Q&A with Ivy Tech South Bend-Elkhart Chancellor Patrick Englert
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As chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College South Bend-Elkhart, Patrick Englert oversees almost 150 employees and over 14,000 students across two campuses serving undergraduates from Marshall, Elkhart and St. Joseph counties with 51 academic programs. The South Bend and Elkhart campuses hope to reach 3000 program completions by October 1. Currently, more than 2,500 completions have been awarded.
He joined Ivy Tech in 2022 as the statewide vice president of student success and retention strategy and has 20 years of experience in higher education. He previously spearheaded academic advising, testing and assessment, tutoring, library and wraparound services and the IvyAchieves program.
Englert spoke to Inside INdiana Business about the values he considers in decision-making, under-utilized programs the school offers and his vision for Ivy Tech in the region.
This article has been edited for brevity and clarity.
How’s it been so far?
It’s been really good. People are just really nice and friendly. I was kind of worried when I first came but what I found is, people here are just friendly, open. They assume the best. So with partnerships and collaborations, people have been like, “Yeah, sure, let’s connect.” So it’s been really good. The other thing I would say, I was most recently in Indy, but most of my life I’ve been in Louisville, Kentucky, between the Midwest and the South. So you don’t get that same level of friendliness you get in the Midwest. So I’ve loved being in South Bend and meeting the people here.
Are you originally from Louisville? What was it like growing up?
Yes. I am a first generation college student, I went to Western Kentucky [University]. I grew up in a supportive household. My mom was a librarian at a local school, and my dad worked for the railroad. He was a signal technician. I would say we were a household of learners. Whereas a lot of times families will support sports, my sister and I, neither one of us were very talented in sports. So we did a lot of reading, art and things like that. Both of my parents were also learners at heart, even though they didn’t graduate from college.
Louisville is a great town, has a little bit of everything for everybody, so just really a great place to grow up. I don’t know that I thought that I would stay there most of my life, but I did. I went away to college at Western Kentucky and then went away to Iowa to work and manage residence halls. I came back to the area because my mom was sick and started my job at Bellarmine University. I literally thought I’d be there for maybe a couple years; I was there close to 15 years just based on it being a great institution, and I just really appreciated their mission. It’s the same reason I love Ivy Tech; our mission drives the work we do. I love that at Ivy Tech we’re open access, which means education is a game changer for everybody and we’ll meet people where they’re at.
Did you always know you’d end up in education?
When I was growing up, I thought I would be a dentist. I was probably not the most mature or prepared for my undergrad experience. Luckily, I had a lot of really supportive people that gave me grace, supported and mentored me. I changed my major a couple times, started out as a photojournalism major, switched to just journalism, switched to art and then to psychology. I actually have most of my credits in psychology. I freaked out about stats, I was never great at math at the time and so I switched finally to English literature. If anybody ever asks, “What do you do with a English Lit degree?” I always say it’s a great degree because you can write, you can think critically, and so it’s served me well.
Somewhere in my college journey, I became an RA. I worked on a floor and I just had great professionals that mentored me and said, “Do you know you can make a career out of this and you can work at a college or university for your life?” And I was like, I want to do that. Probably in my junior year, I realized that’s what I wanted to do. So I went to Iowa and worked at Loras College, then eventually got my masters of education in college student counseling and personnel services from the University of Louisville. Through all that, I realized I wanted to be in a helping profession, in a field where I could connect with people, hear their stories and then in some way help them. That’s been the through-thread of my career, using education as a tool to help people.
How have you been able to navigate through moments that have not gone the way you planned?
I’m a huge believer in not having regrets. Everything that happens in our lives teaches us a lesson. That doesn’t mean it’s not really hard or that it’s not unfair. I think a lot about just the privilege that I’ve had over the years. Then there’s been other spaces where I haven’t, but I would say that life continues to surprise me. A good example would be this position. I moved into my position at Ivy Tech in Indy about a year and a half ago or more. I was really excited about that, really loving the adventure and just digging into it. Then this opportunity presented itself. Leadership asked if I’d be willing to go to South Bend and just help out and I said absolutely. It’s just my partner and I and our dogs so I have the flexibility to do that. I’d been up here a couple times visiting to work on retention in my previous job. Before I came, I had no intention of wanting the job long term. I wanted to help and then get back to Indy to do the work that I was doing before. But I fell in love with the campus, I fell in love with our faculty and staff and students and just the community. So it’s a good example of what was not on my radar, becoming a chancellor, but is such a gift and an opportunity.
