INDIANAPOLIS — For Frank Dooley and Sue Ellspermann, the fact that 1.9 million employed Hoosiers lack some type of degree or college degree is no cause for despair. Instead, they see many opportunities to help increase the mobility, skills, and financial status of workers throughout Indiana through education.
More than 100 leaders from Purdue Global, Ivy Tech Community College, and state and local economic development and labor groups gathered Nov. 9 to celebrate and expand these opportunities.
Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann with Purdue Global Chancellor Frank Dooley. (Photo Purdue University/Rebecca McElhoe)
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DooleyChancellor of Purdue Global, and Ellspermanpresident of Ivy Tech, celebrated the successful partnership between the two Indiana-based schools.
“The summit highlighted the unique opportunities we have to impact the lives of adults, employers, the labor market and our communities by leveraging two incredible institutions,” Ellspermann said. “We have a shared commitment to career paths for mature students that lead to high-paying, high-demand careers that qualify and reskill our workforce.”
Citing numerous examples of partnership, Dooley said the two institutions are leveraging their resources for working adult learners, including recognition of prior learning and more pathways for credentials and degrees.
“Purdue Global is part of Purdue land grant mission. The bottom line is that we provide opportunities. We need to think broadly about our public service mission to our communities,” Dooley said. “We are always looking to expand access to education and help more students succeed in their career paths.”
This is especially important as Indiana competes for new jobs in areas such as electric vehicle components, semiconductors and defense-related industries, or as traditional economic forces in Hoosier, such as agriculture and manufacturing, are experiencing increasing technological advancements. An example of an Indiana-based semiconductor company is SkyWater Technology, which announced in July that it build a new $1.8 billion semiconductor fab in the Discovery Park District at Purdue, creating 750 new jobs.
Purdue Global and Ivy Tech have several agreements in place to transfer students and their course credits seamlessly between the two institutions. A student earning an associate’s degree from Ivy Tech, which is the state’s primary provider of these degrees, can then seamlessly apply their credits to Purdue Global to progress to a bachelor’s degree.
The close partnership between institutions leads the nation in best practices related to the exchange and acceptance of college credits and prior learning credits.
Talent development: the new frontier
Summit participants learned more about what is happening in the areas of workforce development and economic development. A panel discussion, “Indiana’s Workforce Landscape,” was moderated by Chris Lowerycommissioner of Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Lowery shared that policies, programs and partnerships are all critical to expanding educational opportunities for Indiana residents “at the speed of business,” especially for the 1.9 million working Hoosiers who want obtain credentials and degrees.
Panelists included Kevin Brinegar, President and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce; Marie Mackintosh, President and CEO of EmployIndy; Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner David Adams; and Tony Denhart, executive vice president of labor and talent at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
Numerous reports have been published by groups such as the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and Ascend Indiana and EmployIndy on the talent development needs of various stakeholders and industries so that employers, employees and educators are prepared for changes in the economy. Economic development and talent development have added a new component as Indiana state officials include education opportunities and partnerships as part of the portfolio to attract new employers to Indiana.
Indiana Commission on Higher Education Commissioner Chris Lowery moderates a panel at the Purdue Global/Ivy Tech Summit on Nov. 9. Pictured, left to right, Lowery; Tony Denhart, executive vice president of labor and talent at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation; David Adams, Indiana Workforce Development Commissioner; Marie Mackintosh, President and CEO of EmployIndy; and Kevin Brinegar, president and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. (Photo Purdue University/Rebecca McElhoe)
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Denhart, who moderated the panel “Our Role in Helping Shape Indiana’s Future,” said the EDIC focuses on job quality rather than job quantity, while seeking to diversify jobs across the state.
In addition to these partnerships, Denhart said IEDC focuses on the “5Es” when speaking with employers looking to expand or locate in Indiana: environment/quality of place, economics of future, entrepreneurship, energy and external commitment.
“For the economy of the future, we’re looking at the workplace and what workers of the future will need,” Denhart said. “We are looking 10 and 20 years ahead. We look at life sciences, quantum computing, aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and artificial intelligence/machine learning. Relationships are important for both economic development and talent development.
Purdue Global and Ivy Tech are continually working together to be more responsive to the rapidly changing needs of the workforce that Denhart and others have spoken about in the roundtables.
These activities range from new classes to working with employers to provide affordable educational opportunities to providing additional resources to working adult learners.
Purdue Global is rebuilding its teaching model to provide more support for student success, including adding student coaching and mentoring.
Tiffany Townsend, Vice President of Organizational Culture and Chief Diversity Officer at Purdue Global, and Amber Williams, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Employee Belonging at Ivy Tech, presented “Diversity, Equity , inclusion and belonging: building a fundamental approach to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging together. They explored how Purdue Global and Ivy Tech make students from all walks of life feel like they belong. Responses have been collected and will be used to develop plans that will be shared with faculty and staff in the future.
“If we start with the end in mind — thinking about students and how they graduate — it affects how we approach our work together,” Dooley said.
Ivy Tech is expanding its Associate of Nursing degree program, addressing the statewide healthcare worker shortage. To expand, they worked with vendors to have additional clinical sites to handle increased enrollment.
“Working adult learners come to Ivy Tech and Purdue Global to find a better path forward, more prosperity, and/or more fulfillment in their careers. These are our ‘traditional’ students, and we are committed to meeting them where they are and helping them succeed,” Ellspermann said.
Both institutions teach at scale – Purdue Global offering classes to more than 35,000 students, and Ivy Tech teaching at 46 locations across Indiana.
“We have to be responsive to the opportunities that come our way,” Dooley said. “If we – Purdue Global and Ivy Tech – realize the need, we can adapt our programs and career paths faster than others.”
About Ivy Tech Community College
Ivy Tech Community College is Indiana’s largest public post-secondary institution and the largest statewide system of accredited community colleges, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana and also serves thousands of students each year online. It serves as the state’s workforce development engine, offering associate degrees, short-term certificate programs, industry certifications, and training that aligns with the needs of the community. The College offers seamless transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana, as well as out of state, for a more affordable path to a bachelor’s degree. Follow Ivy Tech on Facebook, Twitter, instagram and LinkedIn for the latest information.
About Purdue Global
Purdue Global offers personalized online training tailored to the unique needs of adults who have work or life experience outside of the classroom, allowing them to develop essential academic and career skills with the support and flexibility they need. need to achieve their career goals. It offers students personalized paths to an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, prior college credits, and other considerations – no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a public, nonprofit university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It is affiliated with the flagship institution of Purdue University, a top-tier public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University also operates regional campuses in Fort Wayne and northwest Indiana, as well as science, engineering, and technology students at the Indiana University campus at the University Purdue of Indianapolis (IUPUI). For more information, visit https://stories.purdue.edu/purdue-global/.
Writer/media contact: Matthew Oates, 765-586-7496 (mobile); oatesw@purdue.edu; @mo_oates
Sources: Beth Gillon
Russ Baker
Tony Dehart
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