The Indiana Commission for Higher Education voted unanimously Friday to appoint Secretary of Education Katie Jenner as the next commissioner of higher education, further cementing Gov. Mike Braun’s plan to streamline oversight of education from kindergarten through college.
Jenner will assume the role Oct. 11, succeeding Chris Lowery, who is stepping down after more than three years in the position. She will simultaneously continue leading the Indiana Department of Education and serve in Braun’s cabinet.
“I’m just so thrilled to continue serving the state of Indiana and ensuring education across K-12 and higher education is as aligned as possible for our students, parents and families and our state ahead,” Jenner said after the vote, held in Indianapolis.
Commission leaders noted that existing higher education staff will remain in place, and that any structural changes would require legislative action.
Outgoing Indiana Higher Education Commissioner Chris Lowery gives remarks before Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner was voted by the CHE board as his replacement during a meeting on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)Dan Peterson, the CHE board chair, said the move provides “continuity, clarity and consistency” across the state’s education vertical.
“There’s so much interaction already between K-12 and higher ed, from dual credit to the college core to 21st Century Scholars,” Peterson said. “Those programs are only as effective as the ability of students and parents to really understand how to take advantage of those opportunities. So this move … makes a ton of sense.”
Lowery, who began preparing his transition “months ago,” praised the choice.
“Katie Jenner has been a good friend for more than a decade … this is someone whose life is devoted to education,” he told commissioners at the Friday meeting. He called the consolidation “a logical next step” after Braun created a more “unified” education structure in state government earlier this year.
Combining two rolesBut not all commissioners were immediately comfortable with the merger of K-12 and higher education oversight.
Board member Pepper Mulherin said she wasn’t yet sold on combining the two roles but ultimately voted yes.
“I love the work that Secretary Jenner has done with K-12 education,” Mulherin. “I’m not one for blurring the lines … I’m still struggling. I still like K-12 as its own entity, versus higher education.”
Jenner said her immediate focus will be listening and learning before making any changes.
“My first priority is to dig into some of the good things that the commission has going on right now,” she told reporters after the vote. “We’re not going to spend time admiring the problem. We’re going to really get after solutions, and we’re going to move quickly to do everything we can to support Hoosiers.”
She also acknowledged Indiana’s ongoing challenge to increase college-going rates, especially for low-income, Black and Hispanic students.
“Educational attainment really matters,” Jenner said. “It matters for a person’s social and economic mobility.”
Getting more Hoosiers to collegeShe pointed to the state’s high school redesign work — overhauling diploma options and increasing opportunities for juniors and seniors to earn industry-recognized credentials or college credit before graduation — as a way to give students a head start.
“It really changes the game for our people, because they don’t have to just wait until after high school to get started,” she said. “We can start to ensure we’re targeting and working with students as early as possible to make that connection, quite frankly, a lot more effective than it is today.”
Jenner additionally addressed concerns that the new Indiana diploma will push more students directly into the workforce rather than college. She said the state must do more to demonstrate the value of higher education and ensure programs lead to meaningful opportunities.
“Indiana’s college-going rate, like our country’s, has been in a decade of decline,” she noted. “I wholeheartedly believe if we keep doing the same things on repeat, we’re just going to continue with those status quo numbers.”
She maintained that partnerships between high schools, colleges and employers will be critical to boosting college enrollment, too.
Lowery said he and Jenner will work together in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth handoff.
“It’s a privilege to do this, and it’s a privilege to get to do it with roughly 50 people on the staff,” he said. “Helping her know more of those details, answering anything I can with her, (and) trying to help make it just as smooth and set up for the kind of success that our state deserves.”
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