Committee nominates Cast as trustees president

IU trustee Bill Cast was nominated Thursday for the position of president of the IU board of trustees until 2011.

“He’s gifted with a great knowledge of politics and leadership,” said Trustee Sue Talbot, chairperson of the board’s nominating committee. “We were looking for someone to be a good leader and continue to keep us going under President McRobbie’s leadership and advise the board.”

Cast will replace Stephen Ferguson, who is required by trustee bylaws to step down as president after serving two consecutive two-year terms.

The board’s three-member nominating committee met to select its officers for the next two years. One of the selections included renominating Patrick Shoulders as vice president.

“You have to serve a year, maybe two, to become familiar with the University,” Cast said. “There’s a very large budget and a lot of schools. Part of it is whether or not you have time. You could accurately say any trustee could be president.”

Cast said there are weeks when any of the nine trustees spend as many as 10 to 20 hours working on committees, while other weeks they might only spend one or two hours. Board members also try to attend ceremonies at every campus.

“The board meetings are very short because you are just supporting the work of the committees,” Cast said. “It’s a volunteer job, but it’s very time consuming. The board has a job to audit the finance of the University, approve hiring, work with the president on the development of new degrees, and work on facilities and acquiring new
buildings.”

Cast, a Fort Wayne surgeon, is CEO of NoMoreClipboard, an online, patient-controlled personal health-record management system. He is founder and first chairman of DuPont Hospital in Fort Wayne, and he is a founder of the Canterbury School for students pre-kindergarten through grade 12. He also served as president of Ear, Nose and Throat Specialists, a private medical practice.

Cast, who is in his second term, has served on committees including finance and audit, facilities, academic affairs and external relations.

The board also renominated Robin Roy Gress as secretary, Dorothy Frapwell as assistant secretary, Mary Frances McCourt as treasurer and Stewart Cobine as assistant treasurer.

“Since it’s just a nine-member board, largely the president appoints members to committees and leads the group, but largely all trustees are equal,” Shoulders said. “I think Bill Cast will do a great job. He’s now in his second term (as a trustee) and he’s had time to get to know the board and the committees.”