McRobbie names head of policy and planning

IU President Michael McRobbie announced Monday that he has appointed School of Law Executive Associate Dean John Applegate to the position of IU vice president for planning and policy, IU Spokesman Larry MacIntyre said.

McRobbie recently created the position, according to an IU news release. While the IU Board of Trustees must officially approve the appointment, MacIntyre said he expects the board to do so at its next meeting in August.

Applegate will divide his time between his position in the School of Law and his new position, said School of Law Dean Lauren Robel.

Robel said she told McRobbie she thought Applegate was the best person for the job.
“He’s got extraordinary judgment and great academic values,” she said.

In his new position, Applegate will work on cooperation between various groups including faculty, state and other institutions, MacIntyre said. Applegate will also work with Purdue and other Indiana colleges in research and other educational collaborations, MacIntyre said.

“There’s a number of initiatives that the president has started or wants to start,” he said. “Putting those together is fairly complex.”

MacIntyre said Applegate has been in a similar temporary position with McRobbie for the past year or so.

Applegate, who received his law degree from Harvard Law School, worked as a professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law prior to coming to IU in 1998, according to the news release. Along with being executive associate dean at the School of Law, Applegate is also a Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law, according to the news release.