Roy Y. Chan, Special Projects Coordinator of the IU 21st Century Scholars Program, has been named the Director of TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) at Lee University
Roy Y. Chan, a highly respected scholar-practitioner at the IU School of Education with extensive experience in college retention and completion, will join the Office for Academic Affairs at Lee University as its next Director of TRIO Student Support Services (SSS). Roy currently serves as the Special Projects Coordinator in the IU 21st Century Scholars Program at Indiana University Bloomington. His new appointment begins on July 15, 2019.
Established by Philip A. Seabrook at IU Bloomington in 1995, the IU 21st Century Scholars Program has grown to become the largest non-TRIO student support services program for low-income students in the United States. With the support of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE), the IU 21st Century Scholars Program currently serves more than 3,000 low-income students each year on the IU Bloomington campus and has awarded annually more than $30.5 million scholarships each academic year.
"Roy’s work with the IU 21st Century Scholars Program has always represented the very best of what makes the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs (OVPDEMA) special: a commitment to ensuring students from any background can find success at IU,” said James C. Wimbush, Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs, Dean of The University Graduate School, and Johnson Chair for Diversity and Leadership. “This is truly bittersweet, because while Roy will be dearly missed by his colleagues and the students in our 21st Century Scholars Program, I know Roy will serve Lee University with the same passion he exhibited at IU."
During the past three years, Roy has catalyzed an unprecedented expansion of its academic and career programming for Scholars at IU Bloomington, including the launch of the IU 21st Century Scholars Program-Pass the Torch for Women Mentorship Program and the IU 21st Century Scholars Program-Ascend Indiana partnership. Roy has also strengthened the office’s culture and effectiveness, collaborating with various schools and OVPDEMA units on issues pertaining to the diversity, equity, and inclusion of underrepresented populations; building new cross-sector partnerships with middle and high school students with the support of the IU Community & School Partnerships; and fostering new relationships with policymakers and practitioners at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE). Since 2016, Roy has organized, published and disseminated more than 100 newsletters to current IU 21st Century Scholars, staff, alumni, and faculty members. He has presented evidence-based research topics on the Indiana 21st Century Scholars Program at the IU First Year Experience (FYE) Biannual Conference, Indiana TRIO Professional Conference, National Symposium on Student Retention (NSSR), and the National Access College Network (NCAN) National Conference.
“Roy has played a critical role in elevating our program’s profile across the Indiana University system and providing the much-needed assessment elements to our department,” said Vincent E. Isom, the Director of the IU 21st Century Scholars Program. “He was a champion of new ideas and initiatives for underserved populations at Indiana University Bloomington and we will undoubtedly miss his good spirit and intellectual leadership around our office.”
Patrick D. Smith, Executive Director of the IU Mentoring Services and Leadership Development (MSLD), added "Roy was an outstanding colleague who contributed greatly to the mission and vision of OVPDEMA, IU 21st Century Scholars Program, and to IU MSLD. His unwavering commitment to student success has allowed our program to provide comprehensive mentoring services for Indiana 21st Century Scholars at IU Bloomington."
"Collaborative partnerships, like the one we have with the IU Bloomington's 21st Century Scholars Program, are vital to the work we do in OVPDEMA and at IU,” said Julia M. Jennings, the Director of the IU Community & School Partnerships & University-wide Coordinator of the IU Herbert Presidential Scholars Program. “Roy has been a supportive and valued colleague. While his leaving presents a loss to the IU community, our team wishes Roy the best in his new role and looks forward to following his continued success."
“I believe that the work of academic administration is to be an advocate for underserved communities in terms of the representation of individuals with different backgrounds, identities, capabilities, and life experiences,” said Roy Y. Chan. “Those of us in the academy share a collective responsibility for diversity, inclusion, and belonging. I have been fortunate and blessed to be part of this mission as a doctoral student, staff member and adjunct faculty member at IU, and I hope to bring these principles to my new role at Lee University.”