Dr. Stacy Townsley currently serves as Vice President for Adult Strategy and Statewide Partnerships at Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana.

In this role, Townsley helps develop and lead strategic statewide initiatives to support adult learner success through cross-functional and cross-sector campus and statewide partnerships, with a particular focus on working with employers, community-based organizations, and government agencies. Her work champions adult-friendly higher education practices including expanding the recognition and use of credit for prior learning (CPL).

Before coming to Ivy Tech in 2017, Townsley was Associate Commissioner for Research and Analysis at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, where she oversaw the Commission’s data collection and reporting efforts.

Previous roles in higher education include academic administration and serving as an adjunct faculty member working with adult learners at four-year institutions. Townsley’s academic and professional interests center on supporting effective cross-sector collaboration. She is a member of the Education Design Lab’s inaugural Designer in Residence program and is involved with the Indiana Talent Network focusing on talent attraction, development and connection.

She earned her Ph.D. in Organizational Systems from Saybrook University in 2014 with a focus on exploring how effective community partnerships are developed and sustained. Townsley also completed a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and undergraduate work at the University of Tulsa.