Indiana University is at the forefront of driving economic growth, innovation, and workforce development across Indiana. Through the creation of dynamic initiatives and by engaging strategic partners, IU promotes innovation and translates research into real-world applications, further enhancing Indiana’s economic vitality.
The inaugural IU Economic Development Summit will bring together university leaders, business executives, policymakers, and community stakeholders to explore the university’s impact on economic development throughout the state. This event will highlight IU’s research, partnerships, and initiatives that foster business growth, talent development, and community resilience. Attendees will engage in meaningful discussions, networking opportunities, and collaborative planning to further strengthen Indiana’s economic future.
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Conference: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Reception: 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
University Tower Ballroom
911 W North St, Indianapolis, IN 46202
Hotel Information
The Hampton Inn by Hilton Indianapolis Downtown IUI is located a 5-minute drive or 15-minute walk from the conference venue. To reserve a room for the nights of 8/12 and/or 8/13 at a discounted group rate, please use our unique registration link.
Be sure to book by the cutoff date of July 19, 2025 to receive the negotiated rate.
August 13
August 14-15
| Time | Session | Speakers | Synopsis |
| 8:00-9:00 | Check-in & Breakfast | ||
| 9:00-9:05 | Welcome | Michael Huber • Vice President for University Relations, Indiana University | |
| 9:05-9:50 | Partnering for Progress: IU Southeast's Regional Engagement Strategy | Debbie Ford • Chancellor, Indiana University Southeast Joe Glover • Vice Chancellor for University Relations, Indiana University Southeast | IU Southeast’s Regional Engagement Initiative is a strategic effort to strengthen regional collaboration and drive economic and workforce development across Southern Indiana and the Greater Louisville region. This initiative connects university expertise with local priorities by fostering partnerships with businesses, government, schools, and nonprofits. Through on-site visits to communities across its 11-county Southern Indiana and 10-county Kentucky service region, IU Southeast leaders actively engage with stakeholders to understand local needs, align academic programs with workforce demands, and co-create solutions that enhance quality of life. Early outcomes include new internship and employment pathways, expanded dual-credit and early college access, and joint grant initiatives with community partners. The initiative is coordinated by the IU Southeast University Relations team in collaboration with academic units and is helping position IU Southeast as a responsive, accessible, and trusted anchor institution committed to regional prosperity through intentional, sustained engagement. Attendees of this session will learn how they and their institutions can serve as powerful catalysts for economic growth by building intentional, community-driven partnerships that address workforce, education, and economic priorities. |
| 9:50-10:20 | How Entrepreneurship Fits Into Economic Development and Regional Prosperity | Julie Heath • Executive Director, IU Innovates | In June 2025 the International Economic Development Council convened 70 thought leaders across the United States to inform the next chapter of the Entrepreneurship Development Professional strategy and certification. Each participant was asked in advance to prepare a best practice to share. Representing Indiana University and Indiana, Julie Heath shared the practice of combining storytelling with data, answering the question, "How might we better communicate the economic impact that entrepreneurs have?" This proposed session will explore how entrepreneurship fits into economic development and will highlight three areas of IU thought leadership: how IU Innovates collaborated with the Indiana Business Research Center to develop a method of measuring GDP driven by entrepreneurs and young firms at the county level; a visual storytelling tool for this data; and how a university-wide initiative to advance IU entrepreneurs serves local leaders by connecting IU's Plan 2030 Pillar 1 with Pillar 3. Attendees of this session will gain access to a longitudinal Tableau map with GDP generated by young firms in each Indiana county between 2017 and 2022. Attendees will also receive a copy of the IU Entrepreneurship 2025 publication that spotlights stories of 58 IU entrepreneurs and entrepreneur supporters from seven IU campuses. |
