IUS aims to partner with business to fuel the region's growth

(Dr. Ford's remarks were lightly edited for space).

As a native Louisvillian, who is returning to the region after 20 years away, I have to say, I am impressed with everything going on in the Louisville Metropolitan Area. Communities are thriving, developments are booming. Employment is at an all-time high. From the continuing growth of the River Ridge Commerce Center in Clark County to the development of Blue Oval SK Battery Park in Hardin County, and the multitude of small and large businesses energizing our communities with new ideas, our region is spreading wide its proverbial arms to entrepreneurs, developers, and businesses with a giant flashing open sign. The development boom would not be possible without the fine work of financial, accounting, and human resources professionals like those members of FEI.

I am here today because Indiana University Southeast is a partner in the region’s growth, but we want to elevate our partnerships to a new level as we build bridges. A level that I hope will involve many of you. I am proud to say that eighty-six percent of our students come from our 19-county service region, 11 counties in Indiana, and 8 counties here in Kentucky. After graduation, 80 percent of our graduates remain in the area long-term to live, work, and raise their families. 

Our most recent graduate outcomes top all of Indiana University with 98 percent, yes, 98 percent, of our 2022 graduates either employed or attending graduate school one year post graduation. Of those graduates working, 97 percent are working full-time, in careers related to their area of study AND they are working locally, in the communities we serve. This is quite a remarkable record that provides great momentum. 

At IU Southeast we provide a world-class, internationally renowned Indiana University degree in a personalized high-touch environment. Think big university resources with small college accessibility. 

Our strategy is built around three pillars of success:

1. Student success and opportunity

2. Transformative research and creativity, and

3. Service to Indiana and beyond

Let me talk briefly about each of these areas and why it matters to you.

Student success and opportunity

We attract, retain, and graduate students who receive an extraordinary and affordable education. We offer excellent opportunities to learn with more than 150 undergraduate and 50 graduate degrees, concentrations, and certificates in areas of business, education, nursing, social and natural sciences, and the arts. All of our programs provide the knowledge, skills, and values you are looking for to advance your organizations. 

We know that our graduates are successful. I have personally heard testimony from alumni, business owners, and people throughout the community that IU Southeast graduates are the best teachers, best nurses, best accountants, best bankers, best leaders, …well you get the picture. IU Southeast Graduates are Ready!

Not only are our students well prepared, but they enter the workforce with less student loan debt. Our tuition is the lowest of any four-year college or university in the region and with $15.7 million in aid awarded annually, our graduates have lower student loan debt. In fact 51 percent of our graduates have no financial loan debt at all! Of those who do have student loan obligations, our student debt is 30 percent less than the average student loan debt amount of college graduates in Indiana or Kentucky.

Recently, IU Southeast was ranked by Third Way, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, in the top 20 percent of colleges and universities nationwide for helping students from low- and moderate-income households to attain a college degree and provide a strong return on their educational investment. Not only are we ranked 125th of 1,410 colleges and universities, but we are also the only tier-one university in this region to provide the best economic and generational mobility for graduates. The support we show our students positions them for a better financial future for themselves and their families for generations to come.

Our goal at Indiana University Southeast is to enroll a broader representation of our region and attract even more first-generation students whose education will not only transform their lives but the lives of their families. I speak from experience as I was the first in my family to attend and graduate from college. My college education transformed my life and opened doors I never knew existed. This is what I hope for so many young people in our community, an opportunity to grow, to advance, to achieve their dream. 

We are accomplishing this goal by working closely with education partners like Dr. Travis Haire, chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College Sellersburg, and Dr. Ty Handy, chancellor of Jefferson Community and Technical College, as well as the superintendents of schools throughout the 19-county region. We have set up direct admissions programs with these two community colleges, offering new freshmen enrolled in an associate degree program at either Ivy Tech Community College or Jefferson Community and Technical College a guaranteed transfer pathway to IU Southeast. Together, we are lifting up a generation of learners and leaders for a better future across our region.

Transformative Research

The second pillar of the IU 2030 strategic plan, Transformative research and creativity, works hand in glove with student success and opportunity. Our curriculum and methods of teaching revolve around hands-on learning, research, and creative pursuit. We educate tomorrow’s leaders prepared to lead as innovators by offering a unique combination of research, discovery, entrepreneurship, and knowledge generation that builds upon the expertise of our faculty scholars. We call this the IU Southeast Experience.

