WHO IS MICHAEL WARGO

The pandemic has provided us with an unexpected opportunity. Its profound disruption to our global marketplace has caused virtually every industry to consider how they can reinvent themselves to better serve employees, customers and stakeholders. As one of the leading comprehensive public universities in the world, IU’s existing areas of expertise and advanced technological capabilities uniquely position us to help our partners in business, government and healthcare create integrated environments that marry the best of the past with the best new practices we’ve learned during the pandemic. As we do so, we’ll be better able to prepare our students for careers in these newly reimagined workplaces.

Our ultimate success will be defined, however, by our ability to address the workforce and societal needs of the future by preparing students with the knowledge they’ll need to make an immediate impact in their chosen fields, along with the emotional resiliency and leadership skills they'll need to thrive in a rapidly changing world. 

Online course offerings that emerged during the past year enabled students to continue their education safely and with more flexibility. That experience is now core to how students will evaluate their enrollment options in the future. Remote and distance learning is nothing new to Indiana University. Our IU Online has long offered students the ability to take remote classes, which helped many members of our faculty transition to the expanded online learning necessitated by the pandemic. As the digital delivery of education becomes more prevalent, we must ensure that faculty across all disciplines receive the technical training necessary to continue providing a world-class education.

Learning is not just about the transfer of information, it’s also about personal and social interactions. As a trustee, I will advocate for the further development of a hybrid educational model – informed by the needs of students and employers and delivered by a well-trained faculty – that strikes an appropriate discipline-specific balance between in-person and online learning that promotes student success. IU’s preeminent technological infrastructure enables us to literally meet learners where they are. We must invest in future technological innovations that empower students by providing convenient connectivity to the entire curriculum thereby further enhancing the experience of learning. 

EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE

Chief Operating Officer, Hospice Foundation, 2008 to Present

Chief Operating Officer, Global Partners in Care, 2016 to Present

President & CEO, Wargo Enterprises, Inc., 1999 – 2010

VP of Human Resources, Quality Dining, Inc., 1994 – 1999

PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 

Assistant Vice President, Valley American Bank & Trust Company 

Human Resources Officer, NBD Bank, N.A. 

Business Education Chair, Michiana College

Management Instructor, Ivy Tech Community College 

MILITARY SERVICE

Personnel Manager, 168th Air Refueling Squadron

NCOIC, Performance Assessment Unit, 343rd Tactical Fighter Wing

Formal Training Manager, 343rd Combat Support Group 

IU AWARDS & HONORS

IU South Bend Commencement Speaker, 2010

IU South Bend Distinguished Alumni Award, 2010

IU Alumni Association President’s Award, 2001

IU School of Continuing Studies Distinguished Alumni Award, 1999

IUSB Student Government’s Outstanding Alumni Award, 1999

IUSB Chancellor’s Medal for Service, 1997 *

*As President, accepted this inaugural award on behalf of the IU South Bend Alumni Association on which the honor was bestowed.

OTHER AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Zachary Morfogen Art of Caring Award, Nat'l Hospice Foundation

Humanitarian Award, Accolade Film Competition

Distinguished Guest Professor, Purdue University

Air Force Commendation Medal (w/Oak Leaf Cluster) 

Eielson Air Force Base Personnel Specialist of the Year

Chapman Award, American Institute of Banking

Van Gogh Award, Amsterdam Film Festival

Grand Jury Award, Hollywood Florida Film Festival

Best Documentary Film, Los Angeles Film Awards

Best Director, Documentary Feature, LA Independent Film Awards

ALUMNI SERVICE

IUAA Executive Council, 2020 to Present & 1999 - 2002

President, IUSB Alumni Association (2 years)

Vice President, IUSB Alumni Association (2 years)

IU South Bend  Alumni Board (16 years)

Community Captain, Hoosiers for Higher Education, 1993 - 2013

UNIVERSITY SERVICE

IU South Bend Advisory Board (11 years)

Vice Chairman, IUSB Advisory Board (4 years)

Bicentennial Steering Committee, 2016 to 2020

Vera Z. Dwyer Chair of Palliative Care Search Committee, 2018

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Advisory Board, 2015 – 2018

Chairman, IUSB Campus 150th Anniversary Event, 2003-2004

IUSB Chancellor Search Committee, 1995-96

IU South Bend Silver Celebration Committee, 1990-1992

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Editor-In-Chief, The PREFACE Newspaper, 1981 - 1982

President, Student Government Association, 1980 - 1981

Treasurer, Student Alumni Council, 1981

Senator, Student Government Association, 1979 - 1980

CURRENT BOARD SERVICE

Member, IU Alumni Association Executive Council

Board Chairman,  Business Development Corporation

Board Member, Michiana Public Broadcasting Corporation/WNIT Public Television 

Executive Director,  South Bend Rotary Charitable Foundation 

Commander/Adjutant, American Legion Post 151

1st Source Bank Business Banking Advisory Board 

PAST BOARD LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

President, American Institute of Banking

Vice Chairman, Northern Indiana Workforce Investment Board 

Board Chair, Workforce Development Group, Inc.

Board Chair, Center for Hospice Care

Board Chair, Hospice Foundation

Ambassador, Foundation for Hospices in Subsaharan Africa

OTHER BOARD SERVICE

Penn Harris Madison Education Foundation

Concord Schools Business Advisory Council 

Founding Member, South Bend Parks Foundation 

Association of Fundraising Professionals