Advocacy group finds leader in Kelley graduate

The advocacy group Hoosiers for Higher Education appointed a new director Monday. Debbie Sibbitt will take over the reigns from former Director Kirk White, who was called back to the Indiana Army National Guard when his unit was deployed to Afghanistan.\nSibbitt graduated from the Kelley School of Business in 1977 and is a Bloomington native. She said everything she has done for the past 25 years just seemed to point her back to IU.\n"I was humbled. It was the first word that came to my mind," Sibbitt said of when she first found out she had the job. "I just felt so honored to work for an institution that has always been in my life."\nSibbitt said she has many goals for her turn as director, which lasts one year, as all contracts between the University and HHE do. HHE engages IU alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents and friends to impact legislative decision on the importance of higher education for Indiana's future, according to its Web site. Sibbitt said she wants to involve more students in the volunteer organization and mobilize some 9,200 already registered volunteers in the state.\nOne of Sibbitt's biggest goals is to develop a Web site that interfaces the database of the HHE and the database of the IU Alumni Association so they can better communicate with their volunteers. \nSibbitt's first assignment will be to get to know the administration within the HHE, said Tom Healy, IU vice president for government relations.\n"Debbie has a very good background in community volunteering," he said. "She was also the executive director of the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau, so her time was spent marketing and planning meetings, which is the kind of skill and kind of experiences we want the director of HHE to have."\nSibbitt has also worked for several charitable organizations, including Girls Inc., the American Red Cross and the Colloquim for Women of IU.\nJ.T. Forbes, director for state and government relations at IU, "will be working arm-in-arm" with Sibbitt every day, he said. There are a lot of people within the HHE organization who are excited to have a new leader who will help target the group's efforts, Forbes said.\n"Appointing a new director to HHE will provide the organization with a leader who will build on the success of Kirk White and Sue Talbot," he said. "Debbie will also help mobilize people to illustrate and amplify our case for funding for higher education."\n-- Contact senior writer Mike Malik at mjmalik@indiana.edu.