Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana has announced the creation of its new Department of Workforce and Economic Development and has named former Ivy Tech Community College-East Central Chancellor Dr. J. Robert Jeffs as its Executive Director.

“Ivy Tech is taking an aggressive approach in being the key contributor to economic development by preparing more highly skilled and technically competent workers for the more rigorous, ever changing demands of the job market,” Ivy Tech Community College Executive Vice President Carol D’Amico said.  “Dr. Jeffs has a wealth of experience and will lead our efforts to raise the educational attainment levels of citizens in Indiana.  This is a huge task, a critically important task for the future of our state.  There is no other organization – public or private, that is as poised to change the lives of Hoosiers and help our state on its economic recovery as Ivy Tech Community College.”

In Evansville, the Executive Director of Workforce and Economic Development is Terry Huber.  “This new name illustrates our renewed emphasis on workforce development,” stated Huber.  “We serve over 10,000 students per year through our skills-building services and programs.  In addition, we serve another 2,000 students through our Workforce Certification Center.”  According to Huber, hiring a statewide director allows even greater collaboration throughout Indiana, while allowing each region to focus on local needs and issues.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Ivy Tech and I am honored to spearhead our efforts throughout the state.  The creation of this department represents the focus of our college – to be the engine of workforce and economic development.  This has the potential to be one of the most important things being done in higher education as we move our economy forward in line with the state’s economic plans,” Jeffs said.  “We will be responsive, flexible, and proactive with employers and will bring programs and services on line that will provide new opportunities for companies throughout Indiana.”

Jeffs is a leader in business and industry training in Indiana with over 20 years of experience.  He was recently the project manager for the state of Indiana’s multi-agency effort to make web based instruction available for thousands of home childcare providers.  He served as the co-chair for Ivy Tech’s statewide efforts that increased the capacity for the College to train healthcare workers by 40 percent and has assisted in the development of the College’s new biofuel production worker training program.  He has led training efforts for companies that have moved their operations from other states to Indiana.  He evaluated Workhorse Custom Chassis’ Detroit operations prior to it moving is plant to Union City, Indiana and implemented a comprehensive training program for the company employees.  Jeffs developed the model for casino training for start up operations of Trump and Showboat Casino of Gary and East Chicago gaming operations, training over 3,000 workers.  He has also been instrumental in the retraining of many Hoosiers throughout the state.  He led the efforts to retrain hundreds of Chrysler transmission assembly journeymen electricians for plant expansion in digital and solid state electronics.

Jeffs has spent the last eight years serving as the chancellor at Ivy Tech Community College-East Central with sites in Anderson, Marion and Muncie and has served the college in a leadership role throughout Indiana for 20 years.  Jeffs, a two-time nominee for the Governor’s Workforce award, earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Indiana State, an M.A. in Industrial Arts from Ball State University and a B.A. in biology from Olivet Nazarene.