CHANCELLOR SPOTLIGHT
Dr. Debbie Ford
“We can learn from our past to ensure that what I do here applies to our culture and our context. I’m very cognizant of that because IU Southeast is a different place with unique attributes and that’s what I want to lift up.”
-Dr. Debbie Ford
There’s No Place Like Home for Dr. Deborah Lynne Ford, IU Southeast’s Sixth Chancellor
Home is the place that nurtures you, develops your character, and provides a safe harbor from the harshness of the world. It is also the place that always welcomes you back, no matter how many years have passed. Most of us yearn to return home and when the opportunity to become Chancellor of IU Southeast arose, Deborah “Debbie” Ford, Ed.D. explored the chance for a happy homecoming.
A Journey That Comes Full Circle
Ford was born in Owensboro, Kentucky and her parents moved to the Fern Creek neighborhood in Louisville when she was three years old. She attended St. Gabriel Grade School and Mercy Academy High School in Louisville. She stayed local for college and holds her B.S. from the University of Louisville, her Master of Higher Education and Student Affairs from Indiana University, and her Doctor of Education from the University of Louisville.
Reflecting on her college experiences, Ford was a first-generation college student who had to navigate the challenges and opportunities of college with the help of seasoned mentors.
“Going to college was something my parents really stressed, and I was the oldest of three daughters, so
I was the first in the family to attend college,” said Ford. “I love science and math and like many college students, I thought I wanted to be a doctor. Well, I discovered that I didn’t like college chemistry. I passed, but I realized this wasn’t for me. As an undergraduate, I was a resident assistant, orientation leader, involved in my sorority, and active in student government. All these experiences helped me envision the opportunities to work and lead in a university environment.”
Ford also recalls that she had great mentors who gave her great advice.
“As I was planning on getting my master’s degree, I had mentors that pushed me out of my comfort zone,” said Ford. “Jenny Sawyer, University of Louisville associate provost and executive director of admissions, gave me the advice of ‘go to grow’. Meaning that I needed to branch out to expand my knowledge, understand more about student development, and learn from a different university environment such as IU Bloomington.”
Ford’s first position after college was in 1989 as Coordinator for Student Development at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. She was later promoted to Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Spalding University and spent 13 years honing her craft and improving the student experience.
Up next, Ford served as Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of West Florida. After six years, she was hired as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (UWP). Under Ford’s leadership and vision for 14 years, UWP was awarded the 2022 American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ Excellence and Innovation Award for Student Success and Completion along with a plethora of other awards and recognition.
Nearly 60% of all UWP students are first-generation students. One of the biggest challenges that Ford had to overcome was providing the right level of student support to ensure student success.
“I am proud of improving diversity on UWP’s campus,” said Ford. “We grew from 25% to 37% in student body diversity all while improving student completion. In fact, in the first 40 years of UW Parkside there were just under 20,000 degrees conferred. By the time I finished my time at UW Parkside, there were just over 31,000 degrees conferred. We basically increased our graduation rates by over 50%. For those students who earned their degree, it was a dream come true. It was also a testament to the commitment and focus the institution, faculty, staff, and administrators had on student success. We were meeting our students where they were and giving them the tools and skills to succeed.”
Ford is proud of her past successes and plans to utilize all her knowledge and prior experience to enhance IU Southeast’s growth and continue to be a champion for student success.
Chancellor Debbie Ford, speaking at the IU Southeast State of the Campus Address.
Chancellor Debbie Ford speaks with Andrew Roy, a senior in Biology/Pre-Med, during Week of Welcome activities.
Striving for Excellence in Grenadier Outcomes
Energetic, positively upbeat, and relentless in her belief in higher education, Ford is poised to take IU Southeast to new heights of student and community engagement. Tapping into a broader regional area, Ford sees IU Southeast expanding the number of first-generation students and developing greater community partnerships. This past spring semester IU Southeast saw a 38% increase in new first-generation, undergraduate beginners. The fall 2023 semester brought an additional 12% new first-generation undergraduate students to the ranks of enrolled students as compared to the previous fall. Currently, more than 29% of all students attending IU Southeast are first-generation, a number that Ford plans to increase and support through completion.
“We have pockets of excellence, and we have real opportunities for greater integration to really prepare more graduates for this knowledge economy,” said Ford. “That’s what I am excited about. We can learn from our past to ensure that what I do here applies to our culture and our context. I’m very cognizant of that because IU Southeast is a different place with unique attributes and that’s what I want to lift up.”
