Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas has been elected chair of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Costas served as vice-chair of the state commission in the 2006-07 year. First elected Valparaiso mayor in 2003, he has a law practice in the field of elder law and is an adjunct professor at Valparaiso University law school.

He recently lost a bid to secure the Republican nomination for state attorney general in this year’s elections.

Elected vice chair of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education was Michael Smith, a retired executive with Anthem, Inc., and elected secretary was Marilyn Moran-Townsed, chairman and CEO of a Fort Wayne sales and marketing firm.

The Commission for Higher Education is made up of 12 appointees named by the governor, one from each of Indiana’s nine congressional districts and three at-large members, in addition to one student and one faculty representative.

Posted 6/19/2008