Snyder to retire as Indiana Tech president in 2017

May 16, 2016

Snyder to retire as Indiana Tech president in 2017

Kevin Leininger | News-Sentinel

Dr. Arthur E. Snyder, president of Indiana Tech since 2003, will retire from his position on June 30, 2017 -- the conclusion of the 2016-17 academic year. He is the eighth president in the history of the school, which was founded as Indiana Technical College in 1930 in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Accomplishments during Snyder's tenure include growth in traditional undergraduate enrollments, which has more than doubled from 626 in 2003 to 1,443 today; a three-fold increase in adult student enrollments in the university’s College of Professional Studies (CPS), from 2,608 in 2003 to over 8,400 in the current academic year. CPS students learn online as well as in the evenings at Indiana Tech’s regional campus locations; expansion of the university’s academic offerings, including the launch of Indiana Tech Law School in 2013, introduction of the region’s first Ph.D. program (in global leadership) in 2009; and the establishment of more than two dozen new degree programs at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s levels since 2004.

Snyder has also overseen significant additions and improvements to Indiana Tech’s downtown Fort Wayne campus, including the addition of six new residence halls; Indiana Tech Law School; the Academic Center; the Warrior Athletic Center; and complete renovations to the Wilfred Uytengsu, Sr. Center, the Cunningham Business Center, and the Warrior Fieldhouse. Of the 18 buildings on Tech’s main campus, 12 have been built or renovated during Snyder’s tenure. There has also been growth in regional campus locations around the Midwest, including multiple Tech locations in the Indianapolis area; Evansville; northwest Indiana; Louisville, Ky.; Cincinnati/Fort Wright, Ky.; Chicago and Detroit. The law school recently received provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association.

The school has prospered financially as well, with a more than five-fold growth in its endowment, from $18 million in 2003 to $96 million today.

In a statement, Snyder said “It’s been a privilege to work with an outstanding and dedicated team of faculty and staff here at Indiana Tech over the past 13 years, and I look forward to our work together in the coming academic year. Since we first arrived here in 2003, my wife, Camille, and I have had the pleasure of getting to know so many of our wonderful students of all ages and backgrounds, and have been fortunate to see them grow in every area of their lives."

Janet Chrzan, chair of Indiana Tech’s Board of Trustees, stated, “Dr. Snyder is truly a leader in every sense of the word – one who will be succeeded but not replaced. His commitment to students across Indiana Tech becomes quickly apparent to all who meet him. All of us on the Board are grateful for his service."

A committee comprised of members of the Indiana Tech Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, has been formed to search for a successor. Though retiring from his day-to-day role as president, Snyder will continue to serve as president emeritus and will also continue his work within higher education as a writer, speaker and consultant.

For more information about Indiana Tech, visit www.indianatech.edu.