Born in Mobile, Alabama, and raised throughout the southeastern United States, Dr. Jonathan Koh is a thriving part of his family’s legacy of educators. He is the grandson of a southern, desegregation-era high school principal and teacher, the son of an elementary school teacher and minister, and the husband of an elementary school teacher, Ashley.
An alum of The University of Alabama, Dr. Koh earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Higher Education Administration, and a Doctorate in Higher Education with a concentration in Higher Education Policy. His dissertation focused on a decade of nationwide trends in public community college finance as they relate to student access and state support for the nation’s two-year institutions.
Dr. Koh began his career in education at The University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he served as a Research Coordinator for The University’s Education Policy Center between 2012 and 2015. From there, Dr. Koh began his service at Shelton State Community College as Director of Grants and Governmental Relations before being appointed Dean of Workforce and Economic Development.
Dr. Koh has led innovative strategies which have garnered state and federal funds that have expanded the reach of the College’s sixteen technical services and adult education programs, including co-enrollment pathways, nationally recognized work-based learning programs, and on-demand incumbent worker training initiatives. As President, Dr. Koh’s primary focus is on student access and success as critical drivers for workforce and economic development in the communities that the College serves. His leadership has helped facilitate numerous community and state-based partnerships through which the College has maximized the impact of various special initiatives and continues to cultivate new and emerging ideas to eliminate workforce barriers and provide enhanced opportunities to earn and learn.
Shelton State serves more than 4,500 students in the greater Tuscaloosa community. One of six historically Black community colleges in Alabama, the College is recognized both locally and nationally as a leader in student services and community experiences. The College is host to West Alabama Works’ annual Worlds of Work (WOW) Career & Industry Expo, which grants K-12 students access to the types of careers and training available throughout their community college. In addition, the College holds more than 30 NJCAA Region XXII Division I title wins in men’s and women’s basketball and baseball, 14 National Championships in competitive cheerleading, and seven recognitions as an Academic Team of the Year for softball, and its partnership with Theatre Tuscaloosa is a two-time national award winner.
A 2022 graduate of Leadership Tuscaloosa, a 2025 graduate of the Alabama Leadership Initiative, and a recent appointee to Governor Kay Ivey’s Advisory Board for Minority Affairs, Dr. Koh considers his role as President a tremendous honor. He values the dedication of his team to the success of every student and appreciates the support of the West Alabama community.
Dr. and Mrs. Koh live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and have three growing boys, Henry, Harrison, and Walter.