| 10:20-11:05 | Partnership to Foster a Manufacturing Pipeline through University Innovation | Ryan Henderson • Senior Director of Innovation, Conexus Indiana Travis J. Brown, PhD • Senior Executive Assistant Dean, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, & Commercialization; Executive Director, Shoemaker Innovation Center, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University Bryce Himebaugh • Clinical Associate Professor, Associate Chair, Intelligent Systems Engineering Department; Faculty Director, Cheng Wu Build Clinic, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University | This session will facilitate a discussion regarding the university’s role in training the next generation of manufacturers and developing innovations to generate demand for Indiana's manufacturing resources. Conexus, an initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) focused on positioning Indiana as a leader in advanced manufacturing and logistics (AML), and the Shoemaker Innovation Center, which fosters student innovation and entrepreneurship at Indiana University Bloomington, have partnered to strengthen the relationship between the university and Indiana manufacturers, including developing educational programming and collaborating with manufacturers to more effectively connect them to the student innovators and entrepreneurs in need of product development and manufacturing support. Anyone interested in discussing what skills universities should be teaching students to prepare them for a career in manufacturing and how the existing expertise of the state's manufacturers can be better leveraged to commercialize the innovations emanating from universities should consider participating in this workshop. |
| 11:05-11:30 | Break & Lunch Buffet | ||
| 11:30-12:15 | Lunch Keynote | David J. Adams • Indiana Secretary of Commerce Pamela Whitten • President, Indiana University | |
| 12:15-1:00 | From Competition to Collaboration: Building the North Central Indiana Healthcare Talent Alliance | Shawnda K. Morris, MBA, PHR • Sr. Workforce Development Program Partner, Trinity Health at Saint Joseph Health System & Loyola Medicine Pamela Morrison MBA, BSN, RN, CENP • Manager of Workforce Development, Beacon Health System Elizabeth Paice • Chief of Staff, Indiana University South Bend Shivangi Tiwari • Financial Analyst, enFocus, Inc. | Indiana and the nation are facing a critical talent shortage within the healthcare sector. Beginning in the summer of 2022, Indiana University South Bend, in partnership with local nonprofit enFocus, spent 18 months coordinating multiple rounds of interviews, community discussions, and case study analysis to devise solutions for the talent crisis in the South Bend-Elkhart region. What resulted was the creation of the North Central Indiana Healthcare Talent Alliance, an organization that turns competitors into collaborators. The Alliance includes leaders from major healthcare systems such as Beacon Health System and Saint Joseph Health System, as well as K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and workforce development organizations. Together, these organizations are committed to attracting, educating, and retaining healthcare talent in the South Bend-Elkhart region. Join us to learn more about the process used to turn an idea for a cross-sector partnership into a reality. |
| 1:00-1:45 | Small Business Development in Wayne County | Jaynne Rivas • Associate Professor of Management, Indiana University East Jeff Huffine • Co-founder and Client Services, Iron Gate Creative Patrick Ripberger • Co-founder and CEO, Mezzo Solution and Helping Academy Megan Ripberger • Co-founder and Clinical Director, Mezzo Solution and Thinking Feeling Center Cynthia Ropp • Founder, Wag-n-Bag Poo-Pickup Services Claudia Edwards • Founder, Pacha Digital Marketing & Nonprofit Solutions Tiara Piatt • Founder, Tiara Piatt Insurance Company | This session presents a USDA-funded initiative to supporting small business recovery and growth in Wayne County, Indiana, through a localized and inclusive Managerial Program. The project tackled ongoing challenges faced by rural entrepreneurs—particularly limited access to tailored managerial and technological resources—by implementing a three-phase approach: individual business assessments, community-based strategic planning, and targeted deployment of business tools. Emphasizing collaboration, the presentation features insights from local business owners and marketing professionals who co-developed personalized support frameworks. It highlights the role of university-community partnerships, rooted in evidence-based and participatory strategies, in promoting employment and sustainable economic outcomes in rural regions. Two presentation formats are proposed: a preferred facilitated roundtable encouraging dialogue on lessons learned and replicable strategies, and an alternative panel with a case study and narrative from a participating business. The session underscores IU East’s role in addressing regional economic disparities and advancing inclusive, place-based economic development in Indiana. |