Students at IU Southeast have traditionally encompassed a wide range of learners, whether it is non-traditional (those older than 25 years old), students who have to work full or part-time while pursuing a degree, adults in the workforce who want to further their career development, transfers, older students who are starting a second career, veterans, active duty military, and just about any other student population seeking knowledge to stay current and competitive in the job market.
Nearly 31% of IU Southeast students in the Spring of 2023 were considered non-traditional students.
“It all comes back to analyzing trends and examining the data,” said Ford. “We must look at the data by the different populations of students we serve. For instance, we have traditional students who will graduate from high school that may or may not live on campus. Most of the students at IU Southeast are going to have a job either on campus or off campus because they’re helping to support paying for their university experience. Many of the alumni I’ve met with have shared that they chose IU Southeast because they could continue in their jobs, including those who went to night school and worked all day or those who worked evenings and weekends. Today we also have students, because of the array of opportunities, who are going to bring a semester to a year’s worth of college credit from dual enrollment from their high school. We’re really working to make sure that we offer courses in our regional high schools that will transfer here to IU Southeast.
So, we must look at our student population with all these different experiences that they bring and ensure that we have the array of services needed and ensure that every student participates in high-impact practices like internships, experiential learning, studying abroad, undergraduate research, service learning and so on. You will get out of the experiences at IU Southeast what you put into it. Being a university student is not easy, but it is very rewarding.”
Building Partnerships for The Future; Strengthening Community Bonds
Ford has wasted no time in establishing partnerships that will benefit IU Southeast and the surrounding communities of Southern Indiana. She has been appointed to a three-year term on the Board of Directors for One Southern Indiana (1si). It was recently announced that Align Southern Indiana is moving their offices to the IU Southeast campus to build synergies between the school and the economic development agency. This is just the first in what is sure to be a long list of community partnerships that will enrich our local communities.
“We are in a knowledge economy, and lifelong learning is essential in a knowledge economy,” said Ford. “Particularly if we want to be leaders, not only here but around the world. We have the capacity to grow in our outstanding academic program array. We offer over 150 undergraduate programs and 50 master’s degree programs. We want to be clear to communicate with our community and make sure more people know that they can continue learning via a degree program or a certificate here at IU Southeast.”
Chancellor Ford poses with RAs and move-in helpers on Move-In Day.
Ruth Kalonki, a sophomore in Business, greets Chancellor Debbie Ford at the Involvement Fair.
Once a Grenadier, Always a Grenadier
There are over 31,000 IU Southeast alumni living around the world and in all 50 states. As a native Louisvillian, Ford is acutely aware of how valuable IU Southeast alumni are to the region. Ford would like to see greater involvement from alumni, whether it is through mentoring, networking, donating, or voicing support for the university. Welcoming alumni back is important, and Ford would like to see more alumni involved with events like IU Day on campus.
“I have a passion for the mission of Indiana University Southeast and see my responsibility as ensuring that the value of their degree continues to grow,” said Ford. “And what I need from alumni is for them to continue to be loud and proud Grenadiers. I need them to engage with their alma mater in ways that they find meaningful.”
A Strategic Vision for the Future
Ford appreciates how the university fits into the overarching IU 2030 strategic plan.
“This was another key reason why I explored an interest in this position and ultimately said, yes,” remarked Ford. “President Pamela Whitten has a very focused vision for IU—we are one university with seven campuses and there are three pillars of the IU 2030 strategic plan. Number one is student success and opportunity. Leading with students certainly got my attention and it aligns with my passion. Number two is transformative research and creative activity. So that’s around discovery and enhancing the communities that we live in and being committed to advancing knowledge. And then, number three is service to our state and beyond. That’s where the opportunity to build those strategic partnerships with businesses, industry, nonprofits, government, and education really exists. We have some of the smartest minds in the world working for our university. When we work together, we can really solve, or at least make progress on, society’s most pressing issues.”
Ford is ecstatic to be back home in the Southern Indiana area and closer to family. A native Louisvillian, Ford married her college sweetheart, John, and they have two adult children Abby and JD, and a new grandson, Caden David.
“I am still learning on the job and learning all the intricacies of IU Southeast,” said Ford. “I believe I have a responsibility and the opportunity to pay it forward for all students so they can do their best work.”