BOT Changes

[AZ Hoosier 11,020]

  Quote

Gov. Mike Braun removes 2 Indiana University alumni-elected trustees under new provision

Less than a month after he was granted power to do so, Gov. Mike Braun removed members Vivian Winston and Jill Maurer Burnett from the Indiana University board of trustees.

Braun sent letters removing Winston and Burnett — two of the three alumni-elected trustee members — from the board on Saturday, May 31. The Herald-Times has not confirmed if Donna Spears, the board’s third alumni-elected member, has also been removed from her position. All three alumni-elected members have been removed from IU's site for current trustees and are listed with completed terms on the site for former trustees.

Braun was given the power to remove alumni-elected trustees through a last-minute provision added to the Indiana state budget bill last month. A provision burrowed nearly 200 pages into the Republican-authored bill granted the governor power to elect all nine members of IU’s board, stripping away three trustee seats that have been elected by IU’s alumni body since 1891. Braun signed the bill into law on May 6.

The Herald-Times reached out to Braun and IU President Pamela Whitten’s offices for comment on June 2 and did not hear back by time of publication. It’s not immediately clear if Braun will elect new board members ahead of the next trustee meeting on June 12 at IU Bloomington.

One of the two removed trustees was noted critic of university decisions

Winston, who was first elected to the board in 2022, was perhaps the board's most vocal critic of Whitten and the IU administration in recent years.

Winston was one of three trustees who voted against IU’s expressive activity policy last summer, which was recently paused by a federal judge for likely violating the First Amendment. She also was the lone trustee member to vote against Whitten receiving a raise and contract extension in February, arguing Whitten hadn’t done enough to remedy widespread faculty mistrust after her vote of no confidence last spring.

Burnett was the board’s newest member, elected by alumni last June. Burnett generally voted in support of Whitten’s recommendations and seemed to express support for the university’s deploying state police on protesters in Dunn Meadow last spring.

“Student and faculty protestors must follow the rules and regulations of IU in addition to the laws of our city and state and if they fail to do so, they should expect the prescribed adverse consequences and ramifications,” Burnett said in a statement to the Herald-Times last year.

Wayne Winston, Vivian Winston’s husband, said Winston received Braun’s letter removing her from the board on the morning of June 2.

“I’m incredibly proud of Vivian’s tenure as a trustee,” Wayne Winston said. “She had the courage to vote against things that were bad for the university when no one else did.”

Wayne Winston is a vocal critic of Pamela Whitten, and has slammed other trustees for supporting the president despite mounting faculty dissatisfaction. In a March Herald-Times opinion piece, he criticized the board for being not being transparent and ignoring the will of IU’s faculty in giving Whitten a raise. He said he wasn’t surprised by Braun removing Vivian, even as her term was set to expire in a matter of weeks.

“Pam doesn’t work for the board, the board works for Pam,” he said.

Braun currently under lawsuit for enacting bill that eliminated trustee elections

The ACLU of Indiana is suing Braun for enacting the provision that eliminated alumni trustee elections. The lawsuit alleges that the provision selectively targets IU and is therefore a form of “special legislation,” which is forbidden by the state constitution.

“Every other four-year public university in the state has a process for allowing alumni to select at least some members of the board of trustees, and there is no justification for denying that ability to the alumni of IU,” said Ken Falk, the ACLU of Indiana's legal director, in a press release.

Braun previously said that he didn’t request but supported the provision. During his 100 days celebration in April, he argued that only a small percentage of alumni participate in the trustee elections.

“It enabled a clique, a few people, to actually determine three board members, and I don’t think that is real representation,” Braun said.

He falsely suggested that IU was unique in having alumni determine a public university’s board members, even though other state schools including Purdue University still have appointees that are elected by the Purdue Alumni Association.

Braun previously seemed to suggest that he would let the existing alumni trustees serve the remainder of their terms.

“I don’t think their terms are that far away from expiring,” he said in April.

The next trustee meeting is on Thursday, June 12, at Henke Hall in Bloomington. The agenda for the meeting has not yet been published.

Reach Brian Rosenzweigbrian@heraldt.com. Follow him on X/Twitter at@brianwritesnews.

https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2025/06/02/governor-mike-braun-removes-vivian-winston-and-jill-maurer-burnett-from-iu-trustees-under-new-law/83992139007/#e6svxje3gz5g2utye9svftet9g5np8gsf

The "former trustees" site does list an end date to Donna Spear's tenure on the board, as well.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 91,543]

And on the heels of that announcement --

Gov Mike Braun has appointed three new trustees for Indiana University: Sage Steele, James Bopp Jr, and Brian Eagle. He's also renewed the term of current chair Quinn Bucukner

[AZ Hoosier 11,020]

  On 6/2/2025 at 6:46 PM, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

And on the heels of that announcement --

Gov Mike Braun has appointed three new trustees for Indiana University: Sage Steele, James Bopp Jr, and Brian Eagle. He's also renewed the term of current chair Quinn Bucukner

You gotta be f-ing kidding me... (interesting Freudian there, Old Fart) 

[Pagoda 4,951]

  On 6/2/2025 at 6:46 PM, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

And on the heels of that announcement --

Gov Mike Braun has appointed three new trustees for Indiana University: Sage Steele, James Bopp Jr, and Brian Eagle. He's also renewed the term of current chair Quinn Buckner.

