Presidential Sponsor
State Directors
State Leadership
Leadership
Anne Houtman
President
Earlham College
Anne is an educator, scientist, author and higher education leader. She became the 20th president of Earlham College and the Earlham School of Religion on July 1, 2019.
Anne came to Earlham from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs. She holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford in zoology and a master’s degree in anthropology from UCLA. She earned her bachelor of arts degree from Pomona College. She is a Quaker and the first woman to serve as President of Earlham College.
Previously, Anne served as dean of the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering at California State University Bakersfield and as Head and Professor at the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology. Earlier in her career, she held faculty positions at California State University Fullerton, Soka University of America and Knox College. She has authored numerous textbooks and articles on scientific and pedagogical topics. She is currently a trustee of the College Board.
Paaige K. Turner (Ph.D. Purdue University). Dr. Turner serves as Dean of the College of Communication, Information, and Media, Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, president of the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender (OSCLG), and principal associate in Communication Resource Associates, LLC. She is an experienced higher education administrator, communication teacher/scholar and organizational consultant with an extensive background in strategic planning, assessment, recruitment and mentoring, education technology, budget management, group facilitation, change management, and international education. As an award winning teacher-scholar, she has published over 30 chapters and articles in the area of organizational communication, specifically on topics of internationalization, organizational socialization, customer satisfaction, gender, midwifery and birth, breastfeeding, and the body. Most recently she was an associate editor for the International Handbook of Organizational Communication that received the NCA Organizational Communication Division 2017 Edited Book Award.
Dr. Laura Treanor serves as the Provost of Vincennes University. She has over 30 years of diverse and exemplary college leadership experience in the areas of campus administration, strategic planning, academic and student affairs programming, fiscal management, resource development, and business, community and K-16 partnerships – all with a clear and consistent focus on equity, access and student success.
She is a passionate and dedicated leader with a professional history of rich experiences across a variety of higher education settings and roles. A staunch advocate for instructional quality and student success, Dr. Treanor has held the positions of faculty, Dean, Vice President for Academics, Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Provost.
Dr. Treanor has a proven record of collaborative change management, transparent communication and shared governance. She is a respected leader, mentor and teacher. She earned a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech University and holds a Master of Education from the Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Science from Virginia Tech.
Dr. Champa is a creative and results-driven leader with 18 years of experience developing, implementing and managing fundraising strategies. Prior to her role at CTS, she served on Earlham College’s senior leadership team, where she was responsible for the strategic leadership and oversight of all university advancement functions, including campaign and major gift fundraising, annual giving, corporate and foundation relations, stewardship and advancement administration, as well as alumnae/i relations and special events. Prior to her appointment at Earlham, Dr. Champa served as Associate Vice President for Alumni Engagement and Director of School of Music Development at DePauw University. Dr. Champa holds her Bachelor of Music degree from DePauw and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of Illinois at Champaign – Urbana.
Susan Thomas
Interim Dean of Library Services
Indiana University South Bend
Ms. Susan Thomas is the Interim Dean of Library Services at Indiana University South Bend. Susan has 30 years of varied leadership experience working in academic libraries. Before her current position at IU South Bend, Susan served as the Facilitator for Reference Services and Archivist (1995-1997) at Valdosta State University (Georgia), the Assistant Head of the Regents Center Library, and Bibliographer for Social Welfare at the University of Kansas/Edwards Campus, and as a Medical Reference Librarian at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Library. In these roles, Susan has participated and led successful change initiatives, strategic plans, facility master plans, and grant applications through a participative leadership mindset. She endeavors to support students and has been part of several successful initiatives focused on student success.
Susan has held elected and appointed leadership roles in professional associations and recently completed a six-year term as the Monographs Acquisition Editor for one of the professional associations. She holds a B.A. in Psychology, a Master’s in Library and Information Science, and a Master’s in Public Affairs from Indiana University.
Dr. Vendrely serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean at Goshen College, where she is also a Professor of Kinesiology. She has over 20 years of experience in higher education in both faculty and administrative roles, including as teaching faculty, program coordinator, department chair, associate provost, and chief academic officer. She is a licensed physical therapist with over 10 years of healthcare experience. She believes in the importance of creating opportunities for women, supporting collaboration and inclusion.
Dr. Amie Anderson is the Dean of the School of Educational Leadership at Indiana Wesleyan University providing leadership for online undergraduate, graduate and doctoral education programs. Dr. Amie Anderson began as a secondary classroom teacher, and now has more than 10 years of experience in Higher Education. She has her Master’s degree in Science Education, and her PhD in Post-Secondary and Adult Education. She has served as a dean in various roles including in the Human Service fields, Education, Student Engagement & Services, and Online Education. She has served on the Michigan ACE Women’s Network Institutional Representative, and is currently serving on the IN ACE Leadership Board. Dr. Anderson has also served as an ABHE Accreditation Evaluator. Dr. Amie Anderson has been described as an exceptional leader who is a data driven problem solver who uses wisdom, and compassion with humility in her leadership. She is known for helping and mentoring others to develop skills and competencies leading to their career advancement.
