Irvine Sullivan Ingram was born 11 November 1892 in Whitfield County, Georgia, the oldest child of George Conley and Annie Lee Irvine Ingram. His father died when Ingram was a teenager, leaving him to help support his younger sisters. He became a school teacher and took college courses as time allowed.

In 1919, he became school superintendent for Chipley, Georgia. In 1920, when J. H. Melson resigned as principal of the Fourth District Agricultural and Mechanical School in western Georgia, Ingram was selected to succeed him even though he had not yet earned a bachelor's degree.

It was at the Fourth District Agricultural and Mechanical School that he met his future wife, Martha Munro, a teacher and daughter of attorney George Munro, the chairman of the school's board of trustees. They married in 1921 and had one child, Anne, in 1924. Ingram earned an A.B. degree from the University of Georgia in 1928, and an A.M. degree from Emory in 1933. In 1952, he was awarded an honorary Ed.D. from Oglethorpe University. In 1955, Ingram's wife died of cancer. He never remarried, and spent much of his remaining life with his daughter.

Ingram was instrumental in developing the concept of "extension" education and adult-education offerings along with a summer school program for local teachers to develop their skills. In 1933, the Board of Regents abolished the Fourth District Agricultural and Mechanical School and established a junior college in Carrollton, West Georgia College, appointing Ingram as its first president.

Among his achievements was obtaining a substantial grant of $250,000 from the Rosenwald Foundation used to expand the college's facilities and programs, including the Sanford building, originally used as a library. In the mid-1940s, West Georgia College began the College in the Country program, initially an adult or continuing education program that eventually involved student teachers from the college, and foreign exchange programs that brought national recognition to the college.

In 1957, the Board of Regents granted four-year status to West Georgia College. Ingram was president of West Georgia College until his retirement on 1 July 1960. His successor, William H. Row, died unexpectedly during his first year in service so Ingram came out of retirement for six months in 1961 until a successor, James E. Boyd, came .

Ingram was active in the community for the next twenty years, writing a column for the Carrollton newspaper and serving in local civic groups. He also traveled around the world with his daughter, and wrote about his impressions and experiences for the newspaper and in other venues.

Ingram died 27 December 1981 and is buried in the Carrollton City Cemetery.