Last modified: Friday, June 22, 2007
IU's Palmer stepping into new position
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22,2007
GARY, Ind. -- Indiana University President Adam W. Herbert announced today (June 22) that he has accepted with regret the resignation of Judith G. Palmer as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective July 31.
Palmer, who has served as an IU vice president for 20 years, will take a six-month leave of absence and then return to IU in a newly created position of Director of the Office of Legislative and Policy Analysis, which is being created by President Elect Michael A. McRobbie.
The announcement was made during the Board of Trustees meeting at IU Northwest.
"Judy has done a tremendous job of managing Indiana University finances under four presidents," Herbert said. "Our credit rating is higher than it has ever been. Our financial management system is considered a model of efficiency for institutions of higher education, and our investments are providing us with maximum returns. These are truly exemplary accomplishments."
Herbert said that when he assumed the presidency four years ago, Palmer pledged to him that she would remain in her post for the length of his tenure, but that she eventually wanted to move into another less demanding role where she could continue to serve IU in a significant way.
"Judy has spent much of her life in demanding executive leadership positions, first in state government and then at Indiana University," Herbert said. "I can understand why she would like to take up some new challenges at this time. We are very fortunate that she has agreed to remain with IU and serve in a position for which she is almost uniquely qualified."
Herbert will step down as President at the end of June. The Board of Trustees in March appointed McRobbie, currently Provost and Bloomington vice president for academic affairs, to become the 18th president of IU on July 1.
McRobbie said he looks forward to working with Palmer in her new role.
"She is a person of great wisdom and experience, especially in state government and the legislative process," McRobbie said. "I am certain she will continue to make a great contribution to Indiana University."
In her new position, Palmer will be based in Indianapolis and will review state laws and all legislation that affects Indiana University with a view toward developing a prioritized agenda for legislative initiatives aimed at helping the university pursue its missions of education and research more effectively.
Palmer came to IU in 1985 from state government, where she had worked as state budget director and chief fiscal adviser to the late Gov. Bob Orr. Before that, she had been a senior budget analyst and executive assistant to Gov. Otis Bowen.
As IU's vice president and chief financial officer, Palmer was responsible for developing IU's $2.4 billion annual budget and aligning IU's legislative requests with its budgetary needs. Her efforts helped IU win a funding formula for research support, funding to establish the School of Informatics and initial funding for IU's Life Sciences Initiative.
Palmer served as former IU President Myles Brand's finance chief during his entire tenure which ran from 1994 to 2002.
"It was my pleasure and good fortune to serve with Judy Palmer," Brand said. "She is a person of enormous ability and significant personal commitment to Indiana University. Her financial expertise saved millions for the university and advanced the state, and her leadership enabled the university to develop a financial management system that is second to none in higher education."
IU Board of Trustees President Steve Ferguson said he is sorry to see Palmer step down as the university's top financial officer, but pleased that IU will still benefit from her expertise in legislative matters.
"Judy has kept the Board of Trustees well informed on every aspect of university finances," he said. "She is a person of great integrity. In my nine years as a trustee, I always felt that I had a good fix on fiscal matters, thanks to Judy's hard work."
Palmer earned a bachelor's degree from IU in 1970 and graduated cum laude from the IU School of Law-Indianapolis, in 1974.
She joined IU in 1985 as special assistant to the president and associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She was promoted to vice president for planning in 1986 and assumed responsibilities as vice president and chief financial officer in 1994.
