Chani (Karen) Tessler Ph.D., is the Vice Provost of Touro University Illinois. Dr. Tessler also serves as the Chief Academic Officer of Hebrew Theological College (HTC) and the Dean of Blitstein Institute for Women of Hebrew Theological College. HTC is a member of the Touro University System where Dr. Tessler is an Associate Professor in Speech-Language Pathology.  

She previously held the position of Manager of Clinical Education at Rush University College of Health Sciences as well as Director of Faculty Development. Dr. Tessler was the discipline coordinator for speech-language pathology at the University of Illinois LEND program, a national program training future leaders in the field of neurodevelopmental disabilities, for 10 years. Dr. Tessler holds an appointment in the Department of Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery at Rush Medical College and conducts research jointly with the Rush Craniofacial Center.

Dr. Tessler received her teacher’s certification from Beth Jacob Jerusalem seminary and her BA from Northeastern Illinois University. She earned her MA and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She has presented at state and national conferences on the topics of innovative education practices, craniofacial anomalies, clinical care, and student supervision.