INDIANAPOLIS – Ivy Tech Community College President Thomas J. Snyder has been selected as a 2015 Champion of Diversity by the Indiana Minority Business Magazine.

The award will be presented at the 2015 Champions of Diversity Awards Dinner to be held January 16, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. The award is given to individuals who have exhibited the true meaning of diversity with their respective field, or have broken racial or gender barriers.

Snyder has served as president of Ivy Tech Community College, the state’s largest public post-secondary institution and the nation’s largest singly-accredited statewide community college system, since 2007. He leads the strategic, academic and operational processes of Indiana’s largest and fastest growing college, serving more than 200,000 students annually at 32 campuses and 100 learning centers that provide a full-spectrum of educational resources, transfer credits, associate degrees, workforce training and professional certification.

Ivy Tech has the greatest higher education impact on the African-American population of Indiana with more than half of African-Americans enrolled in college in Indiana attending Ivy Tech. The college has a minority student enrollment of more than 25,000 students.

Snyder has been committed to fostering diversity at Ivy Tech. He hired the college’s first Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and commissioned a study that resulted in a proposal to create a statewide diversity program. Snyder has committed to partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities in order to hire full-time faculty members, as well as increased the number of African-Americans on the Ivy Tech Foundation Board of Directors. He has also fostered greater engagement with the state and branch NAACP officers.

The college has also increased the level of Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) purchases by 93 percent since 2007. To drive continued success, the college has recently created a Supplier Diversity Playbook which requires the identification and solicitation of at least 2 MBE’s and 2 WBE’s when seeking proposals, quotes or bids above $25,000.

Snyder has been nationally recognized for efforts and achievements, including a feature in The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of seven community college Presidents making a difference and as the 2009 Freedom Award recipient by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Indiana Holiday Commission for providing major, positive, societal influence in the community. He was also recently granted an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Greater Indianapolis Branch NAACP 3053 and a Corporate/Partnership Award from the state NAACP.

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.