Dear IU Southeast Alumni and Campus Supporters,

It is an honor to be serving as the new Chancellor at your university, Indiana University Southeast. It is a distinct privilege to join a campus filled with notable scholars, dedicated staff, eager students, and supportive alumni and community members.

Since my arrival in early July, I have been getting to know our campus, the regional communities we serve, our students, and our alumni. It is my mission to elevate Indiana University Southeast to the top learning community of our region, to engage our campus with more businesses and organizations within the community, and to meet more alumni and learn about your experience at IU Southeast and your success since graduating.

Your experiences as alumni are paramount to our future success. I want to learn about your time as a student to help us focus on our current and future student experience. I want to know what you valued in your educational experience, and your thoughts about how to make IU Southeast an even bigger powerhouse of knowledge and learning. Reach out to me at debford@iu.edu so we can connect. I want to hear your story and tell your story.

Stories like Chris Ratterman’s, MBA class of 2013. Chris and his brother, Dan, have built a burgeoning eyewear business around reasonably priced sunglasses and a business model that impacts lives. I recently attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Shady Rays store at Oxmoor Center and learned more about how Shady Rays started as a one-person operation set in his parents’ living room in 2012 and grew to a 12,000 square-foot headquarters in 2019 with a worldwide distribution network whose proceeds have provided over 25 million meals donated to Feeding America and removing 4.55 million plastic bottles from our oceans through Verdn. Chris credits the faculty and staff of the IU Southeast School of Business, specifically the MBA program, for giving him the skills and the ability to build Shady Rays into the successful enterprise it has become. That is indeed a success story, and I am proud that IU Southeast is a chapter in Chris’ book.

As you share your alumni stories with me, I challenge you to share your stories with future Grenadiers. You can be our best recruitment ambassador. We have so many people throughout the region who are at a crossroads in their lives. They may be current high school students or friends and colleagues who either never finished their degree or are considering returning to school to acquire new skills for the next step in their career.

In this issue, you’ll read about our annual First Destination Study. This annual study of graduates within one year of graduation shows that 96 percent of our recent graduates are working in their chosen area of study and contributing to the economy of our region. Wow! When you combine our large selection of degree programs and certificates with the lowest tuition rates in the region, and then add more than $15.7 million in scholarships and gift aid, the results are life-changing for the graduates, their families, and our region.