U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Ivy Tech Community College’s Valparaiso campus as part of his 2024 Back-to-School Bus Tour. Cardona was joined by U.S. Representative Frank Mrvan as Ivy Tech Valparaiso Chancellor Aco Sikoski and Ivy Tech Valparaiso President Dr. Sue Ellspermann led a tour of the campus.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to Visit Ivy Tech Community College’s Valparaiso Campus 2024
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“Ivy Tech is a statewide system, and we’re really Indiana’s workforce engine. Our mission is to ensure that every student who walks through our door receives the skills, the knowledge, and the abilities they need to access the thousands of high wage, high demand jobs in Indiana,” Ellspermann said. “Secretary Cardona and Congressman Mrvan have a commitment to advancing high quality education; this doesn’t happen by chance.”
Prior to his arrival at Ivy Tech Valparaiso, Cardona visited Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to discuss academic recovery and Chicago, Illinois to discuss public service loan forgiveness and adult learning programs.
Like his stops earlier in the day, Cardona’s visit to Ivy Tech Valparaiso emphasized the Department of Education’s continued commitment to supporting local public education efforts, particularly two-year institutions like Ivy Tech that provide in-demand skills at accessible prices.
“We need schools like this. This has to be the norm, not the exception,” Cardona said. “We’re not going to meet the demand and the potential of this country if we don’t invest more in making schools like Ivy Tech an option for students everywhere.”
Following the tour, Cardona sat down with college leaders and students for a roundtable discussion on the opportunities a career and technical education (CTE) like that offered at Ivy Tech presents. The conversation underscored the school-to-career pipeline that exists in the Region thanks to public education.
One aspect of Ivy Tech’s schooling Cardona was particularly impressed with was the implementation of dual credit courses through partnerships with local high schools, giving students a leg up in the job market immediately upon graduation.
“As a high school junior at Chesterton High School, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to take dual credit courses that will transfer to college once I graduate,” Ivy Tech Dual Credit Student Dexter Kehle said. “Dual credit is a huge, huge opportunity that needs to be in every single high school.”
The U.S. Department of Education has invested over $6.4 billion into education across Indiana, and seeing that money in action during the Ivy Tech Valpo visit drove home the importance of fighting for continued opportunity.
“Ivy Tech is not only inspirational, it’s innovative,” Mrvan said. “When we talk about economic development, we need workers, and it only works if we have educated workers. The partnerships Ivy Tech makes for students are part of our economy, but they’re also part of our everyday life that uplifts students and gives people, in some instances, a second chance to have a seat at the economic table. It was an honor to have the secretary here in order to witness this firsthand, and we’ll both go back to Washington, DC and fight for the individuals who are in these classrooms.”
Many of the opportunities available at Ivy Tech wouldn’t be possible without the help of the college’s staff and leadership.
“You could have the nicest building and technology, but that does not matter if the people teaching and serving the students are not student-centered. Ivy Tech is a student-centered school, and the best evidence of that is the students,” Cardona said. “CTE, these pathway programs, the work that is being done here at Ivy Tech – it's great, and we can leave it in the bucket of education, but I firmly believe that this is Indiana’s best economic development. This is putting money back into the community. A strong education system is the best economic driver, and schools like this one accelerate that.”
While Cardona’s visit to Ivy Tech Valparaiso may have ended, his back-to-school tour continues through the week, with further stops planned in Michigan and Virginia to continue addressing current topics and issues within the realm of education.
Ivy Tech Community College is home to over 75 academic programs across its 45 Indiana locations and virtually. To learn more or to apply, visit Ivy Tech’s website or request more information here.