Ross and Barbara Bretz’s Commitment: Support for Ivy Tech Kokomo Healthcare Programs

Having retired from many active years in business and property management, Ross and Barbara Bretz were ready to share all their experiences and good fortune with others. The recipients of their generous gifts? The students of Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo.

Thanks to their kindness, the Ross and Barbara Bretz Healthcare Specialist Laboratory Suite is now an important feature of Ivy Tech Kokomo’s new Health Professions Center. The new space simulates real-world working environments with equipment that prepares students to move right into local medical offices, hospitals, and healthcare facilities in high-demand jobs.

The Bretzes have also arranged a planned gift in their will to establish the Ross and Barbara Bretz Endowed Scholarship to support multiple scholarships for healthcare specialist, dental assisting, paramedic, medical assisting, surgical technology, and nursing students for years to come.

Both Barb and Ross have come to deeply respect and appreciate those in the medical field. So, as they discussed their estate with their attorney, the conversation turned to the opportunities Ivy Tech offers in preparing local residents for jobs in healthcare professions.

Describing education as her passion, Barb said the donations to the Kokomo Campus Transformation Project and the endowed scholarship embody their commitment to others. “I’ll support anything when it comes to health careers and education,” Barb said. “If I can provide the means that allow students to get the education they need, that’s what I want to do. 

“There’s no better way to use our money than to give it to students,” she continued. “If I can make it easier for one student, that would be worth everything in the world to me.”