Like the IU East campus more than 30 years ago, the center was created because the community recognized a need and pooled its resources to find a solution. Just as most of Indiana, the community has been experiencing changes in the economy causing leaders to once again evaluate the community’s needs.

As part of a new plan, the Henry County Post Secondary Council, Inc., was recently formed to establish a clear vision of the educational needs in the community and how to strategically address those needs. Leaders from IU East, Ivy Tech State College region 6 and Purdue University College of Technology at Richmond have come together with community leaders to define that vision. New Castle Community School Corporation and the New Castle Area Vocational School also have become involved.

Areas that have been identified in the plan include degrees in business, nursing and criminal justice as well as training and certification for educators.

“If we want to create a center that will satisfy the needs and desires of Henry County, it is imperative that together we focus on lifelong learning in order to increase the economic vitality and quality of life,” said David Fulton, chancellor of IU East.

According to the research gathered for the plan, there has been a shift from a manufacturing-dominated area to one that has 62 percent of the workforce involved in management and professional careers, along with service and sales industries.

Ivy Tech and IU East, along with Purdue University College of Technology, are developing programs for the Danielson Center that complement one another.Ivy Tech is now offering an associate degree in nursing at the Danielson Center, and Karen Clark, dean of the Division of Nursing at IU East, will be evaluating the possibility of offering a bachelor completion program at the center.

“The state’s request for four-year institutions like IU East to focus on bachelor’s degrees and limit the number of associate’s degrees supports this newly created partnership with Ivy Tech,” said Fulton.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau, Henry County has more than 6,000 residents with some college experience but no degree and more than 1,600 with associate’s degrees.

A sub-committee of the council has been charged with reviewing the institutions’ program offerings and how those offerings fit with the needs of the community. They will then make recommendations to education officials sometime this year.

The council has also applied for a CAPE (Community Action to Promote Education) grant to provide financial support for the initiative established by the council. Those items include employing a student services coordinator and marketing specialist, providing financial assistance to students, creating an endowment to fund technology needs and supporting a health career program at the area vocational school.