A candidate has not run unopposed for IU trustee in almost 30 years, but now MaryEllen Bishop finds herself in that position.
IU trustee elections opened this past week to all IU alumni and will close at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, Gov. Mike Pence appointed Melanie Walker and Quinn Buckner as trustees.
Walker and Buckner will replace Derica Rice and Randall Tobias who are leaving the board.
Every year, the Dean of University Libraries in Bloomington and the IU Alumni Association run the election.
Current vice chair of the board and incumbent, Bishop is pursuing her third term as trustee.
Bishop also served as the chair of the Board’s External Relations Committee, a member of the Facilities Committee and the Academic Affairs Committee.
Bishop graduated from the IU Business School in 1979, but her business law professor inspired her to pursue law.
She received her law degree in 1982 from the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. Bishop is now a partner in the Cohen Garelik and Glazier law firm of Indianapolis.
In doing so, she has, “provided critical leadership as an experienced business and legal voice in making decisions,” Bishop said in an email.
During her time as chair of the External Relations Committee the board worked alongside the IU Communications team to intertwine IU Marketing and Communications.
Bishop is a deep-rooted native of Indiana and because of her close proximity to the community of Bloomington she frequently visits the IU-Bloomington campus, she said in an email.
“This affords me the opportunity to hear and see the challenges faced by students, faculty and staff in our multiple campus system,” Bishop said in an email.
In 2010, when she was first elected to the board, her campaign focused on enrolling top of the line students and employing the highest quality faculty and staff.
Today, Bishop is certain this remains true at IU.
“Having served two terms on the IU Board of Trustees, I understand the immense complexity of the operations of IU, the unrelenting economic pressure on higher education and the importance of maintaining institutional excellence,” said Bishop in an email.
This year, Bishop’s campaign focus sheds light on the future of IU students while reflecting the same core values it did in 2010.
“We must constantly reevaluate ourselves in an effort to provide degrees and educational opportunities that are both relevant and lead to satisfying careers for our nearly 115,00 students,” Bishop said in an email.
The trustee election follows the Indiana law, which requires contenders to receive at least 100 signatures of degree-holders from any IU campus.
This year Bishop was the only one to do so.
Bishop is honored to work alongside two other alumni representatives on the Board of Trustees.
“I am confident that with incredible university leadership and the generosity of our alumni, IU will continue to make a difference for generations to come,” Bishop said in an email.
