IU Northwest names Andrae Marak, Ph.D., as new Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Indiana University Northwest has named Dr. Andrae Marak as its Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. He will begin his appointment on Monday, June 1, 2026.

Marak comes to IU Northwest with decades of leadership and teaching experience at various higher education institutions across the country.

Most recently, he served as the Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he led record increases in the growth of freshmen and international students. This was part of two consecutive years that saw overall enrollment rise by more than 300 students, including increases in freshmen, transfer, international and graduate student numbers.

At Roosevelt, Marak launched new academic programs, increased freshmen retention, reduced overall expenses by nearly $10 million, and led a team who successfully secured nearly $22 million in grants, among other accomplishments.

Before that, Andrae served as Dean of Graduate Studies and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Governors State University; Division Head in the Division of Liberal Arts at Indiana University Columbus; as well as Interim Director of the Honors Program and Chair of the Department of History and Political Science at California University of Pennsylvania.

His vast experience leading, focusing on improving students’ grades, increasing enrollment and retention, creating new programs, and developing new faculty, along with his more than two decades of teaching experience, made him an ideal candidate to join the executive team at IU Northwest.

“I am so excited to be joining IU Northwest and its talented faculty, staff and students,” Marak said. “I look forward to hitting the ground running as we pursue growing the institution, improving student retention and graduation and better serving Northwest Indiana.”

Marak will replace Cindy Roberts, Interim Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and former Dean of the School of Business and Economics. Roberts has led the Academic Affairs portfolio at IU Northwest for the past two years and will be retiring from the university on August 1.

Marak will be responsible for all aspects of academic affairs on the Northwest campus, serving alongside Chancellor Arrick Jackson. In this role, Marak will help lead the strategic direction of academic programs, strengthening the academic excellence of the IU Northwest campus and advancement of Indiana University.

“Dr. Marak’s long leadership and teaching experience at universities across the country make him well-positioned to succeed in this role,” Jackson said. “His career accomplishments are as impressive as they are numerous, as he’s added new academic programs, restructured colleges and successfully secured tens of millions of dollars in grant funding.

“As we look forward to seeing continued growth on our campus, we are excited to see what his vision will bring, leading the most important part of what we do, the success of our students.”

Marak earned his Ph.D. in Latin American Studies, History and Political Science from the University of New Mexico. He earned his graduate and undergraduate degrees, both in Political Science, from Syracuse University and Marquette University, respectively.