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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Ivy Tech Community College board of trustees has selected Martin Pollio to serve as the college’s 10th president, the board announced Wednesday.
Pollio currently serves as superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, or JCPS, in Louisville. He will begin his job at Ivy Tech on July 1.
No stranger to the Hoosier State, Pollio earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Indiana University. While at IU, he worked as a team manager under men’s basketball coach Bob Knight from 1988-1993.
He has been with JCPS for nearly 30 years and has served as superintendent since 2017. With nearly 97,000 students. JCPS is Kentucky’s largest school district and one of the nation’s 30 largest public school districts.
“Marty Pollio is a results-driven, dynamic leader with immense heart and passion for students,” Andrew Wilson, chairman of the Ivy Tech State board of trustees and co-chair of the presidential search committee, said in a news release. “We are confident he will build on the innovation and growth we’ve experienced in the last decade and bolster our ability to help more Hoosiers achieve their academic and career goals.”
Pollio, 53, will succeed Sue Ellspermann, who last June announced her plans to retire from Ivy Tech after 10 years in the role. Her contract ends at the end of the academic year.
The college conducted a national search with the assistance of executive search firm Isaacson, Miller to identify potential candidates. The board said Pollio rose to the top of the list “for his passion for students and experience creating results around workforce readiness and academic excellence.”
The board said that during his tenure at JCPS, Pollio focused on improving culture and climate across the district, increasing student achievement, and building systems that ensure all students graduate both college and career ready.
“Ivy Tech is doing great things in Indiana,” Pollio said in the release. “I’m honored to be joining such a strong institution, and I’m ready to continue building more value for students and communities across the state.”
Last October, Pollio announced plans to retire as superintendent of JCPS on July 1, but the district did not indicate he was being considered for the job at Ivy Tech. However, Pollio did note in his letter to the JCPS staff that he did not intend to leave education entirely.
After graduating from IU, Pollio was an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky University, where he earned his master’s degree. He received a doctorate from the University of Louisville in 2012.
Ivy Tech is Indiana’s largest postsecondary institution, serving more than 200,000 students across 19 campuses throughout the state.
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Why would Ivy Tech, which is so critical to the continued economic growth of Indiana, and which provides the edcational gateway to a successful life for thousdands of Indiana residents, hire a 70 year old person to lead this most critical institution? Doesn’t Ivy Tech need a much younger professional who can serve for no less than a decade and who is much closer in age to the students Ivy Tech serves? I am both confused and concerned by this selection.
Pollio is not 70, but he is frequently mixed up with a 70-year-old comedian from Louisville with the same name.
States in the article that he is 53.