Indiana University Northwest Chancellor Ken Iwama is stepping down to become IU’s vice president for regional campuses and online education, the university announced Monday.
He came to IUN in 2020 from City University of New York, College of Staten Island, where he oversaw economic development as a campus vice president.
Initially, Iwama called himself the “Zoom” chancellor because the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced online remote meetings and he had to wait a few months before meeting colleagues face-to-face.
Iwama, who begins his new post July 1, succeeds Susan Sciame-Giesecke who’s retiring.
In the coming weeks, following consultation with IU Northwest faculty, staff and students, the university will announce interim leadership plans and details for the search for a permanent IU Northwest chancellor.
According to a release, Iwama’s tenure led to a surge in regional campus grant activity and awards for academic programs.
Officials credited Iwama with stabilizing post-pandemic enrollment declines and in the fall of 2023, the campus achieved an increase in first-year undergrad students and its highest number of applications and admitted students in more than a decade.
“I’m looking forward to building on the robust academic community we’ve nurtured at IU Northwest as I serve Indiana University in this new role. As we move forward together, I have no doubt that we can create new connections with community partners, bolster our academic programs, and expand the reach and impact of IU Online — among countless other initiatives that will further strengthen our regional campuses and online offerings,” Iwama said in a statement.
IUN became the first campus after IU Bloomington to implement the student-success Groups Scholars Program supporting first-generation students and students of color.
IUN is also the first comprehensive public institution in the state to receive designation as a Hispanic- and Minority-Serving Institution, recently achieving the campus’s all-time-high percentages of Hispanic students, 29.1%, and all students of color, 53.9%.
“From CUNY to IU Northwest, Chancellor Iwama’s track record of success and his deep commitment to the success of students is unmatched,” IU President Pamela Whitten said.
Iwama’s actress daughter Midori Francis Iwama, who played a lead role in Netflix’s “Dash and Lily,” stole the show at his 2021 installation as she read passages from “Romeo and Juliet” and “Hamlet.”
Iwama also introduced his parents, saying his father immigrated to the U.S. in 1949 and was guided by his great uncle, Frank Iwama, who spent World War II in an Arizona internment camp.
Despite losing everything during the war, Iwama said his great uncle still believed in the promise of America.
“It has been a privilege to serve alongside Chancellor Iwama,” Sciame-Giesecke said. “I can’t wait to see how IU, our regional campuses and IU Online continue to grow and thrive in the years to come.”
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
