Ellspermann shakes up Ivy Tech's structure to reward growing campuses

Ellspermann, Indiana’s former lieutenant governor, took on a weighted role when she took the reins of the statewide community college system that had been under increased scrutiny by state leaders for its low student completion rates and shrinking enrollment.

After a year of listening to stakeholders at Ivy Tech campuses across the state and forming a team to determine how the college needs to reposition itself, Ellspermann has devised a formula she believes will set up the struggling system to be successful into the next decade.

The motto behind the reorganization is to put "community" back into community college, she said.

To start, she’s overhauling the existing structure in which multiple campuses report to a regional leadership and a single chancellor. Campuses will now have their own chancellors to whom they’ll report and a community board of trustees comprised of a variety of local leaders, including members from industry and K-12 schools.

David Bathe, who has held the chancellor role for the Lafayette and Kokomo region, was named head of the Lafayette campus on Monday. He said the change will free up more of his time to engage with community boards and to review whether the campus needs to add more programs to serve Greater Lafayette's employment needs.