INDIANAPOLIS – Ivy Tech Community College announced it has appointed Dr. Kathleen Lee (photo attached) to the position of Chancellor of the college’s largest region.
Lee, who has been serving as the region’s Interim Chancellor, will lead the college’s Central Indiana region which serves more than 30,000 students within Indianapolis and the greater Central Indiana community. She replaces Dr. B. Kaye Walter.
Lee brings over 27 years of Ivy Tech experience to her new role. She began her career at Ivy Tech’s Indianapolis campus in 1985 serving as the college’s Director of Clinical Education for the Respiratory Care program. She later went on to serve as Program Director for the Respiratory Care Practitioner Program before she was promoted to Dean of the School of Health Sciences and Public Services. In 2005 she began her service as Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs.
“Dr. Lee is the right person to lead our Central Indiana team. She has been instrumental in the growth of the college, not only in enrollment and graduates, but with the expansion of the campus landscape in downtown Indianapolis, Lawrence and the surrounding communities,” said Ivy Tech President Thomas J. Snyder. “She brings a wealth of experience serving in a variety of different roles at the College. We are excited to have her in this very important leadership position.”
“I’m extremely excited for the challenge ahead, and I’m eager to continue to raise Ivy Tech’s profile in the greater Indianapolis community in order to foster additional initiatives with our workforce and four-year educational partners,” said Lee. “Ivy Tech is increasingly becoming the college of choice for many Central Indiana students and we see nothing but opportunity as we continue to expand the Indianapolis campus.”
Lee has been instrumental in the development of the college’s downtown Indianapolis campus including the recent completion of the campus’ newest academic building located on the former site of the original St. Vincent Hospital, which now houses an additional 211,650 square feet of classrooms, science labs, computer labs, study rooms, community rooms and a campus café. She is currently managing the development and construction of the campus’s newest building, located on the site of the former Stouffer Hotel, which will house Ivy Tech Corporate College and the largest Culinary School in the Midwest. She has assisted in the launch of the college’s newest instructional site, Aerotropolis, on the grounds of the former Indianapolis Airport campus.
In the classroom Lee’s leadership has helped oversee one of the most effective nursing programs in the state of Indiana along with one of the most successful transfer programs, the Passport program with IUPUI.
The region also launched the Associate Accelerated Program (ASAP) under Lee’s leadership, which began in Fall 2010. This nationally-recognized program provides at-risk high school students the opportunity to earn a marketable and transferable associate degree in just 12 months, rather than the traditional 2-year timeframe. The program serves students who are prepared to enter college, but who face obstacles, especially challenges with poverty. Students who are chosen for the program are identified while still in high school. The program is free of cost thanks to a generous grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
Prior to her career at Ivy Tech, Lee held positions as an Educational Coordinator, as well as a Staff Therapist at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove. She began her career in respiratory care as a Critical Care Therapist at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
Lee is very active in the community and serves on committees for both the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care Site Visitor, as well as IU Members Credit Union. She serves as a board member at the Center for Emergency Training in Johnson County, as well as a board member at Second Helpings in Indianapolis. She is also involved in Kiwanis International –Indianapolis Chapter, Second Presbyterian Church, and the Garfield Park Neighborhood Association.
She has previously served as an Ivy Tech faculty representative to the State Transfer & Articulation Committee (STAC) of the Commission for Higher Education, as well as a past member of the Indiana Health Science Consortium of the Department of Education. She is also a past member of the Advisory Board of the McKenzie Career Center Health Science Program.
Lee earned her Associate of Science in Respiratory Therapy from Indiana University School of Medicine and her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Secondary Education from Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio. She later went on to earn her Master’s of Science in Adult Education from Indiana University and her Doctorate in Education with a specialization in Adult and Community Education with cognate in Higher Education Administration from Ball State University.
Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has 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 and a member of the North Central Association.
