President Sue Ellspermann, PhD

Biography

Dr. Sue Ellspermann has served as President of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana since 2016. She is the ninth individual to hold the position and first female president of the College.

Ellspermann’s focus has been to align Ivy Tech's programs and credentials to meet industry needs and ensure access, quality, and affordability to all Hoosiers. Under her leadership, Ivy Tech launched the first Industry 4.0 associate degree and Ivy+ Career Link, a transformative approach to career development services. Ellspermann led the development of Ivy Tech’s new strategic plan, Higher Education at the Speed of Life, which focuses on scale, innovation, and agility to ensure student success and meet Indiana’s talent upskilling needs.

Prior to leading Ivy Tech, Ellspermann served as Indiana’s 50th Lieutenant Governor. In this capacity, she served as President of the Senate and Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. She also oversaw six state agencies. Ellspermann co-chaired the Blue Ribbon Panel on Transportation Infrastructure and led trade missions to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China.

Ellspermann represented District 74 in rural southwest Indiana in the state House of Representatives from 2010 to 2012. From 2006 to 2012, Ellspermann served as the founding Director of the Center of Applied Research and Economic Development at the University of Southern Indiana (USI).

Ellspermann’s educational and workforce development experience is extensive. As Lieutenant Governor, she served as vice chair of the Indiana Career Council, tasked to align Indiana’s education and workforce development system to meet employer needs. She also served on the Indiana State Workforce Investment Board. As a legislator, Ellspermann served on Commerce and Labor committees and co-authored Right-to-Work legislation that has since attracted robust economic development to Indiana. In 2016, Ellspermann participated in the Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows, a program that convenes reform-oriented state leaders to study best practices and policy in education and workforce.

During the 20 years prior to her tenure at USI, Ellspermann owned and operated an independent consulting firm licensed in the training and facilitation of Simplex Creative Problem Solving. Early in her career, she held operations and engineering positions at Frito-Lay, Michelin Tire Corporation, and General Motors.

Ellspermann holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Louisville in Industrial Engineering and a B.S. from Purdue University in Industrial Engineering. Her dissertation was recognized as a Top 50 management research article in 2007 by Emerald Management Review.

Ellspermann chairs the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Board of Directors and serves on the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, Indiana Chamber, Indy Chamber, Applied Research Institute, Strada Education Foundation, and Center for Leadership Development boards. Her corporate board service includes OneAmerica, German American Bancorp, and OFS.

She and her husband Jim Mehling have a blended family of four daughters, three sons-in-law, six grandsons, and three granddaughters.