Sue Ellspermann recently retired as president of Ivy Tech Community College, the nation’s largest statewide, singly accredited community college system. From 2012 to 2016, she served with Governor Mike Pence as Indiana’s 50th lieutenant governor. She was first elected in 2010 as state representative for District 74. Previously, Ellspermann served as the University of Southern Indiana’s founding director of the Center for Applied Research and Economic Development and operated Ellspermann and Associates Inc., focused on creative problem solving and strategic planning consulting. Early in her career, Sue held industrial engineering positions at General Motors, Michelin and Frito-Lay.
Ellspermann earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Purdue University and master’s and doctoral degrees in industrial engineering from the University of Louisville. She currently serves on several corporate boards, including OneAmerica Financial, German American Bank, and OFS; advisory boards including the Ferris State Doctorate in Community College Leadership and Sisters of St. Benedict; and other boards including the Applied Research Institute, Center for Leadership Development, and the Midstates Corridor Regional Development Authority. She and her husband, Jim Mehling, live in Ferdinand, Indiana, and have a blended family of four daughters, three sons-in-laws, and 10 grandchildren.