WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Uric Dufrene
Dr. Uric Dufrene, Modeling Community Partnerships, Building Our Future
Dr. Uric Dufrene has long been a campus leader, serving as dean of the School of Business from 1998–2002 and 2003–2006, then Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs from 2013–2020, reprising the role as an interim, from 2022–2024. But Dufrene is best known in the Kentuckiana region as the Sanders Chair in Business, providing economic forecasts, workforce trends, and employment projections to area development organizations, government officials, and civic groups. Local media rely on his economic expertise and his presence in the community solidifies IU Southeast’s relationship with local businesses, industry, and civic organizations.
Recently, Dufrene stepped away from the role of interim Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs with the appointment of Dr. Michelle Williams. Putting his talents and expertise to use in a new role, Dufrene was recently appointed special assistant to the chancellor for talent and workforce development. Dufrene will continue his role as the Sanders Chair in Business and return to teaching corporate finance in the fall of 2024 for both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Dufrene’s research-based approach to workforce and local economic trends will provide the basis for his work, ensuring academic programs support the talent needs of the region and the successful employment of IU Southeast alumni. Dufrene’s approach will be collaborative, involving deans and faculty representing all academic programs, campus leadership, and major employers in Southern Indiana and the Louisville metropolitan region.
We had a chance to sit down with Dufrene to learn more about the new role and how it will contribute to student success and service to the community and beyond.
Tell me about your plans for the role of Special Assistant for Talent and Workforce Development.
Dufrene: IU Southeast is a talent development organization and our graduates help supply the talent needs of employers across the region. Our academic program portfolio does a great job of preparing students for solid career outcomes. Data shows that 98% of our graduates are employed or admitted to graduate school one year out and more than 80% of our students choose to remain in the area to live and work. We have solid professional programs, the liberal arts and humanities, and STEM that lead to these strong outcomes. Something we have not done well in higher education is to be able to articulate these skills and competencies and how these align with skills that are in demand in the marketplace. I will be working with all academic programs to help identify the skills and competencies of academic programs and how these align with the skills and competencies in demand in the marketplace. Over time, our goal is to ensure that our academic program portfolio supports the ever-changing talent needs of a growing regional economy and that our students complete our programs and have great jobs locally to step into and find success.
What goals do you have for this new role?
Dufrene: First and foremost, I will collaborate with our deans and faculty to continue our work in articulating skills and competencies for every academic program, and then provide market research on key career pathways for each academic program. We’ll continue to provide labor market analyses across academic majors, and a profile of our alumni working in the marketplace. Together we will continue to identify work-based learning needs and strategies that connect classroom knowledge to the workplace, allowing our students to apply academic and technical skills in real-world settings. Examples of work-based learning include guest speakers, field trips, job shadowing and internships, worksite learning, and career awareness. With that in mind, we will continue to advance our partnerships with local and regional employers to match IU Southeast academic programs to workforce and talent development needs. By aligning academic, business, and student needs we will uniquely position IU Southeast as the premier workforce partner of the region.
How will this position strengthen IU Southeast in the region?
Dufrene: As we continue to meet the talent needs of the region, we increase the likelihood of positive graduation outcomes for students. Nearly 90% of our students are employed within one year of graduation and eight percent are enrolled in graduate programs. We need to maintain these healthy outcomes and continue to grow salary levels as well as local job placement in the field of study by our graduates. Currently, 86% of recent graduates are working in careers related to their field of study.
Will this new position help grow enrollment?
Dufrene: One of the keys to enrollment growth is successful outcomes post-graduation. As we continue to build successful pathways and align academic programs with skills and competencies that are in demand, this will support positive enrollment growth.
How does this position sync with/differ from the Sanders Chair in Business?
Dufrene: There are certainly some consistencies with the Sanders Chair in Business. For example, the Sanders Chair focuses on regional economic trends. This position will also research regional economic trends, with a focus on the labor market. So, a big piece of the talent and development position is research-based, consistent with the Sanders Chair in Business.
Will you be expanding duties/research/community outreach?
Dufrene: I will continue to focus on the Sanders Chair, which has more of a regional economy focus. This position will allow for expanded research that will support academic programs and community outreach specifically directed toward employer partners.