News Release
December 12, 2005
Indiana’s higher education future gets $2.7 million boost from Lumina Foundation for Education
INDIANAPOLIS – Two separate Lumina Foundation for Education grants totaling $2.7 million will help guide strategic planning efforts to strengthen the future of higher education in Indiana.One grant for $750,000 has been awarded to the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Foundation to work in collaboration with the Governor’s Office and the state’s public colleges and universities to create a strategic direction for higher education in Indiana.
The grant will provide national research and data collection support to state government, higher education and business leaders as they extend the conversation begun by the government efficiency commission in late 2004. The team will collaborate with higher education institutions as the institutions assess existing capabilities and develop specific plans for excellence to align Hoosier higher education with the changing Indiana and global economies. Work will be completed by the fall of 2006.
David Shane, senior adviser to Governor Mitch Daniels for education and employment, will assist the effort. “This is very important work by the institutions for the state’s future,” said Shane. “It will assure greater student success, improve statewide college retention rates and help retain graduates in the state. We are grateful to Lumina Foundation for making this support available.”
Currently, Indiana ranks in the bottom third of states in terms of average per-capita income and college attainment for its adult population, according to Martha D. Lamkin, president and chief executive officer of Lumina Foundation. “While we do a fair job of getting students into college, too few of them are completing their postsecondary education goals,” said Lamkin.
“We must do a better job of meeting the needs of Indiana’s students and providing a well-prepared work force for the future. This grant gives us a unique opportunity to develop programs and policies based on solid research about postsecondary access and success in the state.”
Mark Miles, president and CEO of the partnership, believes Indiana’s economy is dependent upon the opportunities this grant creates. “We see the link between the success of our higher education resources and the future of Indiana’s economy. Our employers are dependent on the creativity and intellectual capability of their employees. We look forward to using this grant to benefit our state as a whole.”
Another Lumina Foundation grant for $2 million will go to Ivy Tech Community College to help the community college system transform programs to meet Indiana’s economic, workforce and student needs. It will help stimulate computer system upgrades to Ivy Tech’s 25-year-old mainframe – efforts the college deems among the most significant higher education undertakings in Indiana.
Dr. Carol D’Amico, Ivy Tech’s executive vice president and chancellor of the college’s Central Indiana campus, said, “We are honored by the investment Lumina Foundation has made in Ivy Tech Community College. This grant will greatly assist us in our efforts to prepare more highly skilled and technically competent workers for the more rigorous, ever-changing demands of the job market.”
Importantly, the Ivy Tech grant will support Hoosier-based efforts that mirror those already underway in a number of states nationwide as part of Lumina Foundation’s multimillion-dollar Achieving the Dream initiative. The initiative emphasizes the use of data to drive change for improved student success in community colleges.
D’Amico said that Ivy Tech will also use the grant to expand training programs that fit the skill needs of Indiana employers and match statewide economic development strategies. The expansion is expected to have an immediate payoff in terms of economic development, since virtually all Ivy Tech graduates stay in the state.
Ivy Tech plans to gather data on its past and current performance, analyze data against other community college systems, as well as Indiana’s workforce needs, and create a strategic plan. That work, combined with information technology (IT) systems upgrades, is expected to increase the number of students, including adult learners who successfully engage in postsecondary education. Ultimately, it will allow students and staff to gain electronic access to a variety of services and departments, including admissions, financial aid, career planning, registration and records.
The work of both grants will build upon the recommendations outlined in a 2004 report by the National Center for Higher Education Management Services (NCHEMS) analyzing higher education in Indiana.
That report, funded by Lumina Foundation, concluded that both economic development and quality of life for Indiana and its citizens depends largely on the expansion and diversification of its postsecondary system. The report provided recommendations to improve the alignment between Indiana’s higher education institutions and its workforce preparation needs.
The grants to Ivy Tech and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership extend Lumina Foundation’s commitment to initiatives that strengthen community colleges and the public higher education system in Indiana. Nationwide, community colleges serve the highest concentration of historically underserved students, who are more at risk of dropping out of school.
Contact:
Dollyne Sherman
Lumina Foundation for Education
dsherman@luminafoundation.org
317.951.5493
Jane Jankowski
Office of the Governor
jjankowski@gov.in.gov
317.232.1622
Jeff Fanter
Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana
jfanter@ivytech.edu
317.921.4502
About Lumina Foundation for Education
Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based, private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school. Through grants for research, innovation, communication, and evaluation, as well as policy education and leadership development, Lumina Foundation addresses issues that affect access and educational attainment among all students, particularly underserved student groups, including adult learners. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in them, and that society can make in its people.
