Letter from the President

Letter from our President

Just as this issue of Indiana Tech Magazine was being completed, the coronavirus pandemic began affecting the United States in a serious manner. Here at the university, the leadership team and I made the difficult but appropriate decision to move our traditional undergraduate classes completely online for the remainder of spring semester. In an effort to protect their health and do our part to slow the spread of the virus, students were asked to move out of their residence halls by March 29. For those unable to do so, we have made arrangements for them to stay, and have continued to provide them with access to dining services, wifi, computer labs and other key services and facilities.

At the same time, we moved all College of Professional Studies (CPS) in-person classes online through the end of undergraduate and graduate session seven. CPS classes that were already online—which represent the majority of those we offer—remain unaffected. In short, though we have moved all of our classes online, the university remains open and continues to work with students to meet their educational goals.

We also made the decision to postpone our spring commencement ceremonies, originally scheduled for May 8 and 9. We will now celebrate our 2020 commencement for both graduate and undergraduate students on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 10:30 a.m., at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. This will take place during homecoming weekend, and I hope to see many of our alums and friends with us that day as we celebrate the life-changing accomplishments of our students who have earned their college degrees. As planning progresses in the coming weeks and months, you can stay up to date on commencement activities at https://commencement.indianatech.edu.

I’m deeply grateful to our dedicated faculty and staff, who have been putting in extra effort to keep our students engaged, connected and on track for academic success during this challenging time. Indiana Tech has long prided itself on providing personal attention to every student, in pursuit of our mission to prepare them for careers in the global 21st century society, and lives of significance and worth. The passionate commitment of our entire team to this mission has never been more apparent than it is right now.

I also greatly appreciate the many alumni, families and friends of Indiana Tech who have reached out to us to check in on our well-being, and with offers of assistance should we require it. With your support and the commitment of our team, I am confident we will continue to serve students well during this time. Indiana Tech will remain a strong and thriving institution.

It is with this in mind that we decided to proceed with this issue of our magazine. In it, you will find much to learn and celebrate, from the opening of new CPS locations to the continued success of our cyber defense team, the Cyber Warriors, who won its sixth straight state championship this spring. You’ll also find a feature on new programs here at Indiana Tech, and how we go about developing new offerings to continually meet the ever-changing needs and interests of students and employers alike. Our cover image for this issue shows an example of this, our new health science program. Along with our new biology program, health science can play a role in preparing students to enter health professions that are only more relevant and needed today.

Due to the fast-changing nature of the coronavirus situation, we have created a dedicated web page for regular updates to the entire Indiana Tech community. For the latest information on impacts on classes, event schedules and much more, please visit www. indianatech.edu/coronavirus.

Please know that Maria and I keep all of you in the Indiana Tech family in our thoughts and prayers during this challenging time. We know this will have a significant impact on many in our community, and we are here to help in any way we can. Stay well, Warriors.

Warm regards,

Karl W. Einolf, Ph.D. President

Indiana Tech welcomed 97 high school seniors who have been admitted to our university for Select IT on Feb. 16 and 17. These two-day events are held twice a year to give prospective students an indepth look at Indiana Tech and, ultimately, select it as their university.

In the photo is Elly Leitelt from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She selected IT and will start pursuit of a computer science degree this fall at Indiana Tech.

Volume 17, Issue 2 Karl W. Einolf, Ph.D. President

Institutional Advancement Dan Grigg Vice President for Institutional Advancement Dave Stevens Senior Director of Institutional Advancement Mary Lasits Senior Director of Institutional Advancement Matthew Brown Director of Alumni Relations Kayla Paz Director of Advancement Services Karma Bradley Executive Administrative Assistant and Campaign Coordinator Erin Johnson Grants Manager

Marketing Brian Engelhart Vice President for Marketing and Communication Matt Bair Director of Marketing and Communication Julie Farison Creative Director Brook Barile Graphic Designer Sarah Suraci Graphic Designer Joel Kuhn, BS ’12 Web Developer Bethany Lowe UX/UI Designer Jennifer Murphy Director of Marketing, College of Professional Studies Amber Owens Social Media Manager Randy Smith Photo and Video Producer

Indiana Tech online: IndianaTech.edu

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