Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) has named Jodie Ferise, J.D. vice president & general counsel. She most recently served as associate provost for international engagement and chief international officer at the University of Indianapolis.
Ferise will work with ICI campus leaders to develop and coordinate the strategy and advocacy with legislators and policy makers about the benefits and importance of private higher education in Indiana. She’ll serve as ICI’s attorney on all legal matters and manager of all legal counsel ICI retains. Ferise will also oversee training programs for ICI campuses, including the recently launched ICI Leadership Academy.
Ferise taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels within UIndy’s School of Business since 2007. She is a firm believer in hands-on learning, exposure to diverse cultures and peoples, and opportunities to serve others. She led students in multiple study abroad programs and has written and presented domestically and internationally on related topics.
In 2011, she and her students founded Precious Words Africa, a project to take educational resources to students in West Africa. In 2019 the Precious Words Project expanded to include health and wellness education and programming.
Ferise was a civil litigation attorney for more than seven years before making the move to full-time teaching, and she served as pro-tem judge in the Shelby County Superior Court system for several years.
Locally, Ferise has been actively involved in work with the Burmese refugee community in Perry Township and served as an advisor on the Myanmar Students and Professionals Network, USA. She received a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts in Public and Corporate Communications from Butler University.