200 attend event that raises funds for Boys & Girls Club
Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
Pamela Whitten made history when she was chosen as the first female president to lead Indiana University.
To achieve something like that might suggest she declared her ambition at an early age, carefully charting her path.
But, she told a gathering of 200 people at the Becky Skillman Leadership Institute last Thursday, her career goal was to work and teach in higher education, with a focus on health care and technology.
In pursuing her goals, she was given opportunities, starting in Kansas, where she was asked to develop a telehealth program for the state, then Michigan State and two other universities, where she demonstrated her leadership abilities. Not to overlook those accomplishments, in between coursework for her master’s and doctorate degrees, she married and had three children.
Today she leads a prestigious Big Ten university with a flagship campus of 47,000 students, regional campuses and a medical school that is the largest in the country.
She shared that she did not, at age 17, announce to her parents that she was going to be the first woman to lead IU. Yet, her path led her to the Bloomington campus.
As she shared her journey, it was evident that the paths taken by leaders are seldom planned out in meticulous fashion, yet the steps on the paths are defined by opportunities offered and taken, actions driven by instinct and effort noticed by others.
Of her academic ascent she said, “I wish I could tell you I did these things on purpose.”
But the reality is the sum of her experiences — working at a medical school, teaching at a Big Ten university, then a flagship university in Georgia and serving as provost at an urban university, “ended up being the sweet spot for Indiana University because we are all those things at IU.”
Upon arriving at IU, her first order of business was to learn about the system she would be leading.
In the first year, she traveled the state, visiting all the regional campuses several times.
“I’m a big believer in listening to people. You learn about your university, your state by having conversations,” she said.
There were also big decisions to make. She quietly made budget cuts in ways that didn’t affect students and brought in a new leadership team to replace outgoing cabinet members.
Pillars of IU’s mission
A system as large as IU is complicated and each school and campus is unique.
“We’re enormous. Counting all students, faculty and staff, there’s about 120,000 of us and our operating budget is about $4 billion a year,” Whitten said. “With that presence comes great responsibility in terms of leading the state and that’s been a big lesson to me.”
Whitten outlined the three pillars of IU’s mission to the state:
- Serve all students
- Lead the way in research
- Perform public service and outreach
Regarding public service and outreach, she said IU is stepping up to address the teacher shortage and the university needs to step up to address the state’s low metrics for health outcomes. Indiana consistently ranks 45th or lower for health behaviors and outcomes that look at things such as physical activity, obesity and tobacco use.
Before wrapping up her address, Whitten imparted some leadership advice that she described as simple but should be taken seriously.
- Don’t be afraid to move into a new context.
- Understand what will be required of you to be successful. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it will be easy.
- Be ready to commit. Leadership roles can be all-engrossing and demanding of your time, especially in the beginning.
- Build trust by telling the truth, even if it doesn’t match the person’s reality.
- Walk the walk. Show others that the level of effort you expect from them, you’re willing to do yourself.
The Becky Skillman Leadership Institute, named for the Lawrence County native and former Indiana lieutenant governor and state senator, is a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence County and took place at the club’s Limestone unit.
The popular event last took place in 2019.
Following Whitten’s speech, a panel of Lawrence County natives – JR Holmes, basketball coach at Bloomington South, Kip Chase, vice president of human resources for Eli Lilly and Cody Medlock, a Deputy US marshal, shared life experiences that taught them about leadership.