BLOOMINGTON— The Indiana University Board of Trustees voted Friday, in a last-minute agenda change, to approve two critical leadership positions proposed by President Pamela Whitten.
These positions will deepen engagement with faculty, staff, and students on the university’s flagship campus while advancing the transformation detailed in the IU 2030 strategic plan. Whitten will now move forward on reestablishing the chancellor role for the Bloomington campus and appointing a faculty fellow in the Office of the President.
“We applaud President Whitten’s bold initiative to reestablish a chancellor position on the Bloomington campus — a role that had been in place for many years and is common across peer institutions as well as other IU campuses,” said Quinn Buckner, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “We also believe that a faculty fellow housed in the president’s office will further enhance engagement with faculty across all of our campuses and further strengthen our university’s academic excellence.”
In an email Friday, IU President Pamela Whitten wrote, “the challenges of higher education paired with the size and complexity of the Bloomington campus” created a need for the position.
The chancellor will report directly to Whitten, serve on the president’s cabinet, and oversee the Office of the Provost.
“I have spent the past weeks carefully listening to you and learning your heartfelt concerns with the state of affairs on our campus,” Whitten wrote. “As I reflected on what you shared, revisited the history of this august institution and contemplated a path forward, it became clear that it will take significant change for this campus community to advance together in the appropriate spirit of collegiality and shared purpose.”
According to Whitten, the chancellor will focus on increasing faculty participation in campus decision-making, including diversity, equity, inclusion efforts, student life, and campus finances.
The chancellor would run the Bloomington campus, which is the job of current Provost and Executive Vice President Rahul Shrivastav.
A search committee, consisting of Whitten and the Bloomington Faculty Council, will select the chancellor.
“I am confident that faculty insights will help us find a leader whose professional achievements and familiarity with our unique campus culture will inform a desire for a rich understanding of the prevailing issues and a commitment to collaborative resolutions,“ Whitten wrote.
There is no indication of when a chancellor will be appointed.
President Whitten also announced the creation of a new faculty fellow who will work in the President’s Office.
“I sincerely believe that these two vital additions will begin the process of unlocking the unlimited potential of our campus and securing its flagship status.”
Protests at Dunn Meadow
During Thursday and Friday’s IU Board of Trustees meeting, President Whitten shared that Cooley Law Firm is completing an independent assessment of the protest and events at Dunn Meadow.
On April 25th and 27th, Indiana State Police arrested 57 protesters demonstrating against the ongoing war in Gaza. In May, the Monroe County Prosecutor said all but one felony charge will be dropped.
In April, just over a week before the Gaza encampment, the IU Bloomington faculty passed votes of no confidence for IU President Whitten, Provost Rahul Shrivastav, and Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty during a special meeting.
The motion for no confidence in Whitten passed with 93% of the vote out of 888 total ballots cast. 827 voted no confidence, 32 abstained, and 29 voted otherwise.
The motion for no confidence in Shrivastav passed with 91% of the vote out of 879 total ballots cast. 804 voted no confidence, 28 abstained, and 47 voted otherwise.
The motion for no confidence in Docherty passed with 75% of the vote out of 895 total ballots cast. 672 voted no confidence, 116 abstained, and 107 voted otherwise.
It was the first time since 2005 that an IU President faced a vote of no confidence.
