THE TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY

As the university's governing body, the Trustees of Indiana University have been charged by the Indiana General Assembly with a wide range of policy and decision-making authority to carry out the programs and missions of the University.

The General Assembly named the first six Trustees in the 1820 statute that created the Indiana Seminary, predecessor to Indiana University. In 1828 the legislature changed the name of the institution to Indiana College and appointed fifteen Trustees. In 1838 it established Indiana University and provided for a board of twenty-one members and the Governor as ex officio vice president of the board. In 1852 the number of Trustees was reduced to eleven, and in 1855 to eight.

Although the number of Trustees did not change for over a hundred years, additional legislation set members' terms at three years, staggered the expiration of terms, and changed the manner in which Trustees were chosen. In 1975 the General Assembly amended the statutes to add a ninth Trustee, who is appointed by the Governor and who must be a full-time student of the University during a two-year appointment. Of the other eight members, the Governor now appoints five, and the alumni of the University elect three.