Ivy Tech makes appointments aimed at boosting completions
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Ivy Tech Community College has made a pair of leadership appointments—one being a new position—toward its efforts to help students complete the programs in which they have enrolled.
Chris Huang will serve as the vice president for academic systems and completion strategy, Ivy Tech said in a Monday news release. In the new role for the college, he will support the school’s records and registration efforts with an eye toward helping students complete their degrees or certificates.
Bryan Hamann has been promoted to the role of vice president for student success and retention strategy, a position in which he has served as interim vice president. He helps lead the college’s advising, student life, student programs and retention efforts.
The college said it has “reimagined” the two positions to deliver its goal of 50,000 annual completions aligned with Indiana’s workforce.
Since 2016 Ivy Tech has focused on improving student completions of industry-aligned degrees and credentials, the news release said. In that time, student completions have increased 119%. In academic year 2023-2024, more than 46,000 certifications, certificates and associate degrees were awarded.
Huang, who holds a master’s degree in communication from Purdue University Northwest and a bachelor’s in psychology from Calvin College, comes to Ivy Tech from Purdue University Fort Wayne, where he served as associate vice chancellor and registrar. He sits on the board of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
“I am humbled and honored to serve in this inaugural position,” he said in the news release. “Ivy Tech’s mission as an open-access college, with a culture of innovation, aligns with my professional experiences at private and public institutions.”
Hamann assumed his role after Patrick Englert earlier this year became Ivy Tech chancellor for the South Bend-Elkhart campus. Hamann holds a doctorate in higher education leadership from Bellarmine University, a master’s degree in education/student affairs from Western Kentucky University and a bachelor’s in communication, public relations and advertising from The University of Evansville. Previously he was Ivy Tech’s executive director of project implementation and support.
“Ivy Tech is more than a college. For our students, it is the starting point for their aspirations and a brighter future,” Hamann said in the news release. “I’m proud to be a part of an institution that has so many faculty and staff members committed to the success of our students and the student experience.”
Ivy Tech Community College is Indiana’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system.