Dr. Ray Lutgring named vice president for academic affairs at Lindsey Wilson College

Lindsey Wilson College has announced that veteran educator Dr. Ray Lutgring has been named to the vice president for academic affairs position at the school.

Dr. Lutgring has spent nearly three decades serving in various higher education positions. He comes to Lindsey Wilson from the University of Indiana at Evansville, where he served as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for the past decade.

In an article posted on Lindsey Wilson College’s website, the college’s president, William T. Luckey Jr., was quoted about Dr. Lutgring joining the team, saying, “Dr. Lutgring is exactly the right person to lead the college through the exciting years on the horizon. He inherits an incredibly talented faculty who love our students and our mission.”

Dr. Lutgring was chosen to be in charge of Lindsey Wilson College’s academic programs after a nationwide search to find a replacement for Patricia Parrish, who previously served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and oversaw the school’s academic programs for the past six years.

Luckey went on to speak highly of Dr. Lutgring, saying, “Ray is a proven leader with outstanding credentials who understands the vital role that a church-related college plays in today’s higher education landscape.”

Dr. Lutgring noted that he was drawn to Lindsey Wilson College because he felt like he could identify with its student body, which contains many first generation students: “I didn’t always know I was going to college. I came from a blue-collar background and I found my way to a regional public university only because I did well in high school. Going to college changed everything for me.” 

Dr. Lutgring talked more about the type of students that tend to come to Lindsey Wilson and why that appealed to him so much, saying, “There are far more Pell-eligible, first-generation students at Lindsey Wilson than at my former institution – students who are much like I was at the same age. This was an important distinction as I looked at schools. Accepting this position is a chance for me to give back and help them.”  

Dr. Lutgring went on to talk about his priorities in his new position, such as working with students and faculties to offer more experiential learning opportunities: “I would like to encourage undergraduate research as much as possible and part of that stems from my own experience. As an undergraduate, I didn’t really know what that was about but I got the opportunity to work in someone’s lab and it was a great experience. It’s probably one of the things that taught me what graduate school was because I don’t even think I understood what that meant at the time,” he said.

The academic programs at Lindsey Wilson have experienced huge growth over the last decade and a half. The number of full time faculty at the school grew from 73 to 118; two graduate programs have been added, as well as a doctorate program in counseling education and supervision; the Class of 2023 was the biggest graduating class ever in the history of the school, and for the first time last year enrollment crested 3,000 students.

Dr. Lutgring has recently announced the addition of a new academic school: The School of Graduate Business and Technology. It will be the sixth academic school for Lindsey Wilson College. The school will house the Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Technology Management programs, as well as any future graduate programs in business that might come to the college.

Dr. Lutgring earned his bachelor degree in Chemistry from Indiana State University and his doctorate degree in Organic Chemistry from Purdue Indiana University. He has lectured and written about a wide range of topics on higher education, particularly within the topic of chemistry.

More information about Lindsey Wilson College can be found at the school’s website.