WGU Indiana names two education leaders to board of directors

WGU Indiana welcomes two education champions to its board of directors. Carol D’Amico, Ph.D., is executive vice president, Mission Advancement and Philanthropy, at Strada Education Network. Todd Bess, Ph.D., is executive director of the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP).

“We value the tremendous experience and valuable perspectives that both Carol and Todd bring to our board,” said WGU Indiana Chancellor Allison Barber. “Carol has made a career out of improving the college-to-career connection, while Todd works with our state’s top secondary education leaders whose key mission is training students for success, both in high school and after.”

D’Amico is nationally recognized for education reform strategies that integrate higher education, business and workforce development efforts. In 2013, she joined Strada Education, where she helps to develop national and state-based philanthropic initiatives aimed at helping students attain post-secondary success and career achievement. She has served as executive vice president and chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, where she established a statewide workforce development strategy and programming, and served on several national and state-level boards, including a multi-term appointment to the Institute for Education Sciences by President George W. Bush. She has a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Indiana University Bloomington.

At IASP, Bess oversees professional development and advocacy for the state’s high school principals and building administrators. He began his career as a teacher then served as assistant principal and assistant superintendent at several north-central Indiana school districts. Today, he’s also on the adjunct faculty at Ball State University and affiliate faculty at Indiana State University, where he instructs in the regional Ph.D. cohort program for the Department of Educational Leadership. In 2017, he was named to the Indiana Department of Education transition team for Superintendent Jennifer McCormick. He has a doctorate in educational administration from Indiana State University.

“It takes a diverse range of expertise to develop the pipeline of talent that Indiana and its employers need,” Barber said. “WGU Indiana is thankful for the thoughtful counsel that Carol and Todd and all of our directors provide.”

About WGU Indiana
WGU Indiana offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate online degree programs in business, education, information technology and healthcare, including nursing. The non-profit university’s competency-based model allows students to accelerate through coursework at their own pace.
According to a 2016 Harris Poll, 95 percent of WGU graduates are employed, 87 percent of them in their degree field. According to a 2016 Gallup study, WGU graduates are more likely than graduates from other U.S. universities to have the jobs they want, feel engaged at work and have an emotional attachment to their alma mater. In 2012, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education recognized WGU Indiana for its contributions to the Commission’s “Reaching Higher, Achieving More” agenda for excellence in academic quality.
In 2017, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) again named WGU’s secondary teacher preparation program among the best in the nation for quality, ranking WGU in the top seven among 2,400 schools.
WGU Indiana has helped more than 5,000 Hoosiers achieve their dream of completing a college degree. Another 5,000 students are currently enrolled. For information about WGU Indiana’s degrees and scholarships, visit indiana.wgu.edu.