NEW ALBANY, IN – Nearly 500 people attended the 2024 IU Southeast Chancellor’s Medallion Dinner on Saturday, April 13. Over $101,650 from donations, ticket sales, sponsorships, and a silent auction was raised to support student scholarships.
This year’s Chancellor’s Medallion recognized community award winners, Dana Huber, Vice President of Distribution and Public Relations at Huber’s Orchard, Winery & Vineyards, and the Starlight Distillery, and Gary Libs, Chairperson of the Board of Libs Paving Company, Inc.
In addition to the community award winners, the dinner recognized eight Chancellor’s Medallion scholarship recipients for their academic achievement and leadership potential. The scholarship recipients included Reece Grace of Louisville, KY; Keziah Jones of Plymouth, IN; Courtney Kessinger of Greenville, IN; Janasia Ricketts of New Albany, IN; Timothy Jerome Bryant of Sellersburg, IN; Jadrian Morris of Georgetown, IN; Jenna Rogers of Sellersburg, IN; and Kara Page Wright of Corydon, IN.
Chancellor Debbie Ford delivered the closing remarks at the dinner and emphasized the impact of how scholarships change lives. “Through the generosity of our supporters, we lift up our students and transform the future for them and their families.”
Ford also spoke of recent campus achievements including a ranking by Third Way, a Washington, DC-based think tank, in the top 10 percent of colleges and universities in the country for helping students from low- and moderate-income households attain a college degrees and providing a strong return on their education investment. IU Southeast ranked 125th of 1,410 colleges and universities and is the only tier-one university ranked in the Louisville metropolitan region. Currently, 51 percent of IU Southeast students graduate with no student loan debt, and those who do have loan obligations average 30 percent less debt than the average among students throughout Indiana or Kentucky.
IU Southeast graduates continue to make a positive impact across the Kentuckiana region. Ford shared the most recent graduating student outcomes, championing the graduating class of 2022 with 98 percent of graduates either employed or attending graduate school within a year of their commencement ceremony. “Of those graduates working, 96 percent are working full-time, in careers related to their area of study and they are working locally, in the communities we serve,” said Ford.
