Not only is Ray Wallace the Chancellor of IUS, but he has recently been elected as the Chair of Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) Council of Presidents.

Wallace has been the Chancellor since July 1, 2014, and now takes on another role within the university.
The KIAC was founded in 1916 and has 13 institutions and 15 championships. The KIAC is also associated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA), which is the division that IU Southeast is apart of.

“For me, it’s an opportunity to help mold an athletic conference and help other chancellors and presidents expand and enhance the conference we’re in,” Wallace said.
Being the Chair, Chancellor Wallace said his duties are to attend the national conference and to make sure that all members and participating institutions are informed of any rules changes or news.

Also, as a member of the Council of Presidents, Chancellor Wallace says that he has voting rights.
The KIAC Commissioner, Scott McClure, described Wallace’s new roles. McClure said that Wallace has voting rights on everything, whether it be new sports or new schools being introduced in the conference.

“The Council of Presidents oversees the KIAC conference as a whole,” McClure said.

Chancellor Wallace expressed that accepting this position is a natural progression of his role of Chancellor of IU Southeast.

Wallace said that becoming a part of the KIAC Council of Presidents is an honorable achievement.

“It’s an opportunity to see college athletes develop in a responsible manner,” Wallace said.

Wallace was a track athlete for East Illinois and represented his country of Ireland from 1977-81 in the sport. Wallace credits being a student athlete for where he is in life right now.

“I would not be where I am today if I had not been a student athlete,” Wallace said.

Wallace says that when it comes to being a ‘student athlete,’ or a ‘college athlete,’ academics always come first.

“I want to ensure that athletes are treated fairly but that they are expected to do well in school and graduate.”

However, the conference is expanding.

According to Joe Glover, athletic director, the KIAC has expanded to 13 teams in five states. He says that with the expansion and the unfamiliarity to the conference, he will continue to bring nothing but positivity.

Not only will Wallace sit as the Chair of the KIAC Council of Presidents, but also as the main representative at the national level, who runs the entire NAIA, Glover said.

“He already has a good feel for this conference,” Glover said. “He understands the uniqueness of this conference. We have public schools, private schools. We even have an all women’s school in the conference.”

Glover said that these characteristics are special within the conference and Wallace understands these characteristics better than anyone.

A difference between this Chancellor and other IU chancellors is the Wallace is the only one out of past and present chancellors to get to the national level.

“He is the first IU Chancellor of any campus in the IU system to represent on the national Council of Presidents,” Glover said.

According to Glover, having Wallace in this role solidifies the conference and makes the KIAC more respected among colleagues and peers.

“We are really proud of him,” Glover said. “It really makes our conference even that more respected.”

McClure agrees with Glover, saying that Wallace has the seriousness and the drive to push the conference forward.

“He will not only handle this role,” McClure said,” but he will thrive at it, and one thing that will help is him being so outgoing.”

One change that Wallace has mentioned was the name change of the conference that will happen in the next two years after its 100th anniversary.

McClure also brought up the changes being voted on in the conference in the next months.