INDIANAPOLIS – Ivy Tech Corporate College has selected Duane Embree as the college’s National Director of Military Defense Initiatives.  

Embree recently retired as the ranking civilian at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane and has spent 35 years as a key leader in the growth and development of the Crane Naval facility.

“Duane brings a tremendous amount of experience and expertise to the Ivy Tech team,” said Matt Bell, President of Ivy Tech Corporate College.  “His leadership will be key in developing workforce training and economic development initiatives for the defense sector, as well as delivering procurement training for Hoosier companies interested in contracting in the field of national defense, enabling them to maneuver the process much more knowledgably.  We are honored that he is willing to share his talents with Ivy Tech, and we are confident that his leadership will enable us to robustly engage with the defense industry in an effort to meet their training and workforce development needs.”

Embree will primarily serve as a liaison between Indiana and the military installations at Muscatatuck, Camp Atterbury and the Crane Naval Warfare Center.  He will provide outreach to Indiana’s National Guardsmen and women to insure that the skills they develop in service of our nation translate easily into certificates and certifications that enable them to find meaningful private sector work.

For the past five years, Embree served as Technical Director at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane where he led a workforce of 3,100 government employees and approximately 2,000 support contract employees in providing more than $2 billion per year in engineering and technical services in support of sensors, electronics, electronic warfare and special operations weapons.

Some of Embree’s most notable accomplishments while at Crane, include increasing research and development funding; reshaping the workforce by hiring experienced engineers and business professionals; establishing the Crane Learning and Employment Center, which works closely with non-profit and government organizations to ensure successful transition of wounded warriors into the workforce and later became a national model that is now employed across the Navy; partnering with the State of Indiana to establish Westgate at Crane, the first tri-county technology park in Indiana that now houses approximately 20 high tech companies that employ more than 800 people; and establishing educational partnership agreements with Indiana University, Purdue University, and University of Southern Indiana to enhance innovation, technology transfer and the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-related education and job growth opportunities.

Prior to his role at Crane, Embree served four years at the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington D.C. as Product Area Director for Surface Warfare Logistics and Maintenance where he was the primary Navy executive responsible for full-spectrum programs and infrastructure for Surface Warfare Logistics and Maintenance.  He also implemented a Business Process Re-engineering effort that was nationally recognized in the General Accounting Office’s April 2002 Commercial Activities Panel’s final report as leading to “significant efficiencies and reduced workforce trauma” and resulted in the designation of Crane as a High Performance Organization (HPO).  The NSWC Crane HPO was cited as a national model of efficiency and cost reduction and an effective alternative to competitive outsourcing of government work.

Embree was the 2012 recipient of the State of Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash award and the 2012 recipient of the Department of Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award.  He also previously earned the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award, as well as the Naval Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Award.

Embree earned a Master’s of Public Affairs from Indiana University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.  He has also completed Chief of Naval Operations Executive Business Courses at the University of North Carolina, Babson College and the University of Virginia.  He also holds a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certification in Systems Planning, Research, Development and Engineering.

Ivy Tech Corporate College is the premier provider of quality workforce training solutions for the needs of businesses, industry, organizations and individuals. Corporate College will contribute to business success through talent development, organizational improvement, and increased productivity and profitability. With 30 campuses and more than 100 learning facilities statewide, Ivy Tech is readily accessible and has a proven track record of providing value-based solutions for thousands of businesses and students each year.