Profile Of Patrick A. Shoulders Candidate For IU Alumni Trustee

Profile Of Patrick A. Shoulders Candidate For IU Alumni Trustee

As a member of the last generation to remember the living Herman Wells (his final letter to me hangs in my office), I am forever guided by his vision: We must strive for excellence in ALL that we do and provide a world class education to deserving students from Indiana (first) and those qualified for admission.

We have preserved our great traditions by revitalizing the Old Crescent. Likewise, we have kept an IU education cutting edge, with International Studies Programs, Informatics initiatives and new Engineering and Architecture Degrees.

I will remain a strong and independent voice on the Board. Believing in maintaining the beauty of our campuses, I fought off privatization of our parking facilities. Sadly, I was unable to convince the Board that we should not turn our back on the Ft. Wayne campus – I don’t win them all! But I am proud that the Bloomington paper has written that I have sounded like “the conscience of the University.”

If you give me your vote, I will continue working to ensure that IU is accountable, affordable and accessible. We have the lowest average net cost in the Big Ten. Gift aid has increased 83% since 2007. I will always insist that we recruit qualified under-represented minority students, that we concentrate efforts on retention and persistence towards degree completion, and that we pay faculty and staff competitively. Each campus is critical to our role as Indiana’s University.

A few years back, President McRobbie announced the establishment of a New Academic Directions Committee. The President charged the committee with strengthening IU’s academic core. As Chair of the Board’s Academic Affairs Committee for many years, I have been honored to work at the Board level with our Provost and other administrators toward the President’s charge: “To improve the overall quality of academic offerings, the efficiency with which we educate our students, and our responsiveness to the trends and challenges that are transforming higher education today.”

The diligent work of our Board, Administration and Faculty has led to many major accomplishments.

We have overseen and approved the creation of new schools that will ensure that IU’s education and research programs will flourish for decades to come. Some highlights of this transformative work include:

• Creation of the nation’s first school of philanthropy – the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.
• Creation of the School of Global and International Studies at IU Bloomington, bringing together our more than 70 language programs and renowned international area studies centers.
• Creation of the School of Informatics and Computing which merged informatics and library and information science offering an extensive range of programs in information technology.
• Creation of the Media School at IU Bloomington which merged our excellence in journalism and telecommunications providing our students a pre-eminent national center for education and research on modern media.
• Creation of Schools of Public Health at IUB and IUPUI which promotes health and supports disease prevention for all of Indiana.
• Creation of an Engineering Program at IUB making IU a part of the “building and machine” culture.
• Creation of a new School of Art and Design with a Masters of Architecture Degree.

As we approach IU’s 200th anniversary, I hope you will allow me to continue more than 30 years of work toward her success. My wife Lisa and I also understand the importance of our friends and alumni’s financial support of IU and are life members of our Alumni Association as well as proud members of the President’s Circle and the Hoosier Hundred.

If re-elected, I will continue to be your independent voice on the Board. I will also work to find additional support for our outstanding faculty and staff whose work brings IU national recognition and honor almost daily and who remain vital to the educational and economic aspirations of every Indiana region.

I have worked hard for each of our campuses and am proud to have received IUPUI’s Hine Medal and IU Southeast’s Chancellor’s Medallion for my efforts. Our dream of an IU campus in southwest Indiana is also becoming a reality with the construction of a medical education building in downtown Evansville.

With your help, my family of IU graduates (Lisa, BA ’75, daughter and son-in-law Samantha and David, BA ’00, son Andy, BA ’04) and I will continue working hard AT LEAST until our triplet granddaughters become members of the Class of ’28!

Editors Footnote:  You May Contact Mr. Shoulders at pshoulders@zsws.com.