Teresa Lubbers, commissioner for Indiana’s Commission for Higher Education, will deliver the 185th commencement address to the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College class of 2019. Lubbers will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters at the ceremony on May 11.
In 2009, Lubbers was appointed to serve on Indiana’s Commission for Higher Education, the agency charged with ensuring the state’s post-secondary education system is aligned to meet the needs of students and the state. Prior to joining the Commission, Lubbers served in the Indiana State Senate for 17 years, leading on education and economic development issues as chair of the Senate Education and Career Development Committee.
As commissioner, Lubbers works to increase college completion, ensure academic quality and student learning and align postsecondary credentials with meaningful careers. She partners with policymakers and higher education leaders to develop and implement the state’s higher education strategic plans, including the Commission’s recently adopted third plan, “Reaching Higher, Delivering Value.”
Lubbers is a past chair and a current member of both the State Higher Education Executive Officers and the Midwestern Higher Education Compact. She serves as vice chair for the National Council for State Authorization, commissioner for the Education Commission of the States and the Postsecondary Value Commission, a member of the advisory council for the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and the Level Up Advisory Council and a member of Indiana’s Governor’s Workforce Cabinet. Additionally, she serves on the Higher Learning Advocates Board of Directors and is a fellow for Complete College America.
Lubbers is past chair and a current member of the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis and chair of the YMCA Foundation. She is the co-founder of the Lugar Excellence in Public Service series.
Lubbers holds an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.