Faculty, staff, students and members of the Indiana University community will join events this week in honor of the inauguration of the university’s first female president, Pamela Whitten.
Celebrations are planned on all of IU’s campuses. Plans at IU Southeast include a watch party during the inauguration on Nov. 4 from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the third floor of the IU Southeast Library.
Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to join the watch party, enjoy light refreshments and create an IU Build-a-Bear (while supplies last). Participants can choose from six different bears, stuff the bear, choose a heart and take home a memory of a significant IU moment. Fifty bears will be donated to Court Appointed Special Advocates and Childplace Family Services.
One student from each campus will be involved in the inauguration, including Tien-Lu Huang, a biology and chemistry major at IU Southeast.
Huang said he’s “in shock” that he was “given this magnificent opportunity.”
“It is an honor, not just to represent IU Southeast, but to be given the opportunity to connect with students and staff and faculty members from all over the IU system,” he said. “The pandemic has greatly distanced our relationships with one another and, in effect, dampened our sense of community and togetherness. I look forward to rebuilding and strengthening the relationships that bind all of IU as we all come together to celebrate the inauguration of President Pamela Whitten. Her inauguration signifies a new journey towards a greater IU, and I am looking forward to experiencing such a unique and wonderful event.”
Seuth Chaleunphonh, dean of student life at IU Southeast, will speak on behalf of all IU staff at the inauguration ceremony in Bloomington.
“It will be an honor to speak on behalf of IU staff in welcoming our new president,” said Chaleunphonh.
Whitten became the 19th president of Indiana University on July 1, 2021.
As Indiana University’s leader, she has outlined three core missions for the university: ensuring student success by placing them first, setting ambitious research goals and affirming IU’s leadership role in advancing economic development and quality of life for individuals throughout the world.