IU Chancellor Ken Gros Louis wins ‘Book of Golden Deeds’ award

As the first IU chancellor to receive the Exchange Club of Northside Bloomington’s “Book of Golden Deeds” award since 1963, IU Chancellor Ken Gros Louis said he wasn’t expecting to win the award.\n“I’m very rarely surprised,” Gros Louis said upon receiving his award Wednesday. “But this is a great surprise.” \nSince 1957, the Exchange Club of Northside Bloomington has awarded an individual who has made significant contributions to the true sense of volunteering in the community with the “Book of Golden Deeds” award, according to the Exchange Club Web site.\nIn 1963, former chancellor and president Herman B Wells won the award, said Amy Swain, a member of the three-person committee in charge of choosing the winner.\nEach year, the “Book of Golden Deeds” award committee asks members of churches, boards of education and other community centers for names of those they feel deserve recognition for their efforts in giving back to the community, according to the Web site. \nSwain, who is also the Indiana Daily Student advertising director and adviser, quoted a former Indiana Memorial Union Board president’s impression of Gros Louis at the ceremony: “When I would leave (Gros Louis’) office, it always struck me how lucky IU students were to have such a strong advocate of student initiatives serving as chancellor.”\nAmong the reasons that made Gros Louis a well-deserving recipient, Swain said he’s one reason IU is known for being prestigious.\n“By staying on the forefront of what’s happening in the world and fostering an atmosphere between faculty and professors ... our university can attract top quality professors, top quality graduate students and top quality undergraduate students from across the country and from around the world, and we all benefit,” she said.\nGros Louis, who has been IU’s chancellor since 2006, has been involved with the University as chair of the English Department and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, according to the IU Web site.\nThe award ceremony, held at the Radisson Hotel in Bloomington, was not without familiar faces. Mayor Mark Kruzan, who said he has known Gros Louis from his days at IU as a law student, was in attendance and gave a brief recognition of Gros Louis’ accomplishments. Keynote speaker and IU Director of Community Relations Kirk White spoke of the importance of volunteer efforts around campus and in the community.\n“Maybe our children will see the type of fulfillment we get from helping, and our children will want that for themselves,” he said.