I had a mentor at Bellarmine that talked a lot about the privilege of working in higher education and I hold that with me every day, thinking what a gift it is to be able to plant the seeds. You don’t always see the end product but you hope that a couple of years down the road, you get to see how people grow and bloom and that’s such a gift. So while there’s been challenges along the way, I think my approach to life is to really think those are opportunities to learn and to grow and to surround yourself with people who pour into you and who you can also do the same for.
What’s your long term goal as Chancellor?
A big part of Ivy Tech’s mission is making sure that we’re helping students find high paying wages and connecting them to up-and-coming careers that speak to what’s going on in the community. So I think about industry and workforce a lot. There’s lots of exciting industry coming to the area from Amazon, Microsoft, the GM battery plant, etc. So how do we continue to make sure that what we’re offering is really speaking to the evolving workforce? Whether that’s advanced manufacturing or whether that’s early childhood, making sure we’re meeting the industry standards and planning for the future.
As I think about Elkhart and the campus there, I want to continue bolstering the student experience. So how do we get more students on the campus? Especially post-COVID, wanting to make sure that we’re offering the right programs in regards to academics, that we’re creating a sense of belonging for students on both campuses and that we’re really meeting students where they are regardless of their journey, whether you’re a high school student doing dual-enrolled classes or a student right out of high school looking for that next step. When I was in high school, I didn’t have the opportunity. I mean, there were a couple AP classes. There were a couple of dual credits, maybe six hours of credit. Now you can come out with an Associate’s, you can come out with a lot of credit. So how do we continue to build that model and serve the community?
If I could go back and do it again, I would have gone to a community college because I would have saved money. I would have gotten to explore a lot of different trades and majors that I just wasn’t exposed to. Also for our adult students that are looking for that next step, maybe they want to continue the career they’re currently in or explore something different. I love that we get to create a pathway for such a diverse set of student populations.
Englert speaks on his priorities as Ivy Tech Community College South Bend-Elkhart chancellor.
Why should people across the region consider attending Ivy Tech?
First and foremost, just the program offerings. We have 50-plus programs to choose from that we offer here on our campus, not including all of the programs systemwide. We also have IvyOnline, so we’re able to offer different modalities for students to meet their needs. We have partnerships with workforce so that perhaps your company will pay for you to take classes.
What I love is really the investment of our faculty and staff. They’re going to support students through their journey. I might use the word hand holding. They’re going to meet with you when you first explore what program you want to pursue. We’re going to be there for you through classes you might struggle with. We offer tutoring, testing, disability student services, and our faculty are just so approachable and connectable.
The last piece, I would say, is the Career Link, which we offer. Working with students to help them find the job they’re looking for, to explore options in the community, whether that’s an apprenticeship or some type of program that has a clinical experience. For example, through our partnership with Beacon Health, students can have their tuition paid for and also get placed within a Beacon facility to continue their work. So there’s just lots of opportunities to connect that workforce with the degree that they’re getting.
Plus, I think the new generation is really smart to think about what is the overall pay? Does it meet their passion? Do they feel really motivated and feel like it’s something they’re going to be able to do that gives back or meets what they want to do? And then to be able to do that in a semester to get a certificate or to be able to do that in less than two years to get a degree, it’s a good stair step. Then you can move on to get your four year degree if you want to.
Are there any underutilized programs that are available that residents are not taking full advantage?
Yes, I would just highlight three programs that speak to the heart of what we do as a community college.
IvyAchieves is a Lilly-funded program. It focuses on successful habit completion. So the idea is, if you complete these eight habits, you’re more likely to persist and continue to be successful. Now, these are not things that are necessarily earth shattering but they’re really important. For example, complete your FAFSA, meet with an advisor, meet with a career coach. These are things that if students do, they’re able to see the success. They could also qualify for an unmet need scholarship. They get that one-on-one follow up, so they’re getting communications and check-ins from staff members at the campus. So that’s one, and I love that program. It’s a great way for us to think about how we connect with students.
