IU First Lady Laurie Burns McRobbie was appointed to the Indiana Arts Commission, a statewide program that provides artistic resources to artists and communities, on July 20.
Governor Eric Holcomb selected McRobbie as one of the 15 appointed commissioners from across the state, according to an IU press release.
Her four-year term, which began on the day of her appointment, will expire June 30, 2021.
“I’m honored and excited to help advance the commission’s vision to ensure the arts are everywhere, every day, for everyone in the state of Indiana,” McRobbie said in the release.
McRobbie, IU’s 18th first lady, founded the Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council at the IU Foundation. She has also served on the boards of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, WonderLab and Middle Way House, according to her website.
“I’ve been witness to the impact of the arts in community and on its citizens in various capacities, and I truly believe communities are richer — economically, educationally, socially and culturally —when the arts thrive,” McRobbie said in the release. “I share in the commitment of my fellow commissioners to further shape Indiana’s identity as a vibrant, creative state.”
Lewis Ricci, the executive director of the commission, said McRobbie was selected for the broad scope of interests and perspectives she will bring to the commission.
“The other thing is that the arts commission and arts community continues to forge a lot of partnerships outside of the arts with other disciplines and other areas of community life. Someone with a broad vantage point like that helps us to really embrace that and help our organization champion looking beyond some of these traditional roles to the broader climate of the state,” he said.
The commission awards grants each year to Hoosier arts organizations, programs and artists. Working on the state and community level, it also creates education opportunities for artists and organizations to help them learn to use art successfully.
The commission was created in 1964 and is funded by the Indiana General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, according to the IAC website.
Anne Penny Valentine from Carmel, Indiana, was the other new appointment made by Holcomb. She is the vice president of student experiences and customer service at Ivy Tech, according to an IAC press release.
Emily Eckelbarger
