Two voices have joined the ranks of the IU Foundation, the not-for-profit organization that, according the foundation’s website, works to bring private funding to IU by fostering relationships with private donors.
Alisa Hendrix and MaryEllen Bishop were recently elected to the IU Foundation Board of ?Directors.
Hendrix and Bishop will join the governing body of the IU Foundation at a critical time.
The final draft of the IU Bicentennial Strategic Plan, approved in December, set the goal of raising $2.5 billion through philanthropic giving by the bicentennial, which IU will celebrate during the 2019-2020 academic year.
“It is an honor to have MaryEllen and Alisa join the foundation board,” IU Foundation President Dan Smith said in a press release. “In addition to sharing a strong dedication to IU, they each bring exceptional knowledge and expertise to the table. I look forward to working with them as we continue to advance Indiana ?University.”
Hendrix is currently pursuing a master’s degree in philanthropic studies through the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis.
Hendrix graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance from what is now the Kelley School of Business in 1983.
She is a member of the Women’s Philanthropy Council, the IU Colloquium for Women steering committee, the IU Foundation Presidents Circle and the IU Alumni Association.
She also serves as the director of the Bloomington Hospital Foundation and as a volunteer for the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe ?County.
Bishop graduated with a bachelor’s degree in ?marketing from what is now the ?Kelley School of Business in 1979 and a juris doctoral degree from the IU McKinney School of ?Law in 1982.
A partner at Cohen Garelick & Glazier and a board-certified Indiana trust and estate lawyer, Bishop represents clients in estate and wealth transfer ?planning.
She is currently a member of several committees such as the Women’s Philanthropy Council, the IU Colloquium for Women steering committee, the IUPUI Board of Advisors, and the IU Alumni ?Association.
An IU trustee since 2010, Bishop currently serves as vice chair of the IU Board of Trustees.
She has also served as the chair of the IU Alumni Association Board of Managers and as co-chair of Planned Giving Committee for the IU School of ?Medicine.
Bishop said she began to get involved not when she attended IU, but when her children ?attended IU.
“Now, I try to get involved where I can,” she said. “Every day that I have volunteered for the ?University has been enjoyable work.”
The chair of the IU Board of Trustees, a position currently held by Randall Tobias, nominates two IU trustees to the IU Foundation Board of Directors.
Bishop said she asked to be one of the two IU trustees nominated to the Board of Directors because she believes in the importance and the consequence of the IU ?Foundation’s work.
“The IU Foundation has the ability to do a lot of things for the University,” she said. “What I really hope I can do is to help to understand what the needs of the University are and what the needs of the ?students are.”
