsecondary transformation on a national scale. As a first-generation college student myself, I deeply believe in the power of higher education, the way it fosters a path for greater social and economic mobility for all learners. In the words of the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, “We all do better when we all do better” and I take these words to heart when thinking about the transformative power of postsecondary education.