PLATFORM

I am a graduate of the Kelley School of Business, Bloomington and the IU School of Law, Indianapolis. My husband is a graduate of the IU School of Law, Indianapolis; my daughter is a graduate of the Kelley School of Business, Bloomington, 2007 and my son will graduate from IUB this spring and will be attending the Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis in the Fall. I have a very strong volunteer commitment to IU crossing numerous disciplines, including: Past National Chair of IUAA; Steering Committee for the Colloquium for Women of IU; Board of Visitors for the IU School of Law, Indianapolis; Alumni Representative on the IU Athletics Committee; Co-chair of the Planned Giving Committee for the IU School of Medicine and 2008 Athletic Director Search Committee. This diverse involvement provides me with substantial knowledge of various IU activities.

Under the leadership of President McRobbie, Indiana University is evaluating and expanding academic programming on all campuses in order to strengthen academics, providing increased access to all qualified students, providing increased scholarship opportunities for students based upon merit and need, while maintaining the tradition of excellence that we expect at IU. Affordability, accessibility, and accountability will continue to gauge IU’s performance going forward.

IU is a great steward of state funds. However, these are truly challenging economic times for the country and our state. Higher education is not immune and IU received additional budget cuts from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education in January totaling $59 million. The University must implement these budget cuts thoughtfully in order to insure the forward momentum of the University as an institution and to preserve the core mission of excellence in academics and research.

IU must maintain reasonable tuition rates for Hoosier families. Kiplinger’s ranked IU in the top 30 of the “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” for delivering strong academics at affordable prices. The Matching the Promise campaign has provided substantial assistance and promoted affordability and accessibility for Hoosier students. IU must continue to develop innovative programs which afford access to all qualified students.

IU must continue to recruit and retain the best and the brightest students, faculty and staff while continually improving on minority equity. IU has a committed plan to increase minority enrollment and has established diversity committees on each campus to promote the recruitment and retention of minority students and faculty. Enrollment is at an all time high and all campuses set new records this spring semester for the number of minority students. The goal of becoming more diverse is being achieved, but it will take the collaborative effort of the entire university community, IU alumni and IUAA to make a difference. We must create culturally adaptable environments that welcome a diverse population if we are to have measurable lasting results.

The eight campus system enables IU to strategically align itself to contribute to the educational and economic development goals of the state and Indiana communities. Each campus must continue to address whether their programming gives students an excellent education which will enable them to be contributing members of their communities.

IU can find some good in this challenging economy. Matching the Promise funds from philanthropic donations can be used to hire new faculty who in turn will bring new fellowship and grant dollars to IU. With an extremely favorable credit rating and construction bids down substantially, the time may be right to move forward on capital projects, including renovation of existing structures. All of these steps will allow IU to maintain its academic and research excellence while also creating new jobs.

IU must find creative ways to partner with the state and private enterprise in order to benefit the economy of our state and produce alternative sources of income. The Indiana Innovation Alliance is one such way with its goal of strengthening the use of state resources in life science and bioscience while obtaining grants and contracts to enhance research and education in medical and bioscience programs. Creative collaborations like the Alliance will present opportunities that allow IU to compete as one of the top research institutions in the world.

Very special thanks to IU Trustee, Sue H. Talbot, Ed.D. for her tireless service and dedication to Indiana University over the years. She was often the only female voice on the Board of Trustees. Please exercise your right to vote for your alumni trustee and vote for someone who has a strong interest in improving higher education and who has a strong volunteer commitment to and knowledge of IU across numerous disciplines. I hope I can count on your vote.