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Last modified: Thursday, October 12, 2006

John Applegate is IU's first Presidential Fellow

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 12, 2006

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University President Adam W. Herbert today (Oct. 12) announced the appointment of Bloomington law professor and associate dean John S. Applegate as the first IU Presidential Fellow.

John Applegate

John Applegate

Print-Quality Photo

Modeled after the prestigious White House Fellows program, the appointment will give Applegate the opportunity to work as a full-time special assistant to the president for at least six months beginning Jan. 1.

Herbert, who served as a White House Fellow in the Ford Administration in 1974, said the experience proved invaluable to him early in his career, and he wants to give other promising professionals a similar opportunity to be involved in the decision-making process at the highest level.

Herbert served a year as special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

"As a White House Fellow, I was able to gain insight into how senior level officials deliberate and make decisions," Herbert said. "It was an immensely valuable experience, and I want to give similar opportunities to people who have great potential for higher levels of professional success."

Applegate, who specializes in environmental law, joined the faculty of the IU School of Law-Bloomington in 1998. He is nationally recognized for his work in environmental risk assessment and policy analysis and has written numerous articles on the regulation of toxic substances and public participation in environmental decisions.

Last February, Applegate was among 30 IU faculty members on all eight campuses named to participate in the 2006 IU Leadership Development Project.

Known as the IU LeaD program, it was designed by Herbert to emphasize the importance of leadership development throughout the university. The program is headed by Charles Bonser, dean emeritus and professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Participants attend management and leadership seminars covering key issues in higher education and government.

"All of this year's LeaD program members are impressive," Herbert said. "This program confirms that IU has a deep reservoir of administrative talent."

Herbert said that starting in January Applegate will be excused from his administrative and teaching duties at the law school to work full time in the president's office on a wide array of projects, including assisting the presidential transition process next spring and summer.

And while he will continue to teach in the current semester, he has begun to attend meetings of the presidential staff and board of trustees so that he can quickly learn the issues and dynamics of the IU decision-making process.

"It is my hope that this will establish a tradition at IU that will continue long into the future with a Presidential Fellow appointed every year to work at the side of the president," Herbert said.

Applegate said he was honored to be selected for the position.

"This is an important time in the history of this institution, and I am looking forward to this opportunity to work closely with the president and to be involved in moving the university forward," Applegate said.

Applegate, 49, is executive associate dean for academic affairs and Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law at IU Bloomington. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School. He also has a bachelor's degree in English from Haverford College.

Before coming to IU Bloomington, he was a professor of law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, and he also was a visiting professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Law. From 1983 to 1987, Applegate practiced environmental law in Washington, D.C., with the law firm of Covington & Burling, and he clerked for the late Judge Edward S. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.