News Release
December 12, 2006
Martha Lamkin's retirement announced
Indianapolis – Martha D. Lamkin, the first president and CEO of Lumina Foundation for Education, announced today that she will retire from Lumina at the end of 2007.Lamkin has served as Lumina’s chief executive since the Indianapolis-based foundation formed on August 1, 2000. She was executive vice president of USA Group, the nonprofit organization that preceded the Foundation, from 1991-2000. A longtime leader in Indiana civic and philanthropic circles, Lamkin also has chaired the Central Indiana Community Foundation’s board of directors and served as president of the Cummins Engine Company Foundation in Columbus, Ind.
In making the announcement to Lumina staff, Lamkin said, “I am grateful to the Lumina board of directors for the opportunity to lead the launch of an organization deeply dedicated to expanding college access and success.”
Lamkin said that, while she intends to remain active in professional life, the timing is right for a change at Lumina. “Organizations have life cycles. My role was to start the life cycle of this foundation. As we head into the home stretch of Lumina’s current strategic plan, it is time to find the person who will help create the next plan. With great affection for the staff and admiration for Lumina’s work, I will retire with full confidence that renewed leadership represents a moment of opportunity for Lumina and for me to continue growing in service for the common good.”
John M. Mutz, chairman of Lumina’s board of directors, said the board will immediately launch a national search for Lamkin’s successor. He noted that Lumina’s board – which is also committed to renewing itself through staggered term limits – enthusiastically supports Lumina’s mission and its commitment to research, innovation, policy and communication. “We will not be looking for a major shift in course,” Mutz said. “Rather, we will be looking for a leader who possesses Lumina’s passion for improved student degree attainment, wants to build on the commitments we’ve made, and shares our sense of urgency for moving this agenda to serve students and our nation.”
Mutz noted that, under Lamkin’s leadership, Lumina has grown its assets to more than $1.3 billion from $775 million, making it the 39th-largest private foundation in the nation. It has developed a niche as a foundation solely focused on issues of college access and success on a national scale. “Martha has been instrumental in creating a nonprofit institution with a laser-like focus on student success,” Mutz said. “She has helped create a national imperative for equipping students to complete an education beyond high school. The board is grateful for her contributions in building a solid organization that can carry on Lumina’s mission – to help more students earn the certificates and degrees they need – for decades to come.”
In its first six years, the Foundation has made some 360 grants totaling more than $121 million. The most noteworthy grant initiative to date is Achieving the Dream, a $55 million program designed to improve student attainment rates in the nation’s community colleges. Currently, that effort involves 58 colleges in nine states. In 2007, Achieving the Dream is expected to include more than 70 colleges in at least 11 states, supported by Lumina and a half-dozen other funders that have joined the movement. In addition, the Foundation has supported key research that policymakers are now using to make informed decisions about college access. In Indiana, where Lumina Foundation sets aside 10 percent of its annual grant budget, hundreds of additional high school students have taken Advanced Placement and dual-credit courses to give them a jump start on college.
Thanking Lamkin for her contributions, Mutz said, “Martha has been on top of her game during her years at Lumina.” He pointed to a number of key accomplishments: “Because of the work that Lumina has supported during Martha’s tenure, tens of thousands of families in 34 states have help in filing the federal form for college financial aid; several thousand families who lost a parent on 9/11 have scholarships available to help pay for the college educations of their children; hundreds of schools are improving the ways in which they serve students in the first critical year of college, and hundreds more are improving the way they engage students in learning.”
Lamkin noted that the work of ensuring access and success for aspiring college students is far from complete, observing that America faces huge challenges to remain the land of opportunity, particularly for burgeoning numbers of low-income students, students of color, and students who are the first in their families to attend college. She said, “Lumina came on the scene at a time of growing awareness about changing demographics, rising college costs, and major shifts in the world economy and job market. I’m pleased to play a role in drawing attention to shifting social and economic trends that deeply affect how we must respond to the changing needs of students.”
She added, “In the coming year, we will continue to set the stage for my successor to push hard for changes inside and outside of higher education. We want to prepare this nation for the new face of America and to help the United States restore its international position – from eighth to first in the world in educational attainment among young adults. Lumina’s mission is critically important to our nation’s future because education is the basis for individual opportunity, economic vitality and social stability.”
About Lumina Foundation
Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based, private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school. Through grants for research, innovation, communication and evaluation, as well as policy education and leadership development, Lumina Foundation addresses issues that affect access and educational attainment among all students, particularly underserved student groups, including adult learners. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in themselves and that society can make in its people. For more information, contact Dollyne Sherman, Lumina Foundation's communication director.
