Herbert selects Gros Louis

Former IU-Bloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis could have relaxed this coming winter in Santa Barbara, Calif.\nInstead, he will be back in Bloomington, serving in his old post.\nIU President Adam Herbert announced Friday he is recommending Gros Louis serve as interim chancellor beginning Jan. 1.\nGros Louis will also serve as interim senior vice president for academic affairs. IUB Chancellor and Vice President for Academic Affairs Sharon Brehm announced her resignation Oct. 29.\nGros Louis, who retired in 2001, returns to the position with 21 years of experience.\n"I have great fondness for the University," Gros Louis said. "It's been my life. It's not only my vocation, it's my avocation."\nHerbert said he will continue to reassess the role of the Bloomington chancellor, and Gros Louis will play a significant part before Herbert begins his search for a permanent replacement next fall. \nPart of Herbert's reassessment is the addition of the senior title to the vice president of academic affairs.\n"What this title would convey is that the senior vice president for academic affairs is the No. 2 officer in the University and the academic mission has primacy over all the other portfolios in the University," Herbert said.\nThe IU board of trustees will discuss the role of the chancellor and vote on Herbert's recommendation at its monthly meeting Dec. 5 in Indianapolis. Gros Louis is expected to be in the position for about 12 to 18 months.\nBoard of trustees President Fred Eichhorn said he would not predict how the board will vote, but said that "our attitude is to support the president's decisions." \nResponse from the community has been supportive of the president's choice.\n"I think he'll do a great job," Brehm said. "He's been with the University for many years. I think he's the appropriate choice."\nAlthough not every student remembers when Gros Louis served as chancellor, his impact is still known on campus.\n"I am thankful that I am going to have the opportunity to work with him after hearing from so many past student leaders about how great an individual he was to work with, and how caring he was for student's needs and student concerns," said IU Student Association President Casey Cox.\nIndiana Associate Commissioner for Research and Academic Affairs Ken Sauer said Herbert and Gros Louis will be great partners.\n"Ken has been associated with the campus for a long time," he said. "I think President Herbert has the outside perspective, and Ken can obviously provide a good inside perspective. Between the two of them they should be able to get a good perspective of how the campus wants to develop in the future."\nGros Louis came to IU in 1963 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a Ph.D. in medieval and Renaissance literature. He worked as a professor and then as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences before being named chancellor in 1980. Gros Louis served as IUB chancellor through the presidencies of John Ryan, Tom Ehrlich and Myles Brand.\n"I don't know anyone who is better informed about the culture and traditions of IU," said Dan Dalton, dean of the Kelley School of Business. "He will be a terrific choice."\n-- Campus editor Adam Aasen contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.