Noon Edition airs on Fridays at noon on WFIU.

Last week the IU Board of Trustees voted to award IU President Whitten $162,500 for her performance in her first year as president. The vote was unanimous giving Whitten the annual performance incentive which is a quarter of her salary.

READ MORE: IU president Whitten gets $160k-plus bonus for first-year performance 

In her first year, Whitten has had a lot to navigate since taking over after Michael McRobbie’s retirement in 2021. Helping IU students return to in-person classes for the first time since the pandemic, providing proper COVID-19 guidelines and treatments, and working with striking graduate workers were just some of the things that happened durng her first year.

With the spread of another virus and the split of IUPUI’s campus, new questions arise about how President Whitten will respond in her second year. Monkeypox cases in the U.S. has risen to over 11,800 cases. Some medical experts are concerned about how students returning to schools will affect this number.

IUPUI will split into two campuses in 2024 after 52 years of being a joint venture. 

READ MORE: Purdue and IU to separate and split IUPUI campus 

Whitten says she is focused on three priorities: supporting research and scholarship; providing benefits to the state of Indiana; and, especially, putting students at the center of the IU universe. 

READ MORE: President Whitten's first year: Focus on students, discontent over union

We will cover these topics and other items with IU President Whitten this Friday on Noon Edition.  

You can follow us on Twitter at @NoonEdition or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show at news@indianapublicmedia.org.