Over 20 previous chairs of the Indiana University’s Alumni Association are pushing to restore alumni’s ability to vote for members of the university’s Board of Trustees.
Senate Bill 110, proposed by Indiana Senators Susan Glick and Greg Walker, would restore the right of the alumni to elect three of the nine members of the IU Board of Trustees.
During the 2025 session, the Indiana legislature granted Indiana Gov. Mike Braun the authority to appoint all nine members of the IU Board of Trustees, changing what had been a 134-year-long tradition of alumni electing three of the board members.
Previously, alumni elected three of the nine members, while the governor appointed the remaining six.
Twenty-four previous chairs of the IUAA have announced their support for SB 110, including former IUAA President and CEO Ken Beckley.
“I’ve always felt that IU’s alumni have a greater voice because every alumnus who graduated has the right to vote and it’s just wrong that that was taken away from IU’s alumni and needs to be restored,” Beckley said.
This past summer, Braun removed three alumni-elected board members: Vivian Winston, Jill Maurer Burnett and Donna Spears. In place of those three members, Braun appointed Sage Steele, James Bopp Jr. and Brian Eagle. SB 110 would replace these three Braun-appointed trustees.
Pat Shoulders, a former Board of Trustees member and past chair of the IUAA, disagrees with the decision to remove alumni-elected positions from the board.
“Right now, we (IU) depend upon alumni dollars and philanthropic support, which exceeds the amount of money that the state of Indiana gives us on an annual basis,” Shoulders said. “I can go on for days about keeping our graduates connected and there’s no, it seems to me, no better message to send to our alumni than we’re going to allow you to vote for one third of our board.”
The state budget bill allocated over $198 million to IU Bloomington for fiscal year 2025-26. The alumni donors gave more than $544 million to IU, according to the Indiana University Foundation.
Shoulders was chosen as a member of the Board of Trustees five times, both by the governor and alumni. Serving for almost 20 years from 2002 to 2021, Shoulders said he understands the importance of giving alumni a voice in the governance of the university.
The IU Board of Trustees is the university’s governing body, and it has the power to control university finances and operations. This includes setting tuition and fees, entering agreements with government entities, approving university policies and appointing IU’s president. The Indiana Code serves as a guideline for what responsibilities the board holds.
Beckley has heard the bill will die in the legislative session. However, this has not stopped the IUAA from continuing efforts to restore alumni voting rights.
“I can tell you that the past chairs will lead a very strong, major effort in the 2027 session of the state legislature to get legislation approved to return the right,” Beckley said.
SB 110 had its first reading Dec. 9 and was then referred to the Committee on Education and Career Development. The committee has yet to hear the bill.
