Ivy Tech executive to be next Indiana higher education chief

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The state commission that coordinates Indiana’s public postsecondary education system will soon have a new leader.

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education voted unanimously Thursday to hire Ivy Tech Community College executive Chris Lowery as the state’s seventh commissioner for higher education. He will replace Commissioner Teresa Lubbers, who is stepping down from the post she’s held for about 13 years.

Lowery is senior vice president of workforce, careers and adult strategy at Ivy Tech Community College.

After Lubbers concludes her service with the 14-member higher education commission at the end of March, he will assume the role of Indiana’s higher education commissioner in mid-April.

“Indiana’s colleges and universities provide much of the fuel in terms of education, training and research to support individual growth, investments and innovations of employers,” Lowery said. “By bringing together leaders from our higher education institutions, employers, K-12 partners, nonprofits, philanthropy, government and other stakeholders, we can blur the lines and increase the value proposition of higher education.”