5 to run for open trustee position

The board of trustees election is not until June 30, but five candidates have already begun their campaigns.

Only one of three of the board’s elected positions is available this year.

Thirteen people requested applications to run, but only five returned completed packets, which included a petition of 100 alumni signatures. Only IU graduates can run or vote in the election.

Three of the candidates are attorneys. They include Crystal Brown from Indianapolis, MaryEllen Bishop from Carmel, Ind., and Kelly Burton Smith from Fishers, Ind.

The fourth candidate is Sam Locke, a nonprofit manager from Floyds Knobs, Ind.

Incumbent Philip Eskew, who was elected to the board in 2006, is the final candidate. Eskew is a doctor from North Webster, Ind.

Except for the student trustee, all trustees serve for three years, according to the board of trustees’ Web site. On the nine-person board, three members are elected by IU alumni, and the remaining six are appointed by the governor.

Alumni will receive ballots on May 1, electronically or by mail, said Shawny Taysom, the IU trustee election coordinator.

“Every alumnus receives a ballot,” Taysom said. “We’re one of the very few universities that sends them to all IU graduates.”

Taysom said alumni should consider voting because doing so allows them to stay involved with their alma mater.

“It’s important because it gives grads of IU the ability to take part in the life and governance of IU,” Taysom said.