University chooses new chancellor

Quoting one of Bloomington Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis' favorite lines of T.S. Eliot poetry, IU President Myles Brand introduced Gros Louis' successor Tuesday by saying, "We at the University are experiencing an end and a beginning."\nThe beginning will be when Ohio University provost Sharon Brehm replaces Gros Louis July 1.\nBrehm will serve as Bloomington chancellor and vice president for academic affairs and is the first female to hold the position. \nBrand highlighted Brehm's accomplishments, calling her "the right person at the right time for this job."\nIn addition to serving Ohio University, Brehm was dean of the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at the State University of New York at Binghamton and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas.\nShe cited all three of these administrative experiences as preparation for the IU post, and said her first task in Bloomington will be to "listen, listen, listen."\nBrehm said three of her foci at IU will be increasing academic excellence, diversity and collaborative relations. When asked about her thoughts on being the first female in the post, she laughed and said, "I think it's just great. What a good idea."\nThe new chancellor was chosen from a pool of 50 applicants who were reviewed by a 34-person committee. Brehm has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Duke University and a master's degree in social relations from Harvard University, as well as a bachelor's degree from Duke.\nSenior Meredith Suffron, president of the IU Student Association, was one of three student representatives on the search committee.\n"She was by far our favorite," Suffron said. "She's very personable. She seemed very excited."\nGros Louis also participated in the search process, although less formally. The chancellor met with candidates to discuss the position and answer any questions they had. He said Brehm stood out, leaving him with a "very favorable impression."\nHe said at this level of administration, there are numerous qualified applicants. He said the task becomes finding "the kind of person that is going to fit the best with the school or in this case the campus."\nGros Louis, who announced his July 1 retirement last summer, was praised by both Brand and Brehm.\nBrand, called this "an important moment in the life of Indiana University," and said the chancellor "made (the University) a special place to work and to learn."\n"You've guided this institution with a commitment to faculty governance and student leadership," Brand said, turning to face the outgoing administrator.\nBrehm will have the opportunity to do something her predecessor, whom she referred to as "the incomparable Ken Gros Louis," never did. \nWhen Gros Louis took his position, IU legend Herman B Wells offered the administrator his house. Wells, almost 80 years old at the time, was prepared to give his residence to Gros Louis when he passed away. \nWells lived to be 97, though, and Gros Louis never had the chance to move in. \nBut Brehm will have the chance to move in when she relocates to Bloomington in July, Gros Louis said. \nBrehm will hold the title of IU's "chancellor-designate" pending approval by the board of trustees at its April meeting.\nShe expressed enthusiasm for her new position, saying, "I greatly appreciate the opportunity to serve this great University"