NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie has announced the selection of Ray Wallace as chancellor of IU Southeast, subject to the approval of the IU Board of Trustees.
Ray Wallace named chancellor of IU Southeast, subject to the approval of the IU Board of Trustees
Wallace is provost and senior vice chancellor at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. His appointment as chancellor will begin July 1.
“Ray’s vision, administrative experience and past successes, particularly in the areas of academic innovation and community engagement, make him the ideal person to lead the IU Southeast campus and strengthen its commitment to addressing the educational, cultural and economic development needs of the surrounding region,” McRobbie said. “He brings to this new role the skill and foresight to foster a rich educational environment of academic excellence that will help IU Southeast students reach their full potential.
“I also want to thank Barbara Bichelmeyer for her able and skilled leadership during the transition to a permanent chancellorship.”
Bichelmeyer, associate vice president for university academic planning and policy and senior director of IU’s Office of Online Education, has served as interim chancellor since July 2013 following the retirement of Sandra Patterson-Randles.
John Applegate, IU executive vice president for university academic affairs, said Wallace is a respected and imaginative leader of regional comprehensive campuses.
“Ray will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to IU Southeast,” he said. “His record of outreach and involvement with community and alumni will be an invaluable asset to IU Southeast as the campus continues to strengthen its ties to the surrounding southern Indiana and Louisville area.”
As campus CEO, the chancellor is responsible for the operation of the campus and reports to the executive vice president for university academic affairs. The IU Southeast chancellor works with the chancellors and provost of IU’s seven other campuses.
Wallace was recommended by a search and screen committee after a national search led by Edwin Marshall, recently retired IU vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs. A professor of English, Wallace said he is honored to be selected for the top post at IU Southeast.
“This is a fine regional institution within the IU family. I look forward to working with its great faculty, staff, students and community,” Wallace said. “I am very impressed by the university; IU Southeast is a campus built on a very solid foundation and with great untapped potential. My wife, Susan, and I are looking forward to living in this delightful community.”
Wallace has been provost and senior vice chancellor at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith since 2007. During this time, his many accomplishments include stewarding 12 new undergraduate degrees and 14 new minors through the university system and state regulatory board; re-establishing a university-wide honors program; developing a Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning; signing 16 Memoranda of Understanding with overseas universities for faculty and student exchanges; and introducing initiatives involving outreach to high school and community college students.
Before his University of Arkansas-Fort Smith appointment, Wallace served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Clayton State University in Georgia. From 2000 to 2003, he was the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Troy State University in Montgomery, Ala. He received his Doctor of Arts in English from Illinois State University.
IU Southeast is one of eight campuses of Indiana University. Offering more than 50 degree programs and concentrations, the scenic 180-acre campus is less than 15 minutes from downtown Louisville, Ky. It has an enrollment of more than 6,900 students and employs more than 400 faculty members. About 400 students now live on campus in five fully furnished, lodge-style residence halls. IU Southeast is the most affordable four-year university in the region and offers significant financial aid to a majority of students. IU Southeast is a tobacco-free campus.