NORTHEAST – Rebecca S. Carothers has been named the Endowed Faculty Chair for Early Childhood Education at Ivy Tech Community College–Northeast in Fort Wayne This is the first endowed faculty chair for Ivy Tech Community College and is the result of a campaign started nearly four years ago by Ivy Tech–Northeast’s Resource Development office.

“Our hope is to create an expanded learning environment for those in early childhood education and those desiring a career in this vital field,” said Carothers. “The goal is to make northeast Indiana a stronger leader in the field of early childhood education that will draw the best talent from several regions for the benefit of our communities.”

Carothers’ 30 years in the field of early childhood education includes teaching first grade in a bilingual classroom, as well as preschool. She is a former East Wayne Street Center head start director and YWCA youth services director. She holds a Master of Arts in Education from Ball State University with a concentration in early childhood and is currently the early childhood program chair at Ivy Tech–Northeast. Carothers is a federal reviewer for Head Start programs nationwide and has served on many local and state boards throughout her career. 

Carothers has served as program chair for the early childhood education program for more than 10 years and has been at the forefront of some of its biggest successes including its recent expansion into the Student Life Center on Ivy Tech’s North Campus with a new classroom, laboratory, and playground facilities. 

Carothers will officially begin her new position on July 1, 2011, where her duties will include the establishment of an early childhood laboratory school aimed at increasing education and learning opportunities for new and existing childcare workers in the Ivy Tech–Northeast nine-county region. 

“We are grateful to the Dekko Foundation for recognizing the leadership of Ivy Tech Community College and in particular, Rebecca Carothers, in the area of early childhood education in northeast Indiana,” said Ivy Tech–Northeast Chancellor Jerrilee Mosier, Ed.D. “Our children are our future, and we need to reach them in the earliest years with a great foundation of love, respect, and a zest for learning. This is one more example of how Ivy Tech is making Indiana great.”

This endowed faculty chair position was created with the support of a $1.3 million grant from the Dekko Foundation in Kendallville, Indiana.  The Dekko Foundation made this investment in quality early childhood education to carry out its mission of fostering economic freedom through education.

For more information on the early childhood education programs at Ivy Tech Community College–Northeast, contact Rebecca Carothers at 260-480-4277or visit www.ivytech.edu/early-childhood.

Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually.  Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.