The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Editorial posted on Tue, May. 08, 2007

Ivy Tech’s promise:
Community College can help economic development and make higher education easier.
One of the best education initiatives ever undertaken by the state was the transformation of Indiana Vocational Technical College into Ivy Tech Community College, which was signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels just two years ago. If the institution can fulfill its potential as a true community college under incoming President Tom Snyder, it can give all Hoosiers a better chance at a higher education. It can also help the state develop the educated and skilled workforce that is needed for today’s ever-changing economic environment.

As a statewide system, Ivy Tech can offer its 14 state regions the benefits of a large scale – standardized courses and degree offerings – but its 23 campuses can tailor programs to fit individual communities and even specific companies with unique skill-set needs. It is a system unique in the nation, and the state could do worse than to promote it heavily during efforts to sell businesses and industries on the benefits of moving to Indiana.

Ivy Tech has two state-mandated missions – its workforce and economic-development role and acting as a feeder system for four-year institutions. It can do both but clearly must focus primarily on one or the other. The selection of Snyder, a retired businessman from Anderson, to succeed Gerald Lamkin when he steps down June 30, is a clear indication that a majority of Ivy Tech trustees favor the economic-development emphasis.

That seems the right choice to us. Most Ivy Tech credits are already recognized by four-year Hoosier schools, and Ivy Tech campuses are well-placed enough for all Hoosiers to have easy access. Preparing students who wish to go that far for two more years of college will be the easier part of Ivy Tech’s mission. Advancing technology and the need for workers to learn more skills than they started work with will make the economic-development role much more challenging.

Snyder seems quite capable of managing that challenge. In addition to serving as president of Delco Remy International, transforming it from a General Motors supplier to a global leader, he has assisted in the development of small-business incubators for emerging energy and electronic technologies. He was in town last week to visit the Fort Wayne campus and talked about Ivy Tech’s opportunity to take the lead on training and education for the jobs of the future. “I want to change Ivy Tech’s image, do much more outreach and work on identifying specific urban and rural workforce needs.”

Ivy Tech has grown tremendously since its founding in 1966, serving more than 100,000 students a year (second in enrollment to Indiana University) with 150 degree programs. It has a healthy two-year budget just approved by the General Assembly – a 6.4 percent increase this year and 6 percent next year. It has $163 million of capital cash and/or bonding authority with which to fund planned expansions at many of its campuses. It has a clear, sensible mission and a leader with vision and the experience to make it work.
The selection of Snyder was a contentious process during which the Ivy Tech board of trustees violated the Indiana Open Door Law and got a lot of embarrassing publicity. But the process should not be confused for the person.

If Ivy Tech is to fulfill its promise, it needs the right leader for the right mission. Hoosiers should give Sny- der the chance to show he is that leader.

By the numbers
$705 million: Amount Ivy Tech contributes to Indiana economy annually as its direct expenditures boost additional business and co consumer spending.

9,956: Number of Hoosiers employed by Ivy Tech – 2,300 full-time and 3,800 part-time faculty members, administrators and staff. In addition, the college indirectly supports thousands more jobs.

$296.4 million: Amount in salaries and wages Ivy Tech is responsible for – its own payroll of $146 million and more than $150 million in additional earnings for other Indiana workers.

$5.09: The return for every $1 spent on Ivy Tech. In 2005-06, the state appropriation for Ivy Tech’s operations was $138.6 million. The college’s total economic impact was $705 million.

6,000-plus: The number of graduates per year. In 2004-05, Ivy Tech graduated 6,315 students with an associate degree or technical certificate.

74 percent: The increase in annual lifetime earnings for Ivy Tech graduates compared to Hoosiers with only a high school diploma.

37 percent: How much more today’s Ivy Tech graduates will earn than the average of Hoosiers already in the workforce with some college education or an associate degree.

23.1 percent: The mediate rate of return on the investments in money and foregone earnings made by 2004-05 Ivy Tech graduates – about five times higher than the yield on a personal savings account.

15.1 percent: The rate of return to Indiana taxpayers from the state’s investment in Ivy Tech graduates.
Source: Ivy Tech

By Leo Morris for the editorial board