To members of the Indiana University community, Gov. Mike Braun’s recent restructuring of IU’s board of trustees and appointment of two outspoken conservatives was shocking. But within the scope of national politics, experts say, it’s par for the course.
Braun’s move to eliminate three alumni-elected trustee positions that have existed on IU’s board since 1891 puts IU in the company of most other public universities, where governors exercise full control of board appointees.Still, higher education and legal experts say Bruan’s restructuring of the board could set a troubling precedent during a time when state legislators and governors are already tightening control on public university governing boards. And in the case of Braun, they’re questioning whether Chair Quinn Buckner’s reappointment to a fourth term could run afoul of the law.
“I’m definitely thinking about this case as an alarm bell for other institutions,” said Isabel McMullen, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin who researches how state politics influence public institutions of higher education. “People in governors’ offices and the legislature are feeling really bold to go after institutions that they would like to have greater control over. And they’re doing so without any guardrails stopping them.”
Experts: IU follows national trend toward tighter political control by governors
McMullen’s research analyzes the professional and demographic background of trustees or regents at public universities across the country. In her research, McMullen has found that trustee positions have almost always been a sort of “political favor” that governors give to close friends and donors. But in recent years, McMullen said, trustees have started to serve a more expressly political purpose, especially in states with a Republican majority.
In January 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six new trustees to the small liberal arts institution The New College of Florida — a move that DeSantis expressly said was aimed at transforming it into a “classical,” conservative institution. Later that same year, the University of North Carolina’s board passed a resolution directing UNC-Chapel Hill to develop a “School of Civic Life and Leadership,” meant to counter an abundance of “left-of-center” views on campus.