
Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area raises $60,000 during Ivy Tech Day
Ivy Tech Community College celebrated Ivy Tech Day on Tuesday, April 8, and the Kokomo Service Area raised $60,000 in donations to support Ivy Tech student success.
Ivy Tech Day is a day for celebrating the school and raising money to help students succeed. This is the third year that Ivy Tech has held the event.
The Ivy Tech Kokomo team sat a goal of raising $45,000 during the 24-hours of giving. The Kokomo service area was the top funded area during the day thanks to 391 gifts. Ivy Tech raised a total of $480,000 from 2,900 gifts from across the state.
The Kokomo Service Area includes Cass, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Pulaski and Tipton counties.
'(Tuesday's) level of engagement made for the best Ivy Tech Day yet,' said Dr. Ethan Heicher, chancellor of the Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area. 'And the most important part of the day was the financial support that we generated for our students and the palpable sense of community we created on our campus.'
'We are so incredibly grateful to our many community partners who joined in supporting the Ivy Tech Kokomo culture of pulling together to help our students,' said Kelly Karickhoff, executive director of Resource Development for the service area.
'Those of us on campus all see the impact these donations have in breaking down barriers and supporting student success,' Karickhoff added. 'But Ivy Tech Day shines a light on our impact in the communities and how much people believe in what Ivy Tech is doing.'
Last year, Ivy Tech Kokomo garnered 268 gifts totaling $41,687, far exceeding the first year's results of 171 gifts and $25,000 in donations on Ivy Tech Day.
Karickhoff thanked Kokomo's Ivy Tech Day partners, including Security Federal Savings Bank, Coca-Cola Bottling Company Kokomo, Community Howard Regional Health, La Fiesta Restaurant of Logansport, Pizza Quik of Peru, Larison Media and the Kokomo Post. She noted that donors had successfully met every match and challenge issued by more than a dozen supporters that honored everything from first-generation students to members of the Circle of Ivy Women in Philanthropy group to alumni and retirees.
'This one day 'can mean everything' for our students,' Karickhoff added. 'All these gifts stay local and will help students who live and work in our six-county region.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Ivy Tech freezes tuition through 2026–27 academic year
INDIANAPOLIS — The Ivy Tech Community College State Board of Trustees has voted to freeze tuition and mandatory fees for the next two academic years, ensuring no increase for both 2025–26 and 2026–27. The decision reflects the college's commitment to ensuring affordability and delivering value for Hoosiers, the school said, and follows Gov. Mike Braun's request and a unanimous recommendation by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education that all public higher education institutions freeze tuition to support Hoosiers. 'The action by our State Board reflects our commitment to putting students first,' said Dr. Sue Ellspermann, president of Ivy Tech Community College. 'Holding tuition flat builds on our years of work to improve affordability, access and completions for students, and that effort has brought positive outcomes for the state.' In-state tuition for full-time students taking 12 or more credit hours will remain at $2,577.11 per semester; tuition for part-time students will remain at $178.38 per credit hour. Out-of-state tuition rates will also remain unchanged. Ivy Tech's innovative Ivy+ Textbooks program, which provides students with all required textbooks and course materials at a low, predictable cost, will continue at $18 per credit hour in 2025–26 and $18.25 in 2026–27. The tuition freeze is part of Ivy Tech's broader mission to eliminate financial barriers and deliver high-quality, workforce-aligned education and training to Hoosier students, Ellspermann said.

Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Lewis Cass set to offer Indiana College Core credits through IUK
Lewis Cass High School will partner with IUK beginning this fall to offer Indiana College Core classes for college credit. The Indiana College Core consists of 30 credit hours of general education, college-level coursework that is guaranteed to transfer to public colleges and universities in Indiana. The program allows for students to work toward college credits while finishing up high school. Logansport High School, Pioneer Junior/Senior High School and Caston High School offer similar courses via Ivy Tech. In May, 82 LHS seniors graduated from Ivy Tech before their high school graduation after successfully completing the Indiana College Core credits. Twenty-four for those students did extra work to earn an associate degree. Lewis Cass counselor Heather Adams hopes that an associate degree will be available for students who enter the IUK program but the school is taking it one step at a time. 'Getting those 30 credit hours out of the way is huge and gives students a good start (in college) right off the bat,' she said. Adams said that Lewis Cass was already offering many dual credit classes in partnership with IU-Bloomington so when it came time to launch Indiana College Core credits it made sense to work with IUK. 'I think, too, that it is a good thing for the kids if they want to get their core classes out of the way for college while they are still in high school to save some money,' said counsellor Joyce Bangel. 'That's also beneficial for the kids.' Starting an Indiana College Core program had been a goal for some time. Adams said she waited for a few months for new superintendent Chris Daughtry to get acclimated to his job before approaching him about the program. Adams said that the ICC will most likely benefit students who are starting their junior year of high school. Due to the workload and the lack of time to plan, it would be difficult for the Class of 2026 to complete the goals. '(Classes) are going to be rigorous so they are going to be better prepared in the long run for college,' she said. 'These are college level courses and the ones they do online are taught by college professors. I do think it gives them a step up in that way. I think the rigor won't be as overwhelming when they do get to college.' Bangel added it also gives students some extra time in college if they want to pursue a double major. 'It's a labor of love but we are really excited about it,' said Adams. Those who would like to learn more about the Indiana College Core can visit Students may also reach out to their school counsellors with questions. Adams works with students with last names from A-K and Bangel with students with last names from L-Z. A pioneer at Pioneer While 82 LHS students were getting their Ivy Tech Indiana College Core certificates on May 9, Makenna Strycker was the lone Pioneer Junior/ Senior High School student in line who completed the ICC. Pioneer principal Jeff Brooke said after the ceremony that he believed Strycker was the first student at the school to take advantage of the Ivy Tech partnership. For Strycker, completing the Indiana College Core was about being as efficient with her time as possible when looking ahead to college. She will attend Wittenburg University in Ohio to study law and continue her basketball career. Strycker learned about the opportunity when she received an email about Ivy Tech classes at the beginning of her junior year. She said that she would take two extra classes per semester, doing the work online at home after school. 'It took a lot of extra time,' she said. 'It was a lot but it was worth it, I think.' 'Ivy Tech does a great job of getting kids connected,' said Principal Brooke. 'I credit Makenna for taking advantage. … I couldn't be more proud of a young lady who works hard and perseveres. She's exactly what a Pioneer Panther is.' Strycker said she was a bit surprised that she might be the first to complete the ICC at the school. 'It's definitely a lot of extra work,' she said. 'I definitely think it's going to be worth it for me in college. Looking at it from an aspect of the short term, it's going to be extra work for one but later on it's definitely going to be helpful.' Despite the extra work, she encouraged other students to sign up for Indiana College Classes if they wanted a cost-efficient college experience.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ivy Tech will be laying off 202 employees. What that means for Indy campus
More than 200 employees are expected to be laid off at Ivy Tech campuses across the state as a result of the Indiana General Assembly's decision to cut funding to the college system. This announcement was made by Ivy Tech's president, Sue Ellspermann, on May 30, as she broke the news to many who were affected by this sudden development. Layoffs began the same day and continue into next week. Emily Sandberg, Ivy Tech's assistant vice president of communications, confirmed in an email to the IndyStar that the Indianapolis campus is expected to lay off seven faculty and 14 staff members, and the Hamilton County campus is expected to lay off two staff members. In Ellspermann's letter, she notes that the Indiana government's decision to cut 5% of the school allocated fund, on top of the 5% cut from the state budget agency, would equate to an expected loss of $54 million over the next two years. These cuts, coupled with Gov. Mike Braun and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education recommending a 0% tuition increase for all state educational institutions, left the school with another revenue option. "Because the college's primary revenue sources are state appropriations, tuition, and fees, these developments have had an immediate effect on our planning," Ellspermann said in her letter. "We have reached the difficult decision to adjust our staffing levels, in addition to efforts to reduce our operational expenses." During the 2023 budget session, the General Assembly appropriated about $243 million and $245 million for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, respectively. For 2025-26 and 2026-27, that will drop to about $236 million each. That doesn't count additional reductions. Laid-off Ivy Tech workers will receive separation packages, according to Ellspermann's letter. However, details regarding the separation packages were not provided in the email, noting that laid-off employees will meet with human resources representatives to determine their package. In total, 202 people will be affected by these layoffs across Ivy Tech's 45 locations in the state. "This is a challenging moment for our college, but I know Ivy Tech is strong," the letter reads. "I remain confident in our resilience and in our commitment to our students and to one another." Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@ follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @ Courier & Press reporter Jon Webb contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Ivy Tech will lay off over 200 employees due to Indiana budget cuts