Indiana University President Pamela Whitten has not released any public statement on changes to alumni elections for the Board of Trustees.
(Indiana University)
Pleas and criticism grow as Gov. Mike Braun has full control over the Indiana University Board of Trustees, but one voice has been silent.
Republican lawmakers added aprovision just before passing the state budget late in the session, giving Braun the power to remove alumni-elected trustees and select their replacements. Before Braun signed the budget into law, alumni had elected three of nine trustees since 1891.
Four former Indiana University Board of Trustee candidates are asking President Pamela Whitten to publicly address the recent legislative changes and provide transparency on her involvement.
Candidates John McGlothlin, Mark Land, Mike Lancioni and Scott Gudeman asked Whitten to break her silence in a letter Thursday. They asked her to specify her involvement in the changes, if she was consulted by lawmakers and if she advocated for keeping alumni representation.
“We fill silences with the worst assumptions, right?” said McGlothlin. “It's hard not to speculate that there was collusion of some kind going on between IU administration and state officials. I'm not saying there was, but those optics stink.”
IU spokespeople didn’t respond by the time of publication.
McGlothlin said Whitten’s silence seems to show that she’s not considering IU’s stakeholders, including alumni, students, faculty and employees.
“It's a public institution,” McGlothlin said. “They just seem particularly uninterested in communicating with, explaining, having any sort of dialogue with any of those stakeholders when it comes to university stewardship.”
The General Assembly passed the budget in April, and Braun signed the budget into law on May 6. Gudeman said the administration should have some input by now.
“Our hope would be like she admits that she's been advocating for us,” Gudeman said. “It does lead to speculation when there's complete silence.”
The university has cancelled its trustee election next month. Gudeman said the cancellation prompted the letter, and the candidates felt it was their last opportunity to have a voice.
“My emotions have gone up and down,” Gudeman said. “Though what really keeps me engaged is this passion for IU.”
Lancioni said the way the university treated the candidates — and by extension the alumni — was not professional.
“We all are still Hoosiers,” Lancioni said. “We support Indiana University greatly, but this is wrong.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and trustees’ candidate Justin Vasel filed a lawsuit against Braun, stating the legislation he signed is “special legislation” that targets IU in violation of the Indiana Constitution.
Other Indiana public colleges have systems in place for alumni associations to select trustees.
Whitten hasn’t made any public statements. Braun told the media lawmakers, not Whitten, initiated the changes.
Braun has defended the changes impacting the Board of Trustees. He said only a small percent of alumni voted in trustee elections, and he would like to see a more rounded board.
But Lancioni said Braun already selects the majority of trustees.
“If we want to make things better, you have to have a dialogue,” Lancioni said. “You have to have discourse. You have to disagree respectfully.”
Lancioni and the other candidates said they heard confusion and anger in their networks. He said he’s been involved with IU for over 40 years, and not one person has said the change seems like a good idea.
“Partisan politics shouldn't be a part of higher education, but we’re not naive to think that that isn't the case, obviously, to some degree,” Lancioni said. “This just seems like such an overreach.”
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright.
