Ivy Tech Kokomo taps community leader Vicki Byrd for honorary degree
Last Updated on May 11, 2024 by Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area
Byrd honored for many contributions in healthcare, economic development
KOKOMO, Ind. — As the Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo Service Area celebrated commencement May 10, the College recognized Vicki Byrd of Logansport with the honorary degree Associate of Science in College and Community Service.
Dr. Ethan Heicher, chancellor of the Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area, cited Byrd’s decades of service to the local community as well as her contributions to the College in announcing the award. Byrd is a two-term member of the Ivy Tech Kokomo Board of Trustees who recently retired after 17 years as vice president of planning and development at Logansport Memorial Hospital.
“When I think of Vicki Byrd, I think of a stream of positive attributes – careful, attentive, knowledgeable, thoughtful … and extremely connected to her community,” Heicher said. “I can’t go to any meeting in Cass County or Logansport without seeing Vicki there. She is that big of a contributor, that important an advocate for her community.”
The honorary Associate of Science in College and Community Service degree is just the latest recognition for a lifetime of service and contributions.
Heicher noted that in Vicki’s two terms as a member of the Ivy Tech Kokomo Board of Trustees representing healthcare, she has been instrumental in the expansion of healthcare opportunities offered by Ivy Tech in the Cass County area. “Whether it’s the creation of K-14 pre-healthcare pathways in high schools, including Lewis Cass and Winamac, or the expansion of the Nursing program on the Logansport campus,” he said, “Vicki with her role as a trustee and her role at the hospital has provided Ivy Tech leaders with advice and direction needed to meet community needs.”
Byrd is recognized for her extensive experience in community and economic development, going back to her days as vice president of operations for the North Central Indiana Private Industry Council and president/CEO of Workforce Development Strategies. “What I value is her extensive understanding of the who, what, when, and why of community growth,” the chancellor said. “She’s been a valuable asset to much of the work connected to the growth of our communities, especially in the manufacturing spaces of Logansport, Kokomo and Peru.”
A graduate of Logansport High School, Vicki went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from DePauw University and a Master of Science in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University. She has held leadership roles in the Logansport Rotary Club, the United Way of Cass County, Better Health of Cass County, the Cass County Chamber of Commerce, Logansport Parks & Recreation Foundation, and the Area Health Education Center. She also serves as a member of the Complete Streets Committee and Logansport Re-Imagined.
Vicki and her husband, William, live in Logansport.
SOURCE: News release from Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area