The Indiana University Bloomington Faculty Council heard discussions of policy, provost search updates and the Palestine Solidarity Committee’s status on Tuesday. Here are the main takeaways from the meeting:
Provost search updates
IUB Chancellor David Reingold offered updates to the search for a new, permanent provost for the Bloomington campus.
Former provost Rahul Shrivastav left the role last month and now serves as interim vice president for student success. Dean of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies John Ciorciari was appointed interim provost.
Reingold said he expects the search committee for the new provost will be announced in the second half of the spring semester, with a goal of having candidate interviews in the fall semester.
He clarified that though BOT-20 — the IU Board of Trustees’ policy on searching for and screening administrators — is entering its revision period, it was “pure coincidence” and not intended to dictate or modify the hiring policy for the next provost.
Reingold said the older iteration of the policy will apply during the provost search and hiring process.
The policy states the search for a provost should “be conducted by the President in consultation with the faculty governance organization for that campus. A majority of members of the search committee shall be faculty from that campus.”
Palestine Solidarity Committee cease and desist
Reingold discussed an update with the Palestine Solidarity Committee during his remarks, which the university placed on cease and desist last August.
“The Office of Student Conduct makes standard requests to all organizations to facilitate a timely investigation,” Reingold said during the meeting. “The Palestine Solidarity Committee leadership was informed of what was needed for the investigation to move forward in a timely manner, and unfortunately, the response did not happen in a timely manner for where we requested some basic information.”
Graduate student Bryce Greene, an organizer from the PSC, told the Indiana Daily Student that the Office of Student Conduct requested a list of all active members in the organization.
“The university has refused to tell PSC what they're even being accused of and demanded a list of active members, a list that does not exist,” he said. “When they were informed that that list does not exist, they offered no steps that the club could take to reinstate itself.”
IU told a PSC leader, in a letter first obtained by Indiana Public Media that the group “engaged in group behaviors that violate university policy and present an ongoing threat of harm and disruption to the university community,” resulting in the cease and desist.
The PSC was an organizer of the 2024 Dunn Meadow encampment that lasted 100 days.
Associate professor Ben Robinson addressed Reingold during the question and comment period after his remarks. He said it was “sheer hypocrisy” to limit the PSC’s activity in light of the Board of Trustees’ decision to adopt the Chicago Principles concerning free speech at its last meeting.
IU spokesperson Mark Bode told the IDS the university does not comment on student conduct matters.
Admission portal language updates
After faculty raised concern about confusion over admissions portal language related to suspended degree programs, Reingold said the language has now been updated to resolve issues where degrees were originally listed with the label “no new admissions will be offered.”
He said that schools have been encouraged to communicate with newly admitted students, which they received a list of last week, to clarify any confusion.
Sanctuary campus
For the first half hour of the two-hour meeting, chants seeped through the shuttered doors of Presidents Hall. The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition organized a protest campaigning for the BFC to support turning IU into a sanctuary campus.
A sanctuary campus adopts policies like prohibiting campus security from working with federal immigration agents or providing resources for immigrant students and their families on their immigration rights.
The protest was supposed to happen near Sample Gates but was relocated to Franklin Hall’s lobby due to weather, according to the coalition’s Instagram story.
Greene helped lead about 40 demonstrators in chants during the meeting, one being “ICE off campus.”
One of the IU Events staffers who worked at the door instructed the group to be quieter around 3 p.m., after the group’s chants grew almost as loud as the voices inside the meeting.
“We are demanding that the university listens to the students and listen to the people who run the university, who make sure, you know, all the stuff gets graded,” Greene said in an interview. “We are trying to get them to adopt the resolution that will make IU a safe place for immigrants.”
IU Graduate and Professional Student Government representative Matthew Jackson brought up the topic of making IU a sanctuary campus to the BFC, making it an informal discussion that required no resolution to be voted on.
“The principle behind the sanctuary campus is simple,” Jackson said. “The university is obliged to its students and workers, regardless of immigration status or country origin. Students and faculty are here at IU to teach you to learn about your research, not to worry about their visa status.”
Ciorciari, the interim provost, said that the university is in conversation with other universities on how to best deal with rising federal immigration enforcement.
“We want to make sure that we are complying with the law and also that we're upholding the rights of our members of our community,” Ciorciari said.
The next BFC meeting will be from 2:30-4:30 p.m. March 24 in Presidents Hall.
