Whitten: Research A Key Focus In Indiana University’s Future
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Pamela Whitten is settling into her new role as the President of Indiana University.
It’s been a month since she took over for her predecessor Michael McRobbie. So far, Whitten tells Inside Indiana Business that she is loving her new gig and has felt welcomed to the state.
“I am so greatly impressed with Hoosiers across the state,” she said. “I mean people are warm, their welcoming, they’re excited. I’ll tell you there is a lot of love around this state for Indiana University.”
Since taking over the job as president of the university, Whitten has gotten to know the campus in Bloomington and has also toured all five of IU’s regional and satellite campuses in Kokomo, South Bend, Gary, Richmond, and New Albany, as well as the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis.
Having specialized in research in previous jobs and even as president of Kennesaw State in Georgia the last three years, Whitten hopes to build on IU’s already vast infrastructure for research.
“It’s such an important mission for the university,” said Whitten. “You know, part of our role is certainly to make discoveries and find things and create things that really impact the quality of life for folks in Indiana but also around the world.”
She added that “students will be the center of the universe” at IU and that every decision that she plans to make she will immediately consider how it will impact students first and foremost.
Whitten is also impressed with the steps IU took to navigate the pandemic last year and is looking forward to opening back up fully in the fall.
