Ivan Nikolov, Ph.D.

Executive Director
Illinois International High School Initiative
International Programs and Studies
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign


EDUCATION:
2003 Master of Science in Instructional Development & Design, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

1996 Ph.D. in Education (Higher Education/International Education),
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale;

1980 Ph.D. in Economics, St. Petersburg University for Finance and Economics, Russia (USSR);

1974 Master of Economics (MBA) – Management, Organization and Administration, Academy of Commerce, College of Finance and Statistics, Warsaw, Poland.

EXPERTISE:
• International Business Management Training
• International Tourism and Travel
• Human Performance Improvement and Evaluation
• Project Development and Management, including financial management
• Instructional Development and Design
• International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis
• Foreign Languages (Bulgarian, Russian, Polish, etc.)

EXPERIENCE (Major Professional Positions):
March 2002 – Present
Executive Director, Illinois International High School Initiative administered by UIUC on behalf of the state; Management of a 1.3 million grants in cooperation with local school districts, businesses, and communities.

August 2000 – March 2002
Research Assistant Professor and Director of Global Education Projects, College of Education and Human Services, SIUC. Responsible for development, management, and implementation of international partnerships, grants, and project (over $500,000 budget);

1995– July 2000
Program Coordinator, Office of International and Economic Development Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Responsible for cross-campus development and implementation of international grants and projects, communications, and protocol.

1990-95
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Office of the Executive Assistant to the President, International and Economic Development; Responsible for economic development and administrative training in the international area.

1989-90
Visiting Fulbright Scholar, UC-Berkeley in cooperation with the Brookings Institution – strategic planning and development focus

1986-89
Senior Economics Advisor, Committee for Intellectual Development by
the Bulgarian Council of Ministers; Responsibilities included work on the new market-oriented concept and mechanism for state regulated institutions of education, science, and culture in Bulgaria.

1981-84
Director for International Tourism, Bulgarian national Youth and Student Travel Exchanges Bureau; Managed the largest national chain, including 42 hotels, resorts, international contracts, exchanges of over 120,000 youth per annum; Participated in the works of JATA, ISTC, and other international travel operators.

1981-89
Professor, Department of Economics, Organization, and Administration, Institute of Higher Education, Bulgaria; Research and Teaching with focus on higher education business and administration; political economy; economics; advised graduate (doctoral) students.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS AFFILIATIONS:
• Board of Directors, International Trade Club of Chicago
• Member, International Society for Performance Improvement
• Member, World Scientists Organization, Economics Sector
• Consultant, Illinois Consortium for International Education
• Manager, Balkan-American Trade and Consulting Center (est.1995)
• Trainer, USAID Bosnia Economic Development Project
• Lecturer, Russian-American Summer University in Samara, Russia

INTERNATIONAL POSITIONS:
1986-89 National Liaison Officer, UNESCO
1988-90 European Association for Research in Higher Education

GRANTS, CONFERENCES, PUBLICATIONS 1990-2002:
• Authored or participated in writing, development, and implementation of over 16 nationally competitive international grants and projects with total funding exceeding 2 million dollars.
• Assisted in the development of the SIUC Nakajio campus in Japan, a project that generated $ 34 million between 1988- 2000; Executive MBA in Hong Kong and Singapore; MBA program at Vladimir State Polytechnic, Russia.
• Initiated a multi-university consortium in the USA in support of the Russian-American Summer University, Samara, Russia; Assisted in the creation of a network of international partnerships between school districts in Southern Illinois with NIS schools within the U.S. Department of State PIE initiative.
• Participated in numerous international conferences.
• Published over 30 articles and two books.