Director of state relations to retire

At the board of trustees meeting Thursday, Director of State Relations Don Weaver announced he will retire from his position Oct. 1.\nWeaver has been working for IU since he graduated from the University 43 years ago. He has worked in state relations for more than 40 years. \nAt the afternoon meeting, Weaver was met with applause and a standing ovation after Fred Eichhorn, president of the board of trustees, read a commendation in honor of his years of service to the University.\n"There is not an agency or institution in the state I would rather walk into the Statehouse representing than IU," Weaver said.\nTrustee Stephen A. Backer said Weaver has meant a lot to IU in his years of service.\n"Since I've been on the board, Don has meant a tremendous amount to the University," he said. "The best testament to his service is if you look at the money received in the past five or six years, it really shows how much he did for IU."\nBacker said it is yet to be determined who will replace Weaver or when the process of looking for a replacement will begin. He said IU President Adam Herbert plans to restructure a lot of departments, which may change Weaver's position.\n"He is going to be very difficult to replace because he has a very close relationship with legislators," Backer said. \nIn addition to working with the state government, Weaver served on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club, the IU Credit Union, Bloomington Little League and the Bloomington North-South All Star football game. He also has been the timekeeper for the Little 500 race for many years.\nDuring the morning meeting of the External Relations Committee, trustees listened as Weaver talked about the importance of maintaining strong relations with Indiana legislators. He talked about methods he and his small team of people had used to ensure that IU's problems were dealt with in the statehouse. Weaver said that sometimes it was difficult for IU's problems to be recognized.\n"The good news is: we are not in crisis. The bad news is: we are not in crisis," said Weaver. \nWeaver's assistant, Janice McCloud, spoke about the importance of bill tracking in order to find bills that may be of importance to IU. She added that many of the things the Office of State Relations does involves providing resources and accommodations to legislators.\nLater in the trustees' meeting, Herbert shared his goals for the University at his first IU board of trustees meeting.\nHerbert said one problem he needs to focus on is having so many campuses under one university title. With eight IU campuses, Herbert said some campuses aren't given the attention they deserve.\n"We need to show that this is a single university with multiple campuses," Herbert said.\nThe IU homepage is now featuring each of the campuses on a rotating basis.\nHerbert said he also hopes to change the lack of focus on senior students.\n"When I look at student affairs, the University does not focus on senior student affairs," he said.\nHerbert said continuing research development and the Life Sciences Initiative are also important goals. He said he had met with Martin Jischke, president of Purdue University, and they spoke about the importance of collaboration between the state's two major research universities. \n"We will work together to enhance the quality of life for all Hoosiers," said Herbert. \nAlthough Herbert had to talk about the negative things at IU which needed improvement, he began his speech with a comment on how much he enjoyed his experience with Indiana and IU so far. \n"I continue to thoroughly enjoy being a Hoosier," he said. \nEnthusiasm for Herbert was expressed by many of the trustees, who voiced their support after his speech. \nTrustee Patrick Shoulders said he is happy with Herbert's IU career so far, adding that he's glad he and the other trustees made the right decision in choosing Herbert for president.\n-- Contact staff writer James E Klaunig Jr. at jklaunig@indiana.edu.