Dana Wavle left his family in New York to begin new position at IU Southeast.
Wavle, the new vice chancellor for finance and administration, is replacing former vice chancellor Steve Taksar.
“It was a great career opportunity,” Wavle said. “I had been looking at opportunities, but I didn’t see anything that was a good fit for what I value. When I read this particular ad, I was immediately drawn in by the Southeast values, the mission of the college and the quality of the academic programs.”
Wavle found that he was very impressed the range of academic programs at IU Southeast.
“There are a good number of programs, and I was impressed by the recommendations from The Princeton Review and Business Week,” Wavle said.
Before coming to New Albany, Wavle lived and worked in New York at the State University of New York Cortland.
“I actually worked for the nonprofit Auxiliary Services Corporation that served the campus. We oversaw the dining program, the college store, campus vending services. We also did other student services,” he said.
Wavle said his experience while working at SUNY had similarities with his position here at IU Southeast.
He said he was also involved with renovating facilities and the budgeting process, as well as overseeing 150 full time employees.
Not only did Wavle work for SUNY Cortland, he earned a degree in accounting at SUNY Geneseo.
“I received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from SUNY Geneseo and a MBA from Les Moines College. I’m a public education student and I value public education,” Wavle said.
“I couldn’t have gotten my degree any other way. When I got out of SUNY Geneseo I had exhausted all of my resources so I understand what it takes for a student to work their way through school and be a part time or nontraditional student,” Wavle said.
Wavle said for the most part he is new to southern Indiana, although he has family in Fort Wayne.
“Over the last 20 years we’ve made many trips to the Fort Wayne area but never to Southern Indiana. I like it, I really enjoy it and I think there are a lot of things to do here,” he said. “I think it’s a great area to raise a family.”
“(In New York) I have a wife and three sons, ages 17, 15 and 7. They’ll be moving here in late June or early July. For now I’m living in an apartment and I hope to find a house for them soon. My 17-year-old will actually be attending IU Bloomington.” Wavle said.
Wavle said in his spare time, he enjoys taking care of his retired racing Grey Hounds, biking and taking walks with his family.
He also said he is an avid reader and loves music.
“I love music of all sorts. I actually helped record a jazz CD a few years ago. I don’t think we sold many copies, but it was a lot of fun recording it,” he said.
“At my last job I was actually in charge of putting together an employee band and we preformed three classic rock songs,” Wavle said.
Wavle said he is ready to support the academic and educational mission of IU Southeast and wants to provide high levels of service to the campus community.
“What I want to do is keep the momentum moving forward and I hope to keep the old traditions and hopefully make some new traditions while we’re at it,” he said. “From an outsider’s perspective, I think that the students have something to be proud about here at IU Southeast.”
By TYLER RICHIE
Staff Writer
jtrichie@ius.edu
