By Katie Rogers

Truth Staff

SOUTH BEND -- After he assumes leadership of Ivy Tech Community College this summer, president-elect Thomas Snyder plans to focus on securing the resources needed to improve the school's 23 campuses.

Still sorting out the particulars, Snyder indicated Monday that Elkhart's plans for a new campus have a place yet to be determined on Ivy Tech's priority list.

"The state has allocated more than $540 million to higher education," said Snyder during a welcome luncheon at Ivy Tech's South Bend campus. "More than $163 million of that went to Ivy Tech. We've got to look at that 163 and make sure that we work with the Commission (for Higher Education) and planning committee to get projects approved."

He said that Elkhart "wouldn't be on our list at all if it wasn't a priority."

Indiana lawmakers recently appropriated $16 million for the new campus in the 2007 legislative session, but that number will be crunched by the Commission for Higher Education and the State Budget Committee before any money is given and ground can be broken.

"Sometimes the money is given with crossed fingers," said Tracie Davis, executive director of marketing and communications for Ivy Tech's North Central Indiana division. "That means 'we want to give you the money' and 'yes, we will put this in our budget,' but there are other agencies that make the final decision."

After the committees assess the degree of need for a new Elkhart campus later this year, Davis said more will be known about a definitive groundbreaking date.

With 1,800 students crowded into the current campus, a building on Industrial Parkway, hopes are high that more information will be received soon.

"We could potentially open in the fall of 2010," Davis added. "But we don't have the money in hand. It's not a done deal, but we are making progress."

Plans for the new campus, which officials hope will be near the U.S. 20 Bypass, carry an estimated price tag of $42.3 million. The $16 million allocated by the state will cover infrastructure and planning costs, with the rest of the funding coming from authorized bonds and, Snyder hopes, donations from the community.

Teresa Shaffer, executive dean of the Ivy Tech Elkhart campus, said the current campus' overcrowding is "a good problem to have," and that even though plans for the project haven't been completed, the future for Elkhart looks bright.

"It's going to be very exciting for Elkhart County," said Shaffer. "It's kind of hard to believe, actually. At this point the community is going to need to work together and raise additional funding to show the state that we are serious about this and need something like this in the region."

Snyder, who will take over for Ivy Tech President Gerald Lamkin in July, comes to the school after a career focused on business growth and development. His wife, Bobbette, is executive director of the Leadership Academy of Madison County.

Contact Katie Rogers at krogers@etruth.com.