 

[AZ Hoosier 11,020]

Additional information on the three new trustees:

https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/06/caappointedtrustees060225

  Quote

Sage Steele is a former ESPN host and commentator who parted ways with the network in 2023 after she was reprimanded for a string of remarks about Barack Obama's racial identity, mandating the COVID-19 vaccine and more. She sued ESPN for allegedly violating her First Amendment rights to free speech.

She has since started her own podcast and YouTube show "The Sage Steele Show." She's also been associated with the Trump campaign, at one point rumored to be vying for Trump's press secretary role. She denied the rumors. 

James Bopp Jr. is a conservative lawyer formerly part of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita's team. He was influential in early 20th century anti-abortion campaigns by the Republican party and has campaigned to remove barriers to corporate and union funding of political campaigns. 

Brian Eagle is an attorney, wealth consultant, and partner at his firm Eagle and Fein. He is a current member of the Central Indiana Community Foundation’s Cornerstone Advisory Council, a philanthropic organization with the stated values of anti-racism, authentic relationships, inclusivity, leadership, effectiveness and sustainability. 

All three are IU alumni, and their terms begin effective immediately. It is unclear whether there will be an election for Winston's vacant spot, but it appears unlikely due to each appointment lasting until at least 2027.

 

[RaceToTheTop 31,351]

Removing the ability to elect trustees and instilling them with political yes men and women.

[OGIUAndy 1,115]

So people only care because he renewed Buckner? What about "He falsely suggested that IU was unique in having alumni determine a public university’s board members, even though other state schools including Purdue University still have appointees that are elected by the Purdue Alumni Association." 



 

[Hoosierfan2017 25,083]

Good thing we got Woodson out when we did. 

[JSHoosier 22,240]

More appointments that are political, what could possibly go wrong?

[Home Jersey 16,380]

BOT member Sage Steele, lol. And he's running it back

[RaceToTheTop 31,351]

  On 6/2/2025 at 7:43 PM, OGIUAndy said:

So people only care because he renewed Buckner? What about "He falsely suggested that IU was unique in having alumni determine a public university’s board members, even though other state schools including Purdue University still have appointees that are elected by the Purdue Alumni Association." 



 

I care about the taking over of the IU elected board way more than his renewal of Buckner.  

[Jeff Flabjohns 2,795]

Sage Steele is an ignorant hack. Shame. 

[AZ Hoosier 11,020]

  On 6/2/2025 at 11:11 PM, Jeff Flabjohns said:

Sage Steele is an ignorant hack. Shame. 

Don't hold back... please tell us how you really feel about her...

But seriously, how so? Why do you say that?

[Defenserocks28 403]

We should file a class action lawsuit since our degrees will be worth much less now.   

I joke,  but man,  never donating to IU again while this political bs happens.  Removing elected trustees for a bunch of political bull.

[Defenserocks28 403]

Only way this changes is by big donors like Cuban turning off funding of any sort. Feels weird to hope he does so. 

[WayneFleekHoosier 51,581]

Glad to see it. Sage Steele loves Indiana University and loves America. She will be a fantastic person for the job. The stuff/propaganda and otherwise she endured at ESPN and then to be tough enough to do what she feels is right is just a lovely character trait.


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[Defenserocks28 403]

  On 6/3/2025 at 12:40 AM, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Glad to see it. Sage Steele loves Indiana University and loves America. She will be a fantastic person for the job. The stuff/propaganda and otherwise she endured at ESPN and then to be tough enough to do what she feels is right is just a lovely character trait.


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So you're cool with elected officials being removed for a political agenda? 

[AKHoosier 7,764]

  On 6/3/2025 at 12:23 AM, RaceToTheTop said:

Since her firing from ESPN she has spent her career being a political shill.  That's fine -- if you believe in the politics you are are pushing, more power to you -- but it's obvious that the reason that Braun put her on the board is her pushing of Trump's agenda.  There is zero reason that the IU board should be singled out by Indiana politics.  IU certainly doesn't need a Purdue graduate like Braun being the sole person in charge of the Indiana BOT.

In terms of Steele, I could go farther but the fact is that she said Obama isn't 'black'.

She was fired from ESPN because of her politics. Aka she isn't a lefty. She's allowed to have opinions. Not sure that makes her a shill but sure go off since those opinions don't align with yours.

I love Sage Steele. She's all about IU. We need more people like her. 

[RaceToTheTop 31,351]

  On 6/3/2025 at 12:58 AM, AKHoosier said:

She was fired from ESPN because of her politics. Aka she isn't a lefty. She's allowed to have opinions. Not sure that makes her a shill but sure go off since those opinions don't align with yours.

I love Sage Steele. She's all about IU. We need more people like her. 

You obviously didn’t bother reading what I wrote.  I said more power to her for expressing opinions she believes in (and I agree that was fired from espn for her politics….which is their right as a private company).  But call it what it is….this is a government takeover of a single BOT because they don’t like the politics and they are simply instilling governor yes men and women.

[RaceToTheTop 31,351]

  On 6/3/2025 at 12:40 AM, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Glad to see it. Sage Steele loves Indiana University and loves America. She will be a fantastic person for the job. The stuff/propaganda and otherwise she endured at ESPN and then to be tough enough to do what she feels is right is just a lovely character trait.


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‘Merica.