Indianapolis - Thomas Snyder is still weeks away from stepping into the president's office of Indiana's second largest state college, but he is already making big plans for Ivy Tech.

The community college is expected to help shape Indiana's economy and job market.

Snyder hit the ground walking, listening and talking as he visited campuses throughout the state.

"Those of you who said the mortuary program was dead, I didn't think that was very funny," Snyder said.

Thomas Snyder also isn't laughing about the harsh reality he sees from the helm of Indiana's Community College.

"We have a state that doesn't have a college-going atmosphere, a college-going tradition," Snyder claimed.

Snyder recognizes Ivy Tech's campuses as gateways for students seeking four-year college degrees or jobs demanding more than high school diplomas.

He cites long running statistics showing half of Indiana's teenagers not going on to college or even finishing high school.

"That is half a million young people under the age of 30 we need to get in an educational institution because they are not going to be able to do jobs of the future without work beyond high school," Snyder said.

In fact, major employers recently agreed to expand or locate in Indiana on the condition Ivy Tech guarantee the necessary training for workers.

In the last 10 years, Ivy Tech's enrollment increased 75 percent.

More than 100,000 students attend classes on 23 campuses across the state.

Snyder wants enrollment increased by an additional 30,000 to 40,000 students.

"Even at that, we will be well below the states around us as far as percentage of students in college and the percentage of students in community college," Snyder said.

Thomas Snyder says one of his first jobs as president is to tell the story of and raise awareness about Ivy Tech. The community college is known better around the state than it is in Indianapolis. A near $70 million building and renovation program for the inner city campus will help change that.

Snyder takes office July 1st and with it, the responsibility of filling a void in the future of Indiana's economy.