IT”S TIME TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED IN SUPPORT OF IVY TECH!
From the very beginning Dr Steve Becker’s and Dr. Dan Adams vision was that Ivy Tech would be an important part of the IU Medical Center-Evansville in order to achieve “REAL TEAM CARE” results.
In 2013, the preliminary rendering of the IU Medical Center-Evansville campus was quietly presented to the IU Medical School Center creative team. Â The architectural drawings had four separate building pods and one section included floor space for Ivy Tech.
In 2015 Mayor Winnecke and City Council committed $57 million in construction bonds to the IU Board of Trustees for this project.  The Mayor, as well as his economic development cheerleaders: the Chamber of Commerce,  members of the “Build the IU Medical School Campus” downtown Evansville committee, union leaders and his political buddies rallied Ivy Tech students, faculty members, and the taxpayers of this community to support this attractive economic deal.  All agreed and joined this venture “Hook-Line and Sinker”.  Unfortunately, in 2015 the Ivy Tech’s final capital project budget request did not include the capital development funds for this project.
Last week, Ivy Tech’s 2017-18 capital project budget was approved and yet again, did not include funds for Ivy Tech’s participation in the IU Medical Center-Evansville campus. Â This begs the question, “Why is it that a Republican Mayor backed by a Republican controlled House and Senate, with a Republican Governor couldn’t ensure that his 2015 re-election commitment to the citizens of Evansville that Ivy Tech medical students would be part of the new downtown IU Medical Schools complex.
As it stands only IU, USI and U of E medical students will only be participating in this project. Â In the original estimates that these schools can only generate around 200 medical students or 12% of the total student population per year without Ivy Tech being a part of the project. Â With Ivy Tech being involved in this joint educational venture the projected student enrollment for the downtown IU Medical School would be around 1,700 students. Â It now looks like the 1,500 medical students shall continue being trained at their Northside location.
It should also be noted that representatives of our local main stream media continue to ignore this issue. Shouldn’t they stand up and report that Ivy Tech medical students are bluntly being snubbed by not being allowed to be part of this worthy educational venture.
The link below contains the final 2015 PowerPoint presented by the Allied Healthcare Consortium. Note that on slide 13, Ivy Tech is included in the partnership line and rendering, yet slide 16 documents the absence of Ivy Tech’s funding. When this discrepancy was publicly acknowledged by Mayor Winnecke and area legislators publicly promised to see that Ivy Tech’s would include this project in their 2017 and 2018 capital budget.
CLICK HERE to review the POWERPOINT presentation that illustrates the entire process and design schedule of the proposed IU Medical School-School-Evansville project.  You shall quickly see that Ivy Tech was part of this educational venture from day one.
Bottom line, the taxpayers of this community are now on the “financial hook” to pay $57 million dollars for an educational project that has eliminated a major educational entity (Ivy Tech) needed to insure that this venture has maximum success!  In fact, this entire deal reeks with academic snobbery!  Its time for the taxpayers of our community, business leaders, healthcare professionals and the many hundreds of thousands of past and present alumni, students, employees of Ivy Tech to conduct a peaceful rally at the Civic Center in support of Ivy Tech being included in this worthy educational project!
EDITOR FOOTNOTE: Â WE ASK THAT YOU CONTACT THE FOLLOWING ELECTED CITY AND STATE OFFICIALS AND REQUEST THAT THEY CONTRACT THE GOVERNOR AND THE PRESIDENT OF IVY TECH AND DEMAND THAT THEY INCLUDE IVY TECH IN THE IU MEDICAL SCHOOL COMPLEX PLANS FOR THE 2017 AND 2018 BUDGET YEARS.
E-MAIL ADDRESSES OF ELECTED STATE OFFICIALS
(You need not to contact State Rep Gail Riecken because has already contacted the Governor and Ivy Tech President to request that this be done)
VANDERBURGH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS E-MAILS ADDRESSES
MAYOR WINNECKE E-MAIL ADRESS
EVANSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS E-MAIL ADDRESSES
jbrinkmeyer@evansville.in.govÂ
IT”S TIME TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED IN SUPPORT OF IVY TECH!
Crickets…. Apparently people just don’t care anymore.
And what is Weinzapfel’s position on this issue? Is he wanting to keep those students on his turf or let them leave his campus?
According to the C&P, another new hotel will be built in downtown Evansville to handle the overwhelming flow of new conventioneer’s that will ultimately flock to Evansville due to its new downtown developments.
Is this overly optimistic, or are the builders getting such tax breaks that even if the hotel fails, they can still sell the building at a profit ?
Is the Ford and Convention Centers really that much to make Convention business want to come here ? Is this growth occurring too fast, or is there some other angle why Hotel owners would build 3 hotels in the downtown area before actually seeing the demand exceed the supply before deciding to build ?
No tax breaks on this new hotel.
Furthermore, is the idea that if you can get business conventions to be held in Evansville, they will see what a nice place it is and choose to develop new business’s here ?
Isn’t Evansville just going to be the 9th IU Regional Medical School Campus ?
http://lafayette.medicine.iu.edu/about-iusm-lafayette/history-of-medical-center-system/
Seems like something long overdue, rather than a big game-changer. Plenty of other campuses to compete with them.
Evansville already has a medical campus, has since the late 70’s. Its on the campus of USI now and will simply move when the new bldg. is ready. No new students, no new employment unless they get a grant of some kind for research ( a possibility).
The legislature failed to fund the Ivy Tech portion due to low graduation rate. Ivy Tech should definitely be a part of this project. The result of the legislature’s action will be to encourage Ivy Tech to pass students along whether or not they deserve it. But the failure to fund Ivy Tech was not the mayor’s fault or Dan Adams or even Steve Becker’s.
Comments are closed.