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Jenny Johnson Wolf
Director, University Communications, IU Southeast
jejwolf@ius.edu
812-941-2630

Last modified: Tuesday, April 23, 2013

IU Southeast Chancellor Patterson-Randles announces retirement plans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2013

NEW ALBANY, Ind. -- Indiana University Southeast Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles has announced that she will step down from her current position effective June 30.

IU Southeast Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles

IU Southeast Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles

Print-Quality Photo

"In recent months some family issues have motivated me to reconsider the timing of my retirement from the chancellorship," Patterson-Randles said. "IU has been very gracious, first in extending my appointment and now in agreeing to a return to the original retirement timeline. I am truly proud of what our campus community and its many supporters have accomplished in my 11 years here, and I look forward to a continued bright future for the campus and people I so deeply care about."

Patterson-Randles, who became IU Southeast's first female chancellor in 2002, last year was granted a one-year extension of her appointment in exception to the university's retirement policy that at the time mandated that certain senior administrators, including regional campus chancellors, retire at age 65. Under the terms of that agreement, Patterson-Randles was to have served as chancellor at IU Southeast through June 30, 2014.

Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie praised Patterson-Randles' tenure as chancellor in accepting her decision to retire as an administrator.

"Sandra has led essential work to upgrade the facilities on the IU Southeast campus, including the construction of a new library and the creation of the first on-campus housing, and she has overseen a consistent improvement in the academic offerings and profile of the campus," McRobbie said. "We had hoped to extend Sandra's appointment by a year, but I respect her decision to leave under the original timeframe and look forward to her return to campus as a faculty member."

An interim chancellor will be appointed while IU begins the search for IU Southeast's sixth chancellor. Patterson-Randles, who was preceded in her role by four chancellors and two executive directors, will take a one-year leave before returning to the IU Southeast faculty to teach.

"Although her leadership will be missed, we completely support Sandra's decision, and I will work closely with her and her leadership team to ensure a smooth transition," said John Applegate, IU's executive vice president for university regional affairs, planning and policy. "Sandra leaves IU Southeast a stronger campus than when she took the job, and I am very appreciative of her excellent work over the past 11 years."

During Patterson-Randles' tenure as chancellor, she has guided the campus through two strategic planning processes, a highly successful capital campaign, the construction of a new library in 2005, the development of the Graduate Center in Jeffersonville, the campus' sterling reaccreditation review in 2010 and -- in what was perhaps the biggest change yet to IU Southeast -- the addition of on-campus housing in 2008.

IU Southeast also has seen a growth in enrollment during Patterson-Randles' tenure, and a number of academic programs at the campus have been recognized for their excellence, including the part-time MBA program, the nursing program and the campus' School of Arts and Letters. In addition, new degree programs, such as criminal justice and informatics, have been added.

Patterson-Randles came to IU Southeast in 2002 after serving four years as vice president for academic affairs at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. She earned her bachelor's degree in classical languages and literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder; and master's degrees in classics and English as well as a doctorate in English from the University of Kentucky.

About IU Southeast:

IU Southeast is one of eight campuses of Indiana University. Offering more than 50 degree programs and concentrations, the scenic 180-acre campus is less than 15 minutes from downtown Louisville, Ky. It has an enrollment of more than 6,900 students and employs more than 400 faculty members. About 400 students now live on campus in five fully furnished, lodge-style residence halls. IU Southeast is the most affordable four-year university in the region and offers significant financial aid to a majority of students. IU Southeast is a tobacco-free campus.