2013-2018
Allison began his tenure as chancellor at IU South Bend in July, 2013. Among his accomplishments were developing a campus strategic plan that runs through 2020, aligning revenues and expenditures in the budget, expanding varsity athletics from 3 to 12 sports, acquiring the property where the Wooden Indian Motel and Club Landing stood on Lincoln Way East for future development, and expanding marketing to support enrollment initiatives.
He also was a driving force in fundraising and facilities improvements which included the naming of the Vera Z. Dwyer College of Health Sciences, raising millions of dollars in new scholarship endowments, the renovation and expansion of healthcare services at Riverside Hall, the remodeling of the first floor of the Administration Building, the renovation and naming of the Louise E. Addicott and Yatish J. Joshi Performance Hall, and establishing the new home of the women’s softball team – Pfeil Field.
He oversaw an increase in the four-year graduation rate, growth of the Honors and study abroad programs, and full-occupancy of River Crossing student housing. Allison also was behind the plan that is underway to redesign the IU South Bend Elkhart Center into a base for graduate programs in health sciences.
Prior to serving IU South Bend, Allison served as provost and vice president of academic affairs at Governors State University in Illinois, where he was also a professor of English, since 2010. From 2006 to 2010, he was dean of the College of Arts and Letters and a tenured English professor at California State University in Los Angeles. He was also a faculty member and served in a variety of roles at California State University, San Marcos, from 1991 to 2006.
Allison has a Ph.D. in literature and M.A. in comparative literature from the University of California, San Diego. He received a Master of Library and Information Science degree and an A.B. degree with honors in economics and political science from the University of California, Berkeley.