Fast-growing Harrison College hires Trinkle as provost

Harrison College hired its first provost and chief academic officer as the for-profit educator experiences rapid growth.

Dennis Trinkle will take charge of academic planning for the Indianapolis-based school, formerly called Indiana Business
College.

Trinkle has been executive director of IHETS, a technology-focused consortium of Indiana colleges, state
government, public libraries and broadcasters, since 2008. Under Trinkle, the sleepy organization raised its profile—with
numerous public radio sponsorships—and achieved double-digit revenue growth.

Trinkle, who is trained as a
historian but also holds an MBA degree, has spent much of his career focused on using information technology in education.
An Indianapolis native, Trinkle earned his degrees at DePauw University, the University of Cincinnati and the University of
Phoenix.

At Harrison, Trinkle will focus on enhancing online courses, recruiting and retaining instructors, and
winning accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission.

“The for-profit sector has been much more innovative
in education than any other sector, and that’s part of what attracted me to Harrison College,” Trinkle said in
a statement. He added, “This is a college with a 93-percent placement rate for graduates, which is much higher than
typical. By applying that kind of leadership to other areas, we can do incredible things.”

Harrison saw a
58-percent increase in new students between April 2008 and April 2009. It now enrolls more than 5,000 students online and
at 14 campuses, including a new one in Columbus, Ohio.