KOKOMO, Ind. - When Susan Sciame-Giesecke started teaching at IU Kokomo, she didn't know she'd one day be Chancellor. She has a seat in The Red Chair to talk about what she's most proud of on our campus: close student and faculty relationships.
Play the video to hear more of the Chancellor's story, and don’t forget to like and subscribe if you are looking for more great content.
The Red Chair is randomly placed around the IU Kokomo campus. Anyone walking by is free to sit down, get comfy, and share their experience about IU Kokomo.
Indiana University Kokomo celebrates 75 years as north central Indiana’s choice for higher education.
Description of the video:
Indiana University Kokomo’s Chancellor Susan Sciame-Giesecke sits in the Red Chair.
“I’m Dr. Susan Sciame-Giesecke and I am the seventh chancellor at Indiana University Kokomo. I am so honored to have this role. I’ve been at IU Kokomo for my whole career. I started as a very young professor, and today I get to lead this institution, and that to me is just a remarkable honor.”
Chancellor Giesecke continues, “probably if I had to talk about anything about Indiana University Kokomo I’d want to talk about our students and their stories. When I was in New York City, the faculty members that went for the students in art actually got up every morning and made breakfast for their students in their hotel room. They were cooking eggs, they had these little stoves and I just thought ‘wow.’ Here are these people that could run down the street and get a bunch of bagels and have everybody eat a bagel, but no, they were taking time, energy and effort to make sure that students had a great breakfast. You could just see the relationship between the students and faculty and how close they were and how they saw each other as colleagues, not really faculty and students. It was just so inspiring. I know at Indiana University Kokomo that we are that private school at a public-school price. That private school where students know each other and more importantly that faculty care about each student and really have invested in them.”
“I think the most surprising thing for folks when they come to campus is that they still have this sometimes older image of us, of a commuter campus, where people go because they have to, and I think people are surprised when they get on campus and they talk to our students and that they’ve chosen IU Kokomo, and they’ve chosen it because it is small, because people do know you’re name, because faculty and staff care about you and that’s the surprising thing. It’s when they get here that they realize what a gem we are,” she said.
“I’m honored and privileged to be the chancellor of Indiana University Kokomo. Every day I get to work with wonderful people, faculty, advisors, staff and students. I get to be with students who are growing and working to achieve their dreams, and there is no better job than the one I have,” Chancellor Giesecke said.