The second one is our IvyCares program. It’s the umbrella for wraparound services, I would say. Every student that comes to our campus needs something. I think sometimes there’s a stigma attached to food insecurity, rent insecurity or whatever it may be. IvyCares is really that space where students can access wraparound services and resources. Maybe they’re just having a day where they didn’t pack lunch and they need a snack, they can go to our food pantry on campus and get a snack. So it’s our way of saying we’re here for you, we’re here to support you, and that’s what community colleges do best. We recognize our students have lots of needs. They’re juggling many priorities, and so we want to really support them.
This summer, I was really challenged because I feel like not enough of our community knew about it, but we do Free Summer. High school students can come to campus and take classes for free, which is an incredible opportunity, that’s something I’m excited to promote further. I’m hopeful we’ll continue to offer it because it just gives everyone a chance to get some extra credits, come to campus or take classes online and see what it’s like.
Given your background in retention, are there any specific strategies you’re putting in place to increase the student enrollment and graduation rates at Ivy Tech?
Community college provides some challenges. We tend to have a high population, just in general. If you look at the research around, students stop out because they have life happening or they might have other priorities. Oftentimes they might stop out and take a semester off or a term off. Ivy Tech offers eight week classes, which I think helps with some of that. So you could take an eight week class and then take eight weeks off if you need to, then be right back for the spring and still reach your goals.
In regards to strategies and interventions, I’m a huge fan of human touch, meaning really doing that case management. Our advisors, our faculty, all stakeholders do outreach and some of that is picking up the phone and calling, other times it’s sending a text message or email. If we see a student struggling in a course, doing outreach to make sure they know that we have resources and that somebody cares is huge. If we haven’t seen you in a semester, we can follow up to see where you are in regards to your goals? Has something changed? Would you like to come back? Maybe you’re looking at a different program, maybe you’re struggling to find tuition dollars; can we connect you to a scholarship? So it’s a lot of case management, a lot of leveraging different programs.
The other piece is really around academic preparedness, making sure we’re utilizing a knowledge assessment, which helps with figuring out those core gateway classes, ensuring the students are in the right class. Also leveraging our tutoring center, taking away that stigma of, “I only go to tutoring if I lack the resources that I need.” No, everybody can use tutoring and it will probably help us be better in the classroom.
We just started an early arrival program for students and it’s 18 to 21 years old, that just gives them a little extra start at the beginning of the semester. We have a mentoring program attached to that. So just looking for ways to to build that sense of community and sense of belonging.
What are some of the values you’ve used in decision making over the years?
I’m very human-centric and so it’s important for me to listen, to get to know faculty, staff and students. I spent the majority of my career at Bellarmine University and one of their core values is hospitality. That’s how I approached my leadership, finding that hospitality within. So if I’m walking through the halls, I’m saying hello and checking in with people.
I also want to challenge folks to reach for their goals and be the best they can be. So I’m often looking at their skills, talents, strengths and saying, “Hey, I think you’d be great for this, or I think this would be an awesome opportunity. Have you thought about it?” Trying to push people to stretch and then the other thing is I want to be willing to do whatever I would ask my team to do, to be there with them. That’s how you build community and that’s how you build belonging. I want to be able to celebrate birthdays and celebrate special occasions and you only do that by listening and really building that out.
Many of my roles have presented challenging times because sometimes you’re dealing with people in their worst moments and sometimes you’re dealing with them in their best moments. At a previous institution, one of the people I worked with said that, as leaders we get to hold people’s souls and spirits in our hands and that’s always stuck with me. When somebody comes into your office and they’re telling you about a challenge they’re having or something going on in their life, to be present in that moment and to listen to them because they’re trusting you and they’re instilling faith in you to be there for them. So that’s what I always go back to, “How can I be in the moment and how can I make the best decisions to move us all forward and have the biggest impact on our community?”
What does the day to day look like in the life of a chancellor?
It’s exciting. No day feels the same. It’s typically meeting with quite a few people, whether that’s internal or external stakeholders. It’s also exciting because you get to wear multiple hats. You might be talking to donors, you might be talking to business folks in the community, you might be sitting down to talk to a student about challenges they’re having or a faculty member that is interested in doing something unique or innovative on campus. So it’s really a lot of different pieces. Ivy Tech is unique because you’re serving your campus but you’re also working with the system. That presents lots of great opportunities to collaborate across campuses, to really think about things on a larger scale.
I would describe myself as more of an introvert. At the end of the day or the end of the week, I need that time to renew and reset because the majority of the day is interacting with people and and just really getting to engage with the community to set the vision for the campus, which is an awesome opportunity.