The White House has presented Karen Ivy, professor and assistant dean with the University of Arizona Global Campus, with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is the highest honor presented by the President’s Volunteer Service Award and recognizes individuals whose outstanding service has significantly impacted communities across the country.
Dr. Ivy has over three decades of combined business and leadership experience in aerospace, manufacturing, commercial consumerism, health care, information technology, and higher education industries. At the University of Arizona Global Campus, she teaches and serves as the assistant dean of technology studies in the Forbes School of Business and Technology. In this role, she oversees the school’s implementation of new technology solutions.
Throughout her career, Dr. Ivy has been dedicated to mentoring up-and-coming professionals and lending her professional expertise to several organizations including NASA’s Apollopalooza and the Aerospace Frontiers Education Committee. Additionally, she is a consultant for several programs across the world that are dedicated to advancing women’s representation in STEM. In 2013, she founded the U.S. to Uganda Connections Program, an international initiative that uses technology to inspire and empower youth through educational exchanges and leadership development.
Dr. Ivy is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where she majored in mathematics with an emphasis on computer science. She holds an MBA in management and marketing from St. Thomas University in Florida and a Ph.D. in organizational management with a specialization in e-business from Capella University.