Campaign Cabinet
Bruce Koe
BS, Mechanical Engineering ’66
“My wife and I built our careers on our college educations as a strong foundation. We felt that we had done well and that we wanted to return and give back. We have four grandchildren and have our fingers crossed that at least one of them will decide to attend the U of I!”
Bruce earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1966 from Illinois and his master’s degree in industrial engineering and business from Kansas State University in 1968. He and his wife, Linda, are Life Members of the University of Illinois Alumni Association and Gold level members of the Chancellor’s Circle. They also established the Kirkwood Scholarship for Women in Engineering in 2001 and endowed the scholarship in 2018.
During his corporate career, Bruce worked in the publishing industry. His roles include serving as the Vice President of Global Operations at Readers Digest, Executive Vice President of Operations at Golden Books Family Entertainment, Director of Business Development at Hallmark Cards and Corporate Vice President of Banta Corporation. He has also provided strategic marketing, management, and operations consulting to the publishing, media, and printing industries. As a consultant, he successfully helped his clients develop strategic imperatives to drive real growth and assisted them with restructuring their operations to improve profits and net worth.
After retiring, Bruce has focused on giving back to the University, his community and his church. Koe is a member of the Dean’s Council for the College of Engineering. He is a Founding Director and Board Member of Building One Community, a Center for Immigrant Opportunity. Koe also serves on the board of Food Rescue US, a not-for-profit using technology to serve the food insecure and reduce food waste across the country.