Bosma: Multiple issues led to Ivy Tech's exclusion from Evansville medical campus

The General Assembly approved $25.2 million for programs to be offered at the campus by the Indiana University School of Medicine-Evansville and the University of Southern Indiana. The University of Evansville, a private institution, is funding programs on its own.

But Ivy Tech’s request for $22.9 million was snubbed by legislators. Bosma, who was the guest at Tuesday’s Noon Rotary luncheon, was asked point-blank: Why?

“I think there was concern first of all expressed about investment in another immediate building,” Bosma told the club, referring to Ivy Tech’s First Avenue campus. That facility was expanded and renovated in 2006 for $38.2 million.

Bosma pointed to what he described as proximity from the college’s First Avenue site to the new Downtown medical campus. The distance is three miles.

“On top of that, Ivy Tech, while I’m a fan and an advocate and love it, had a large building program for the last 15 years and student enrollment has had a significant change,” Bosma said. “That isn’t just locally, that’s statewide. I’d say that’s a factor.

“And then there’s one overarching factor to all of it, and that was a perception by one influential finance committee senator (Luke Kenley) who had — I’m going to call it a lie because that’s what he called it — he thought he had a misrepresentation regarding some things, and he actually stood in front of every Ivy Tech construction project this year. The sum total of Ivy Tech construction projects this year is zero.

“So, it was kind of a convergence of all these things,” Bosma continued. “It probably will now be in the press since it hasn’t been said publicly, but that’s OK. I got a call from several of the trustees who are friends, and others, who wanted to hear the straight scoop. It really wasn’t just about Evansville, but there also was concern about the Ivy Tech investment that already was in place here and how that moved forward.”

Bosma, in an interview after his speech to the Rotary Club, said Kenley thought he was not given accurate information about some of Ivy Tech’s performance metrics.

Bosma said he does not believe the issues that kept Ivy Tech’s programs from being funded in the next two-year budget will prevent it from being funded in future budgets.

“I think the trustees and the (Gov. Mike Pence) administration are working on a meeting to try to get some of those things squared away,” Bosma told reporters.

Ivy Tech’s removal from the medical campus was a disappointment for local officials, who have also praised the Legislature for including funding for the IU and USI programs, enabling construction of the campus to begin.

It is tentatively scheduled to open in fall 2017.

Pence signed the two-year budget into law. On a visit to Evansville recently, Pence said the medical campus will be critical for Southwestern Indiana, and he called the state’s initial $25.2 million investment “a down payment.”

But Ivy Tech Southwest Chancellor Jonathan Weinzapfel said the college’s exclusion from the next two-year budget was frustrating. Ivy Tech students will comprise a majority of students at the new medical campus, with its nursing, health sciences, surgical tech, medical assistant, medical lab tech, paramedic and therapeutic massage programs being offered there.

Weinzapfel said he and Ivy Tech Trustee and Old National Bank CEO Bob Jones met with Kenley a few days before the legislative session ended, and the conversation seemed positive.

Kenley asked about how space at the First Avenue campus would be reallocated once medical programs relocated. Weinzapfel said there were several possibilities, such as expansion of technology and automotive programs, and the use of space by the Work One employment service agency.

“He didn’t bring up any concerns about graduation rates or anything like that,” Weinzapfel said of Kenley.

Ivy Tech’s enrollment statewide climbed rapidly following the 2008 national economic downturn but leveled off as the economy improved, Weinzapfel said.

The Evansville campus recognized 957 graduates at its recent commencement, a 20 percent increase from the last academic year. The college awarded 1,360 degrees, certificates and technical certifications.

Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, attending the Rotary luncheon, thanked Bosma for the state’s investment in the Downtown medical campus. Winnecke has said he will continue to support Ivy Tech’s inclusion, and said the college remains a partner.

Ron Faulkner, the Vanderburgh County Democratic Party chairman, issued a news release calling for Ivy Tech to be part of the campus.

“Working adults needing training to get better jobs in medical fields and students graduating high school without the financial resources to attend Indiana University, University of Evansville or even University of Southern Indiana will be left out,” Faulkner said.