Suzanne Summers
Assistant VP for Teaching and Learning
Ivy Tech Community College System Office
Suzanne Summers has spent her higher education career working in access-oriented two- and four-year institutions that served large numbers of underrepresented students. Currently, she serves as Assistant Vice President for Teaching and Learning for the Ivy Tech Community College System. She began her own higher educational journey as a community college transfer student and ultimately completed a Ph.D. in U.S./Latin American history at the University of Texas at Austin and a certificate in Designing for Organizational Effectiveness at Northwestern University. After a long faculty career, she served as Special Assistant to the Provost at Austin Community College District (Texas), an ACE Fellow, and academic dean. An Army veteran, she believes that public service is the basis of a good life. She and her husband raise a family of four-legged “kids” in Brown County.
Dr. Jennifer Palilonis
Distinguished Professor of Multi-media Journalism
Ball State University
Dr. Jennifer Palilonis is the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Multimedia Journalism and a full professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication. She also serves as the Director of the Center for Emerging Media Design and Development (EMDD). She is known for her creative and innovative endeavors. In 2017, Dr. Palilonis and her students deployed a global social media campaign to engage young people in the value of water. The work was recognized by the Vatican, and she and EMDD students were invited to lead a three-day workshop on water issues during the Vatican’s World Water Day. She and her students also have worked with the Professor Garfield Foundation, building a digital literacy curriculum for children K-5, and she leads the David Letterman Learning Experience, an ongoing interdisciplinary immersive learning project focused on intersections between technology, art, and storytelling. Garfield Creator Jim Davis and former late-night talk show host David Letterman are Ball State alumni. Other project collaborations have been with The Indiana State Museum, Circle of Blue, USA Volleyball.
Dr. Palilonis’ fields of professional specialization are design thinking, human-computer interaction, cross-platform storytelling, visual journalism, information graphics reporting, art direction, redesign, visual rhetoric, e-learning, digital publishing, research-informed design and development, human-computer interaction and interaction design. She is the former education director for the Society for News Design and former head of the Visual Communications division of the Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Charlene Alexander
Chief Strategy Officer
Ball State University
Dr. Charlene Alexander serves as Ball State University’s Chief Strategy Officer where she is responsible for helping the University execute the imperatives outlined in its strategic plan. Dr. Alexander also oversees Ball State’s Offices of Institutional Research and Decision Support, Community Engagement, and Inclusive Excellence.
Throughout her career, Dr. Alexander has been a champion for initiatives related to diversity and inclusion. She formerly served at Ball State as a professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services—where she directed the School Counseling program for 16 years—and as Associate Provost for Diversity and Interim Associate Vice President for Community Engagement.
Under her leadership, Ball State developed its first Diversity Strategic Plan and released its first statement on the Importance of Diversity and Inclusion. Dr. Alexander’s efforts led to Ball State receiving the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for the first time in 2016.
Prior to returning to Ball State, Dr. Alexander spent four years at Oregon State University, where she served as Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer. She holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and an M.S. in Counseling and Guidance and a B.A. in Psychology from Creighton University.
Kathleen Gibson is the CEO and Founder of APL nextED, a comprehensive academic operations platform that provides workflow support and links faculty and student data to optimize teaching, advising and mentoring to increase student success.
Kathleen has worked as a lawyer, college dean, program developer, professor, and writer. She is a wife, mother, avid reader and yoga enthusiast. Kathleen has studied and written about trends in higher education for the last 20 years.
Kathleen has been described as an audacious leader who knows how to solve big problems by building executable plans and by assembling strong, talented teams. Kathleen has a contagious passion for connecting diverse people around a common vision.
Becca Polcz Rice
Vice President for Governmental Relations and Industry Engagement, Ball State University
Rebecca Rice joined Ball State University in January 2018 as vice president for Governmental Relations. In this role, she represents the University to government officials and develops legislative and policy strategies that align with the institution’s goals and interests.
Before coming to Ball State, Becca was director for government relations and compliance in the Office of the Vice President for Government Relations at Indiana University, where she worked for 12 years in various roles. She served as an advocate for public higher education, informing members of the Indiana General Assembly and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education about the complexities of the state’s higher education system.
Becca has a long-standing commitment to the local community. She grew up in Muncie and graduated from Burris Laboratory School. She earned her bachelor of science from IU Bloomington and her juris doctor from the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.
Kristine Schuster
Director of Career and Professional Development for the Fairbanks School of Public Health
IUPUI
Kristine has worked in higher education career advising since 2014 and particularly enjoys the opportunity to help students think creatively about building their skills and experiences through engaged learning. She remains active in the IUPUI community by serving as the Chair for the Career Services Council and as a certified facilitator of the American Association of University Women’s (AAUW) salary negotiation curriculum for the IUPUI campus. Additionally, she serves in a statewide role as the Historian for the Career Development Professionals of Indiana (CDPI). Her hope is to help her students see the value of their experiences to develop and tell their own compelling story to begin their careers. Kristine earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Business from Hanover College and her Master of Public Affairs from South University.
