Ivy Tech Community College has named Dr. Kara Monroe as provost/senior vice president, assuming the role on July 1, 2018. The position was previously held by Dr. Steven Tincher, who will retire in June. Monroe currently serves as vice president, academic innovation and support at Ivy Tech.

In this role, Monroe will provide overall leadership for academic affairs and serve as the chief academic officer for the College. The position promotes academic excellence and integrity and leads accreditation, academic student success initiatives, as well as innovations in programs and methods of delivery that respond to rapidly changing technology.

“I am honored to be selected as Ivy Tech’s next provost/senior vice president and bring a deep passion for the mission, vision and values of the College,” said Monroe. “Ivy Tech has an amazing opportunity to move Indiana forward through creativity, innovation and program alignment and this role must work closely working with workforce alignment. I look forward to immersing myself into this role and leading the College through its next accreditation and beyond.”

Since 2015, Monroe has served as vice president, academic innovation and support where she directs the planning and implementation of educational curriculum in all academic disciplines, in all alternative formats, across the statewide community college system. She was the lead in launching IvyLearn, the student academic portal powered by the Canvas Learning Management System. She also co-leads Project Early Success, an Ivy Tech initiative where College employees intentionally connect with students at-risk of failing a course. In February, the College identified more than 14,000 at risk students, and statewide employees made/sent more than 25,000 phone calls, emails and text messages.

Monroe has been with Ivy Tech since 1998. Her Ivy Tech career began at the Richmond campus where she started as an instructional technology manager. In August 2007, she transitioned from an executive director of finance, facilities, and information technology role at the Richmond campus, to executive director, center for instructional technology at systems office in Indianapolis, Ind. Her roles at systems office also include assistant vice provost, center for instructional technology, and associate vice president, online academic programs.

“Kara is the perfect addition to Ivy Tech’s leadership team and her breadth and depth of knowledge and experience is exactly what we need for our provost/senior vice president role,” said Ivy Tech President, Sue Ellspermann. “We have set ambitious goals of seeing our students earn 50,000 credentials annually by 2023 and have many strategic initiatives to roll-out in the next five years. Her innovation, creativity, leadership and true passion for our student success and faculty engagement is what we need to meet our goals and contribute to Indiana’s prosperity.”

Monroe earned her Doctor of Philosophy, Higher Education Leadership from Capella University. She holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Information Technology Management from Jones International University and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education with endorsement in Computer Science from Ball State University. She has also completed postdoctoral work in various seminars and management training programs, including the Harvard Institute for Education Management.

Monroe is highly involved and regarded throughout Ivy Tech statewide. She is the statewide chair for Circle of Ivy Women’s Giving Circle and chair for the Richmond, Ind. Circle. She has immersed herself in Simplex Creative Problem Solving completing Simplex I, II and IV and is a Simplex certified facilitator and trainer.

In 2016, the Richmond Foundation named her Benefactor of the Year. She has also been a nominee for the Indiana Torch Bearer Award and was the recipient of Ball State University’s GOLD (Graduate of the Last Decade) award.