Our approach is market-driven. Our faculty and staff have spent decades building relationships with industry professionals in Louisville and Southern Indiana. Local leaders, like you, tell us what skills you are looking for when recruiting new employees. You identify the skills, and we fill in the educational needs. Then, when our students graduate, they have the knowledge needed to secure their dream jobs while helping the economy of our region grow and thrive. It’s a win-win-win for students, for your organizations, and for the region.

For example, all students participate in excursions beginning in their first year. These trips, whether local or abroad, provide opportunities to apply what is learned in the classroom into practice in the real world, to help students focus on their career objectives and get hands-on learning opportunities. One of our transformative excursions last year was to MCM CPAs & Advisors. After that visit, students expressed a clearer vision of their careers following graduation. It was life-changing for some of them. Let us know how we can partner with you to plan an excursion with your organization. 

Excursions combined with learning communities, laboratory and studio learning, undergraduate research and creative projects, mentoring, internships, and study abroad opportunities prepare IU Southeast graduates empowered to change the world. That empowerment leads us to our last strategic pillar, service to Indiana and beyond. 

It is our goal to serve as an integral community partner, responding to the needs of our region. We are committed to being a steward of place; to embrace our responsibility to serve as a cultural and economic hub of our region. We want IU Southeast to serve as the center for regional advancement to address community, cultural, workforce, economic, education, and health needs. In other words, build more bridges for talented leaders to learn more, and do more within our communities and beyond. One way that we do that is to connect our campus resources with business and industry.

The new partnership between IU Southeast and the NovaParke Innovation and Technology Campus is a marriage of higher education, business incubation, entrepreneurship, and government that will serve as a role model for business development in Southern Indiana. We hope this new partnership will produce the next Shady Rays, a Simpsonville sunglass company developed and led by alumnus Chris Ratterman, MBA class of 2013; the next Rivera Group, a nationally recognized IT defense contractor located in Sellersburg, started by Joey Rivera, Bachelor of General Studies with business concentration, class of 1993; the next Solid Light, Louisville’s visionary design company and industry leader founded and led by graduate Cynthia Torp, Bachelor of Arts/Fine Arts, class of 1984; or the next Summit CPA, led by Bill Eversole, Bachelor of Science in Business/Accounting, class of 1999. Successful companies, such as these were made possible by imagination, tenacity, resource investment, and an IU Southeast education. 

Service to Community

Additionally, we have regional experts and researchers at your disposal.

• Dr. Uric Dufrene, whom you all know, is a professor of finance and Sander’s Chair of Business. Uric tracks economic development, career, and employment trends to inform business and industry about the strengths and weaknesses of our local economy. 

• Dr. Melissa Fry is an associate professor of sociology, Director of the Applied Research and Education Center, and Director of Community Engagement and Service Learning. Her work focuses on community development through applied research, serving area nonprofit organizations, government entities, and coalitions. It's possible that some of you serve on a board or foundation that has worked with Melissa’s team as they’ve provided issue-based research on the region including needs assessments, strategic planning, and program evaluation.

• And hundreds of faculty members who are subject-matter experts, available for speaking engagements, consultations, customized training programs, and more.

We also want to involve you on our campus and with our students. One way to do that is Employer Connect. We make it easy for you to connect with our campus and for our students to connect with your organization.

We can help provide you with highly skilled and educated talent to fill your openings, and we can design customized training for your existing workforce to upskill their talents, and develop leaders, making your company more effective and competitive in the ever-changing business climate. 

Do you have a tuition reimbursement program that’s part of your compensation package? Your dollars will go further at IU Southeast than at any educational institution in the area. You attract the workers you need; we help provide the education to advance their careers and their dreams.

How about passing along your knowledge and expertise? We have a few ways to get involved: 

• Be a guest speaker in our classrooms, 
• Host an excursion to your business to learn first-hand what you do, or 
• Mentor a student interested in your area of business, 

If you have a professional need that no one is fulfilling, let’s discuss it. It is likely we will find a solution that is mutually beneficial.

And, of course, keep hiring our students as interns and our amazing graduates. 

Get involved. It is easy. 

Simply pick up the phone or drop me an email at debford@iu.edu. I want to meet with you to discuss how IU Southeast can help you, your organization, our community, and our region. I am here to build bridges for our mutual success. Let’s partner for a more prosperous Kentuckiana region.

Thank you and all the best for continued success!

Dr. Deborah Ford spoke to FEI Louisville on Sept. 19.  She became chancellor of Indiana University Southeast in July 2023.