Year in review: Rose-Hulman and more

By Sue Loughlin

TERRE HAUTE — In 2009, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology named a new president and Ivy Tech-Wabash Valley continued its record enrollment growth.

Also, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College dealt with budget concerns and continued its review of both academic and non-academic programs, while Indiana Business College changed its name to Harrison College.

Rose-Hulman

In December, Matt Branam became the 14th president of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology after a vote by the college’s board of trustees. Branam had been interim president since July 1.

An experienced executive, he previously served as a vice president at UPS and as chief operating officer of the American Red Cross.

Rose-Hulman had planned to conduct a search for a new president, but early in the process trustees decided it was in the institution’s best interest to ask Branam to become the permanent president, said Bill Fenoglio, chairman of the board of trustees.

He described Branam as “an excellent communicator with a keen understanding of the academic mission of Rose-Hulman.”

A native of Terre Haute, Branam has attended Indiana State University, Taylor University and Georgetown University, and he graduated from Rose-Hulman in 1979.

In August, for the 11th consecutive year, Rose-Hulman was ranked the No. 1 college or university that offers the bachelor’s or master’s degree as its top degree in engineering.

The ranking is based on a national survey of deans and senior faculty conducted by U.S. News & World Report for its annual college guidebook.



St. Mary-of-the-Woods

In February, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College announced several cost-cutting measures when faced with a projected operating deficit.

President David Behrs noted that donations to its Annual Fund were down 40 percent, or about $250,000, over the same period in 2008. The Annual Fund helps support the operating budget.

• Behrs and his cabinet officers took a 5 percent pay cut from Feb. 1 through June 30.

• The college said it would not announce employee salary increases until it had a more reliable picture of expected revenues for the 2009-10 academic year.

• The college planned to scrutinize very closely proposed new hires or increases in hours.

• Behrs asked all faculty and staff to contribute to the Annual Woods Fund with the goal of 100 percent participation, even if they could only give $1.

That request met with success. By the end of February, 100 percent of staff and 90 percent of faculty had given to the Annual Fund.

This week, Behrs said that no jobs were eliminated in 2009, but there also were no salary increases for employees.

The goal is to grant a 4 or 5 percent pay increase to employees in the new fiscal year that starts July 1, he said.

Also this past year, the college continued a program analysis of both academic and nonacademic programs, and recommendations could be presented to the board of trustees in February.

The purpose is “to see if those programs are meeting our mission, are central to who we are and are sustainable,” Behrs said Tuesday.

Last summer, the college announced plans to launch Woods Online, a new, fully online undergraduate degree program that will give students all over the world the opportunity to earn a degree from The Woods.

Two majors, business administration and computer information systems, will be available through Woods Online starting in January. Other majors will be launched by August.

This fall, The Woods first scholarship cross country team won the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Cross Country Championship. Also, its soccer team placed second in the USCAA Women’s Soccer National Championship.



Ivy Tech

In September, Ivy Tech Community College-Wabash Valley Region continued to post record enrollment numbers with more than 6,500 students, up 12 percent compared to fall 2008.

In November, Ivy Tech dedicated the new Center for Workforce and Economic Development in Greencastle. The 32,000-square-foot facility cost $10 million. Ivy Tech first began offering classes at Greencastle in 1989 in leased facilities.

In July, the Lilly Endowment awarded $375,000 to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in a grant to support a collaborative education program between Rose-Hulman and Ivy Tech’s Wabash Valley regional campus.

The program will explore ways to provide internships and professional experience to Ivy Tech students, faculty and staff to work on projects at Rose-Hulman Ventures.



Harrison College

In April, Indiana Business College announced that it had changed its name to Harrison College. The school has outgrown the label, “business college,” a college official said. More than half of its 5,500 students statewide were no longer enrolled in business programs.

The college’s Terre Haute campus is on Indiana 46 north of Interstate 70.



Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.

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