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Trustees, student trustee start new terms on IU Board of Trustees

For Immediate Release Jul 1, 2019

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – MaryEllen K. Bishop was reelected for a fourth term by Indiana University alumni to the IU Board of Trustees in an election that closed June 28. Three trustees – W. Quinn Buckner, James T. Morris and Melanie Walker – have been reappointed, and a new student trustee has been appointed to the Board of Trustees effective July 1.

MaryEllen Bishop sits with James Morris at a Board of Trustees meeting.
MaryEllen Bishop, left, was reelected to the Indiana University Board of Trustees in an election that closed June 28. James T. Morris was reappointed for another three-year term.Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University

Bishop received 8,416 votes out of the 14,322 votes cast in the recent election open to all IU alumni. She is a graduate of the Kelley School of Business and the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law and is currently an attorney with Cohen, Garelick and Glazier in Indianapolis. Bishop served as national chair of the IU Alumni Association in 2007-08, sits on the Board of Visitors for IU McKinney and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, both at IUPUI, and is chair of the IU Board of Trustees Academic Affairs and University Policies Committee.

“On behalf of all of us at Indiana University, I want to congratulate MaryEllen on her reelection as an alumni trustee and thank everyone who participated in the voting process,” IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. “She possesses deep knowledge of the university and the issues it faces, and she is strongly committed to ensuring that our students receive a first-rate education that prepares them for successful careers after they graduate.”

Buckner, Morris and Walker were all reappointed by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and will serve three-year terms on the Board of Trustees. Also appointed by Holcomb is Molly Connor, the board’s student trustee.

Connor, who earned her undergraduate degree from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, is in her second year at IU McKinney and will serve a two-year term on the Board of Trustees. In addition to her studies, she is a legal intern at the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She has also served as student body vice president for the IU Student Association and sat on the Executive Board of the Association of Big Ten Students.

“I look forward to continuing to work with MaryEllen, with our other returning trustees, Quinn Bucker, Jim Morris and Melanie Walker, and with our new student trustee as IU celebrates its bicentennial year and prepares for a third century of excellence in education, research and engagement in our state, nation and world,” McRobbie said.

Of the nine members of IU’s Board of Trustees, three are elected by IU graduates and six are appointed by the governor. All trustees serve three-year terms, with the exception of the student trustee, who serves a two-year term.

In accordance with state law, the alumni trustee election is conducted by the dean of University Libraries on the IU Bloomington campus, with assistance from the IU Alumni Association. Library staff and students were charged with counting the more than 14,000 ballots.

Along with Bishop, the other alumni-elected trustees are Patrick A. Shoulders of Evansville and Donna B. Spears of Richmond.

The six appointed trustees are Michael J. Mirro of Fort Wayne; Harry L. Gonso and Morris, of Indianapolis; Buckner and Walker, of Bloomington; and student trustee Connor, of Indianapolis.

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