IU community welcomes Bepko

Surrounded by trays of h'ors d'oevres and walls adorned with oil paintings, the IU board of trustees held a warm reception for Interim President Gerald Bepko at the IU Art Museum Thursday to officially welcome the new leader to campus.\nPresident of the board of trustees Fred Eichhorn, who hosted the event with his wife Judy, spoke of Bepko's contributions to IU beyond serving as interim president.\n"Bepko has served IU with unswerving commitment, unshakable integrity, and real love since 1972," Eichhorn said. "He brings a wealth of experience to his responsibilities as an interim president. He is and was an outstanding faculty member, a law school dean and a chancellor since 1988."\nEichhorn also noted that Bepko is very familiar with many of the main priorities of IU, including the Life Sciences Initiative and improving graduation rates. \n"Not only is he an outstanding academic administrator that is familiar with our strategic initiatives that are crucial to IU, especially the importance of making sure that an IU education is available to as many Indiana residents as possible," he said.\nEichhorn also noted that despite the fact Bepko has worked primarily for IU Purdue University-Indianapolis for the past four decades, his transition to leading all eight regional campuses has been smooth. \n"Although he was the chancellor for IUPUI for 15 years, he has always embraced the crucial role that IU Bloomington and the other campuses play to the state, the nation and the world," Eichhorn said.\nHe also described Bepko as a man who is always working for the University, even in his free time. \n"Beneath that mild-mannered demeanor, there is a man that never stops," Eichhorn said. "He once told me that he prefers to travel by car so he can return phone calls and work without interruption." \nBepko was also acclaimed for his recent success with the Indiana General Assembly, having successfully lobbied to restore IU's budget to its amount before last session's budget cuts.\nIndiana's Commissioner for Higher Education Stan Jones said part of the success with Indiana's congress has been due to Bepko's involvement with the committees. \n"President Bepko was the only president (of Indiana colleges) in attendance at today's meeting before the Senate Finance Committee," Jones said. "This shows commitment on the part of President Bepko and really helped to inform the congressmen about the needs of higher education."\nVice President for Student Development and Diversity Charlie Nelms added that one of Bepko's other achievements is his commitment to diversity, including his e-mail he sent to all IU students to inform them on IU's support of the University of Michigan's affirmative action policy. \n"I think President Bepko's willingness to follow up with an amicus brief and to e-mail all of the students with his decision, shows a strong commitment to excellence in diversity and communication among students," Nelms said.\nBepko replied to all of these compliments by showing his gratitude and reaffirming his love for the University. \n"We loved every moment we've spent at Indiana University because of its relentless pursuit of excellence, because of the commitment to intellectual rigor, to intellectual honesty and to the core values of collegiality," Bepko said.\nBepko also replied to one of Eichhorn's praise of IU, with one of his own. \n"You said that IU was one of the best universities in the world," Bepko said. "I think it is the best University in the world."\nDespite his new position, to his friends, Bepko is just a regular guy who loves IU, Eichhorn said.\n"Off the record, I can tell you Jerry Bepko is a man who loves golf and chocolate almost as much as he loves IU," Eichhorn said.