Ivy Tech executive to be next Indiana higher education chief

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The state commission that coordinates Indiana's public postsecondary education system will soon have a new leader.

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education voted unanimously Thursday to hire Ivy Tech Community College executive Chris Lowery as the state's seventh commissioner for higher education.

He will replace Commissioner Teresa Lubbers, who announced late last year that she would step down from the post she's held for about 13 years.

Lowery is senior vice president of workforce, careers and adult strategy at Ivy Tech Community College. In that job, he's led the college's workforce and career initiatives and organization.

Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a statement that the alignment between education and workforce 'œis critical to making Indiana a leader in attracting and developing talent.

'œChris is uniquely experienced and positioned to continue advancing this vital work," he added.

After Lubbers concludes her service with the 14-member higher education commission at the end of March, Lowery will assume the role of Indiana's higher education commissioner in mid-April.

The higher education commission was created in 1971 to plan, coordinate and define Indiana's postsecondary education system to align higher learning with the needs of students and the state.

It also administers Indiana's financial aid programs, including the 21st Century Scholars early college promise scholarship, which marked 30 years in 2020.