Meet IUS' new chancellor: 3 things to know about Louisville native Deborah Ford

Indiana University Southeast's next chancellor is coming back to her roots when she takes the reins at the start of the next school year.

Louisville native Deborah Ford was named the new chancellor of IUS last week, the school announced in an email. She'll start her new job on July 1, taking over for interim chancellor Kelly A. Ryan and will finish the school year as chancellor of University of Wisconsin-Parkside before starting at IUS.

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"What drives me is this passion for students' success and building partnerships on behalf of the university. And I am looking forward to really bringing the strengths that I have, the focus on student success and community engagement, to my home region," Ford said.

"And I enjoy meeting people – that's one of the best parts of serving as a chancellor is you get to meet so many people and from so many walks of life, and I think make communities better."

Here are three things to know about the new person in charge at IUS, which is located right across the river from Louisville in New Albany:

She brings experience

Aside from serving as chancellor at the Wisconsin-Parkside for 14 years, she also served as the vice president for student affairs at the University of West Florida.

She also has higher education experience locally. Ford previously worked at Spalding University in Louisville for more than a decade as vice president for student affairs and dean of students.

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She has local ties in her own education as well, with an undergraduate and doctorate in education from the University of Louisville as well as a master's degree in education from Indiana University.

Ford met her husband, John Ford, in Louisville and said her time at the school "certainly transformed my life."

"And the degrees that I earned both at the undergraduate and graduate level have opened amazing opportunities for me," she added.

What drew her to the position

Ford said several factors attracted her to the chancellor position. She said IUS and Wisconsin-Parkside have a similar student population, and as a first-generation college student, she has the "responsibility and really the opportunity to pay it forward and provide more opportunities for students to learn and grow in their academic and professional and personal life through higher education."

She also said she was drawn to the position because of IUS President Pamela Whitten's strategic plan for 2030, which focuses on academic success — including fostering diversity, building community partnerships with research that betters the lives of people in the region, and serving the state with teacher education programs and by developing local talent.

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But before she settles in, Ford said, she wants to get to meet the IUS community, including its students and faculty, and reconnect with the region.

Her personal background

Ford is a Louisville native and said part of her decision to accept the position was to be closer to her family. She said her mom, her sisters, nieces and nephews, aunts and family are in this region.

She said her 25-year-old son, who is also a Louisville graduate, is staying in Wisconsin, but she will be closer to her older daughter who lives in Indianapolis.

"Family is very important," Ford said. "One of the pulls to come back to the region is certainly family."

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Indiana University Southeast names Deborah Ford new chancellor