Principal Garber Named IUSB Alumni of the Year

The award, established in 2016, recognizes one alumnus from each school on campus for the difference they’re making in their communities. It’s meant to highlight graduates who reflect the same values IU South Bend works to instill in its students.

Garber is in his first year as principal of Walt Disney Elementary for the 2025–26 school year. Before that, he served as assistant principal at Schmucker Middle School starting in the 2023–24 school year.

He began his career as a school counselor with Fairfield Community Schools at New Paris Elementary. In 2020, he moved to Elkhart Community Schools, where he worked as a dean and assistant principal at both Hawthorne and Mary Beck Elementary Schools.

Garber attended Bethel University and Indiana University South Bend, earning a degree in organizational management and a master’s in school counseling. He later completed his principal licensure program through Ball State University.

He’ll be recognized during IU South Bend’s Night of the Titans in October, alongside other Alumni of the Year recipients and honorees receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award and Chancellor’s Medal.