Ivy Tech Community College’s President Gerald I. Lamkin celebrates 249th commencement

INDIANAPOLIS – Sunday (5/20) Ivy Tech Community College President Gerald I. Lamkin will participate in his 249th, and final, Ivy Tech Community College commencement. He will be the featured speaker at the Ivy Tech Community College-Southeast’s graduation ceremony.  The ceremony, being held at 1 p.m. at the Horner Center in Hanover, includes graduates from Ivy Tech’s Madison, Lawrenceburg, and Batesville campuses.

Lamkin will step down as president of Ivy Tech Community College on June 30 after serving the College in various capacities since 1967.  He is the longest standing current president of a public institution of higher education in Indiana. He assumed the role of president in 1983 and has led the college through tremendous growth. Under his leadership Ivy Tech’s enrollment has increased more than 300% and the College’s operating budget has increased from $42.6 million to $267.7 million. It was also during Lamkin’s presidency that Governor Mitch Daniels signed Senate Bill 296, which made Ivy Tech the state’s community college system.

Ivy Tech Community College’s growth is inspiring, but for President Lamkin it is graduation ceremonies that truly capture the emotion behind the College’s mission to change lives.

“It has always been about the students for me.  Having seen nearly 250 graduations, there is nothing that matches the joyful celebrations that take place at Ivy Tech graduation ceremonies.  That may be what I will miss the most as I leave this terrific community college,” he said.

Sunday’s ceremony is the last of 14 Ivy Tech commencements held this around the state this spring. More than 7,000 students received Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana associate degrees or technical certificates.

Tom Snyder will become Ivy Tech’s eighth president on July 1.  Snyder served as the President of Delco Remy International, INC in Anderson Indiana from 1994-2006 and is currently the Chairman of the Flagship Energy Systems Center (FESC) in Anderson.  During his 11 years with Delco Remy International he established a new business model and diversified the company from a captive General Motors supplier to a global leader in truck, off road and aftermarket products, increasing the company in size from $500 million  to over $1.3 billion  in sales and worldwide employment from 1,500 to 6,000.

In his current role, Snyder assists in the development of small business incubators and early businesses accelerator of emerging energy and electronic technologies.  The FESC is a unit of Flagship Enterprise Center, Indiana’s second certified technology park and the state’s first energy-focused center of excellence.  Leading technologies include hybrid systems, lithium batteries, solid oxide fuel cells and alternative fuels.   Twelve energy-related companies are now clients of the Anderson-based incubator.

Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s second largest public post-secondary institution with over 100,000 students enrolled annually.  Ivy Tech has 23 campuses throughout Indiana.  It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana.  It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools