Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) and its National & Global program have appointed long-time business entrepreneur John Qualls as executive director of Eleven Fifty Academy to continue its mission of building a diverse tech talent ecosystem to support Hoosier employers.

Previously an executive at Eleven Fifty Academy, Qualls will lead the work of Eleven Fifty Academy, which will be positioned within a new 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that will operate as a separate legal entity under the IWU umbrella. Qualls will remain involved with his Organizational Culture Design firm PurposeHQ as it transitions to new leadership, with Natalie Engledow serving as president.

“I am extremely grateful for IWU’s trust in me to lead the academy’s effort to rapidly prepare our students for opportunities in the tech workforce, while also transforming their lives for their benefit as well as the communities where they work and live,” Qualls says. “I look forward to connecting with industry leaders, government officials and philanthropic organizations who all share the vision of boosting tech talent in our state.”

Qualls’s immediate focus is to re-engage current students to ensure their completion of the program with minimal interruption. He also will focus on actively marketing and recruiting new students who are exploring alternative pathways for learning, with new program start dates starting February 13th and new starts each month. Qualls wants to ensure the program offers the most flexible delivery model, which will include both hybrid and virtual options to reach the broadest array of students.

“Our students enjoy the flexibility of online courses but know they learn better in person,” Qualls says. “We agree, and are designing innovative approaches to leverage the IWU multi-state campuses to do so.”

Qualls’s long-term goals are to ensure students receive industry-relevant skills by continuing to engage industry leaders and updating the program in real-time, putting a focus back on helping students find their purpose, build character and develop leadership skills that he believes are a significant differentiation for Eleven Fifty Academy’s graduates from other coding boot camps. “It’s not just technical skills; we need to give them the skills to hit the ground running both technically and professionally,” states Qualls.

“We believe John is the right person to spearhead Eleven Fifty Academy through this transition as he has a great understanding of what made the academy successful from the start,” says Dr. Eileen Hulme, an Eleven Fifty Academy board member and Chancellor of IWU-National & Global. “In addition, he brings expertise and industry relationships with the tech community, which continue to help us reshape the program while providing students an affordable pathway to rapidly gain critical skills needed in today’s tech workforce. Eleven Fifty Academy has a bright future under John’s leadership.”

IWU’s Board of Trustees previously voted in December 2022 to acquire Eleven Fifty Academy assets, including the curriculum, current and prospective student lists and the contractor faculty. Since then, Qualls has led a transition that assumes responsibility for the continued education of students scheduled to complete their training in March 2023. IWU hopes to build relationships with program alumni and offer both current students and alumni an opportunity to continue their educational journey through IWU’s various programs.