Buckner elected Chair of IU Board of Trustees
The Indiana University Board of Trustees has elected W. Quinn Buckner as the new chair of the trustees and MaryEllen Kiley Bishop as the vice chair. The board’s nominating committee elected the officers during the board’s organizational meeting Aug. 12. The chair of the board presides over all trustees meetings, names and identifies the duties and responsibilities of all board committees, and fills committee vacancies. The vice chair performs duties of the chair in the chair’s absence. Officers serve for two-year terms.
One of IU’s most recognized alumni, Buckner has served on the board since his appointment in 2016. He is the vice president of communications for Pacers Sports and Entertainment and is a longtime professional basketball television analyst. Buckner earned a bachelor’s in business from the IU Kelley School of Business. A member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, he was part of IU’s undefeated 1976 men’s basketball team, captained the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team that won the 1976 gold medal, won an NBA championship during a 10-year professional career and was head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. He is on several not-for-profit boards, including the IU Foundation, the Pacers Foundation, the Indiana Youth Institute and Special Olympics of Indiana.
First elected to the trustees in 2010, Bishop has long been an advocate for IU and its causes. A partner at Cohen Garelick & Glazier in Indianapolis, she earned a bachelor’s in business from the IU Kelley School of Business and a J.D. from the IU McKinney School of Law at IUPUI. Bishop chaired the IU Alumni Association from 2007 to 2008, and has served on the IU Athletics Committee, the McKinney School of Law Board of Visitors and the steering committee of the Colloquium for Women of IU. She also is a member of the board of the IU Foundation and its Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council.
High school students in Indiana invited to compete in national poetry contest
The Indiana Arts Commission announced educators and students are invited to sign up to participate in the Poetry Out Loud program, a national arts education program for high school students that encourages the study of poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. The program helps students master public speaking skills and build self-confidence, while also learning more about both classic and contemporary poetry.
The Indiana Poetry Out Loud state competition will be held virtually in March 2022. The champion will advance to the national finals, to take place in April 2022, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed. Educators and students that are interested in the Poetry Out Loud must sign up by November 19, 2021 to participate. Click here to access the sign up form.
ISP Troopers Recognized as Traffic Safety All-Stars
Governor Eric Holcomb and Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Executive Director Devon McDonald presented 65 Indiana police officers with the Traffic Safety All-Star Award for working to save lives and put a stop to impaired driving. To qualify, the officer must have made at least 20 OWI arrests and participated in one of the state’s targeted enforcement campaigns during the previous year.
In addition to the 65 officers, three individuals received the Leadership Award for aiding in the fight against impaired driving: Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Tim Abrams, Madison County Deputy Prosecutor Pete Beyel and Speedway Police Department Sergeant Mark Morgan, who recently passed away due to cancer. In total, the officers recognized made 3,163 OWI arrests across Indiana in 2020.
Now until Labor Day, more than 200 police agencies throughout the state will be increasing patrols and cracking down on drunk driving, which claims the lives of more than 10,000 people every year in the U.S. That’s approximately one person every 52 minutes or 28 per day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In Indiana, drunk driving has been on the rise. Of the 898 traffic fatalities that occurred last year in the state, 151, or 17 percent, were alcohol related.