| 1:45-2:15 | IU LAB: Building Ecosystem and Industry Partnerships | David Rosenberg • President & CEO, IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences (IU LAB) | This session will discuss the impetus for IU LAB and how the LAB is being positioned in the ecosystem to garner support and long-term buy-in and partnership. This will also address IU LAB's approach to industry partners to help lead transformation and align industry workforce needs to the training of the university. |
| 2:15-2:25 | Break | ||
| 2:25-3:10 | Teach Local: Partnering to Develop the Teacher Workforce through Registered Apprenticeships | Tara Kingsley, PhD. • Associate Dean and Professor of Education, Indiana University Kokomo Leah Nellis, PhD. • Assistant Vice President for School Partnerships, Office of School Partnerships, Office of the Vice President for Regional Campuses and Online Education, Indiana University Carla Ballenger • Project Management Specialist, Registered Apprenticeships, Office of School Partnerships, Indiana University | This presentation will describe a new initiative that is helping school districts strengthen their teacher workforce through the IU Registered Apprenticeship Program for K-12 Teachers (IU RAP-T). Approved by the US Department of Labor (DoL), the IU RAP-T is is a structured pathway for aspiring teachers to work in a school-based position, with a mentor teacher, while completing an IU bachelor’s degree. Involving local P-12 school districts and IU educator preparation programs and the IU Office of School Partnership, the IU RAP-T launched in the fall of 2024 and continues to grow in communities across the state. The panel will describe the IU RAP and the process for securing DoL approval, discuss the success and lessons learned during the first semester of implementation, and explore future opportunities for growth in registered apprenticeship programs and the value for workforce development. |
| 3:10-4:00 | Lightning Round Presentations & Closing Remarks | Ken Iwama • Vice President for Regional Campuses and Online Education, Indiana University | |
| 4:00-6:00 | Reception | ||
| Session | Speakers |
| Driving economic development in Indiana with high-quality data and insights: Harnessing the research capabilities of Indiana University’s institutes and centers | Ashley Clark • Director, Center for Survey Research, Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, Indiana University; Clinical Associate Professor, O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington |
| Creating an Education Program for Regional Economic Development Professionals and Public Officials | Anthony B. Sindone, MA • Director of the Center for Economic Education and Research, Indiana University Northwest |
| Workforce Development Pipeline Partnership for Enhancing Awareness about Health and Research Careers | Brandi Gilbert, MPH • Director, Life-Health Sciences Internship Program, Indiana University Indianapolis Matt Allen, Ph.D • Professor, Indiana University School of Medicine and Co-Director, Workforce Development, Indiana CTSI |
| Global Workforce Initiatives with Indiana Educators | Eli Konwest • Director, Center for the Study of Global Change, Indiana University Linda Mann • Global Employability Coordinator, Center for the Study of Global Change, Indiana University |
| BOSS Program: Business Opportunities for Self-Starters | Tim Scales • Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and the Center for Economic Education at Indiana University East; Founder and CEO of the IU East BOSS program |
| Bridging Talent and Economy: Human Capital Trends and Workforce-Aligned Academic Strategies | Kathleen Arano • Professor of Economics, Indiana University Southeast Arun Srinivasan • Professor of Economics, Indiana University Southeast Uric Dufrene • Professor of Finance, Sanders Chair in Business, Indiana University Southeast |
| $4.2 Billion Lost: Engaging to support families with high-quality child and youth care | Dr. Deb Getz • CYC-P Associate Clinical Professor, Indiana University |
| Indiana’s International Superpower | Hilary E. Kahn • Vice Provost, International Affairs; Associate Professor, Anthropology, IU Indianapolis |
