Braun defends IU Board of Trustees moves, says university needs ‘sprucing up’

Gov. Mike Braun told reporters Tuesday that “overwhelming” response from individuals wanting to be part of Indiana University’s Board of Trustees drove him to swap out three trustees with time left in their terms for his own picks.

Language slipped into the state budget bill in April makes all nine members of the Indiana University Board of Trustees gubernatorial appointees. Previously the school’s alumni elected three of the members while the Indiana governor picked six.

After previously indicating he intended to let board members serve out their terms, Braun, a Republican, dismissed the three alumni-elected members and appointed vocally conservative alumni, including Sage Steele, a former ESPN host, and attorney Jim Bopp.

The three now-former board members are Vivian Winston, Donna Spears and Jill Maurer Burnett. Winston’s term was set to end this month. However, Spears’ term was through 2026, and Burnett, who had been elected in 2024, was set to serve until 2027.

“It really didn’t make a lot of difference one way or the other, so we did make the decision to go ahead and do it so that we don’t even delay the few weeks to be involved,” Braun told reporters.

Braun defends IU Board of Trustees additions

Both Bopp and Steele were appointed to terms that will run through June 30, 2028.

Steele, a Carmel High School graduate who covered sports at WISH-TV Channel 8 early in her career, left ESPN in 2023 after suing the network and its parent company, Disney, over alleged First Amendment violations. Steele claimed she lost assignments after making comments that were critical of the company’s vaccine requirements and Barack Obama’s racial identity.

Braun defended his choice of Bopp, a Terre Haute-based attorney who was involved in the promotion and defense of the 2014 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, and drafted model legislation to outlaw abortion, which the state did in a special legislative session in 2023. Bopp also drafted policies for Braun’s administration through a think tank called Hoosiers for Opportunity, Prosperity & Enterprise.

His practice largely focuses on constitutional law and specializes in cases involving the First Amendment and Second Amendment.

Braun called Bopp “somebody that’s going to really be respectful of the First Amendment,” and said the appointment makes it clear that IU “ought to be a place where all views are listened to and [where] you don’t try to squelch anything based upon what your point of view might be.”

Last week, an Indiana court halted the usage of IU’s “expressive activity” policy, arguing it violated the First Amendment when used against students at pro-Palestine encampments in Dunn Meadow. Early in his tenure as governor, Braun signed an executive order directing the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to conduct a review of state colleges’ and universities’ policies regarding antisemitism and their responses to any incidents following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. 

Reinforcing support of Whitten

The governor also appointed Brian Eagle, managing partner at Indianapolis law firm Eagle & Fein PC, and retained board chair Quinn Buckner, whose third term was set to expire this month. Eagle’s term will expire June 30, 2027.

Buckner’s term now ends on June 30, 2026.

The budget bill limits appointees to three terms, raising questions about whether Buckner should be able to continue in his role. However, Braun told reporters that because the measure is not retroactive, it does not take into account previous time served on the board.

“The fact that he’s a new appointee, that’s when it starts,” Braun said. A spokesperson for the governor clarified that Buckner could theoretically serve several more terms.

Braun noted Buckner’s support of Whitten, for whom university faculty held a vote of no confidence last year. The board, led by Buckner, released a statement after the vote in support of Whitten.

“[Buckner], to me, was someone that I think was aligned with President Whitten,” Braun said. He added that he believes IU “needs a little sprucing up across the board.”

Braun also likened Whitten to former Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, a former Republican governor.

“I think she was brought in because maybe they were looking for some analog to what Mitch Daniels did at Purdue,” Braun said.

He pointed to Daniels’ tuition freeze at Purdue, which began in 2013. “It set the example,” Braun said.

Purdue held a public hearing Monday to discuss proposed tuition and fees for students attending the university’s main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis, as well as Purdue Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest. IU may follow suit at its June 12 meeting, with plans to consider a proposal to keep tuition rates flat for in-state undergraduate students over the next two years.