Ivy Tech Community College President Emeritus Gerald I. Lamkin dies at 86
Gerald Lamkin served as the president of both Ivy Tech Community College and the Ivy Tech Foundation from 1983-2007. In his 40 years with the College, Lamkin served in a variety of roles, starting as a part-time instructor in 1967, just four years after the College was created by the Indiana General Assembly as the Indiana Vocational Technical College. He served as a full-time accounting and management instructor before moving into administrative roles including the business manager and director of education for the then-Indianapolis Region, dean for the then-Muncie and Richmond regions, and statewide vice president of operations before assuming the presidency in 1983. During his tenure, Ivy Tech went from an enrollment of approximately 45,000 to over 120,000 students in 13 individual regions with no transfer degrees to one comprehensive statewide community college with 23 locations.
A Hoosier native, Lamkin was born in Rising Sun, Indiana in 1936 and graduated from Rising Sun High School, where he played baseball, basketball and ran track. After graduating, he joined the United States Air Force. He later attended Indiana State University, where he earned both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Business Education. He worked for St. Louis Public Schools, the Ford Foundation Project, Ford Motor Company, and Indianapolis Arsenal Technical High School.
Among his many professional accomplishments, Lamkin was known for the love of his family and friends. He was a devout Christian and always had a positive attitude. He would lend a helping hand to all those in need. He was steadfast in his commitment to help others change their lives and make Indiana better.
A five-time recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honor an Indiana governor can bestow, Lamkin volunteered and served on numerous community boards and organizations. His affiliations included: American and Indiana Vocational Associations; American Association of Community Colleges; American Legion Post #59 – Rising Sun, Indiana; American Technical Education Association; Association of Community College Trustees (Advisory Committee of Presidents); Association of Governing Boards (Council of Presidents); Athenaeum Foundation – Indianapolis (past chairman); Building Trades Apprenticeship Coordinators (directors of Indiana); Clan McLaughlin Society; Columbia Club Foundation – Indianapolis (past chairman); Council of North Central Two Year Colleges; Indiana Chamber of Commerce (Life Member, Emeritus); Indiana Conference of Higher Education; Indiana Council of Vocational administrators (past president); Indianapolis-Cologne Partnership Cities (past member and chairman); Indiana German Heritage Society; Indiana Manufacturers Association; Indiana National Guard Foundation; Indianapolis-Cologne Partnership Cities (past member and chairman); International School of Indiana (past board member); International Sheet Metal Workers of America Accreditation Board; Phi Theta Kappa International Society of Two Year Colleges (president ambassador); Scottish Society of Indianapolis; Project 21 Planning and Assessment Committee for Vocational Education; and Zion Evangelical United Church of Christ – Indianapolis.
Lamkin is preceded in death by his parents, Robert Clayton and Ethel (McLaughlin) Lamkin, and brothers Robert James Lamkin and Clayton Byram Lamkin. He is survived by his wife, Louise (Theilig) Lamkin, son, William Ray Lamkin of Indianapolis, daughter Jeri (Lamkin) Criddle and son-in-law Troy Dempsey-Criddle, III of Florida, four grandchildren (Tyler Gerald and Nolan Leo Lamkin, Alison Louise Shields, and Ethan Ryder Criddle), and one great-grandson (Tyler William Lamkin).
Funeral and visitation arrangements are forthcoming, but the Lamkin family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Gerald and Louise Lamkin Scholarship with the Ivy Tech Foundation.
NO SINGLE LEADER HAS HAD MORE IMPACT ON IVY TECH THAN GERALD LAMKIN; HE WAS THE FATHER OF INDIANA’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM. HIS VISIONARY LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONED THE COLLEGE FROM A VOCATIONAL SCHOOL AND POSITIONED IT TO BECOME WHAT IT IS TODAY: INDIANA’S WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ENGINE.
– Sue Ellspermann, Ivy Tech President
Gov. Eric Holcomb appoints J. Timothy Morris and Kyle Seibert to IU Board of Trustees
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has appointed J. Timothy Morris, an Indiana University Kelley School of Business alumnus and founder and partner of Proprium Capital Partners, and Kyle Seibert, a Master of Public Affairs student in the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, to the IU Board of Trustees.
Morris is the senior managing partner and chief investment officer of Proprium, a privately held real-estate-focused principal investing firm. Proprium and its affiliates manage funds for over 50 institutional investors, including government and private-sector pension and retirement funds, banks, family offices, and sovereign wealth funds.
Seibert graduated with his Bachelor of Science in public affairs from the O’Neill School in May and will continue as a Master of Public Affairs student in the fall. He hopes to work in higher education after graduating from the program.
The IU Board of Trustees has nine members. The governor appoints six trustees, including a student trustee; IU alumni select the other three members. All trustees, with the exception of the student trustee, serve three-year terms. Morris will serve a three-year term, and Seibert will serve a two-year term, both beginning July 1. Morris succeeds longtime trustee Harry Gonso, who was most recently appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2017. Seibert succeeds student trustee Kelsey E. Binion.
This Week in Hoosier History
1959 – Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States (Republican: 2017-21) and Governor of Indiana (2013-16), was born in Columbus on June 7th.
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