Last modified: Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Cora Griffin named new IU student trustee
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 16, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS -- Cora J. Griffin, a graduate student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, has been appointed by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels as the new student member of the IU Board of Trustees.
Griffin, of Galveston, Ind., graduated from IUPUI in May as an Honors College Scholar as well as a member of the Bepko Scholars and Fellows Program, one of IUPUI's most prestigious scholarship programs. Her two-year term on the nine-member board of trustees was effective July 2. She succeeds Abbey Stemler, who graduated from the IU Maurer School of Law in May.
"I am very pleased that Governor Daniels appointed such an academically talented and civically engaged individual to serve on the IU Board of Trustees," IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. "Cora brings to her new role a passion for learning, professional development and community service, and she already has amassed a wealth of experience outside the classroom that will be a valuable resource for her fellow trustees."
"I am very honored to be selected as a trustee of Indiana University," Griffin said. "Indiana University has allowed me to excel academically, pursue internships, study abroad and give back to the community. I want to ensure these opportunities for current and future generations. As the Indiana University student trustee, I look forward to serving IU students at all campuses."
Griffin has been very active in campus life, including student government, serving as president of the IUPUI Student Foundation. She has also been an ambassador for the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, a resident assistant for Housing and Residence Life, president of the Student Activities Programming Board, president of the IUPUI Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and vice president of the IUPUI Undergraduate Student Government.
As an undergraduate, she gained professional experience working at the Indiana General Assembly and the Indiana Bar Foundation as well as for Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, Mitch Daniels' gubernatorial campaign and former Indiana Rep. Chris Chocola. While interning for the Indianapolis Office of the Mayor in 2009-2010, she facilitated IUPUI's research of the Citizen Engagement Project, which seeks to provide citizens with the resources they need to work with government. The research earned first place in the competition for the IUPUI Undergraduate Research Award.
Griffin studied overseas in Berlin in 2010 at the Hertie School of Governance and, in 2009, at King's College in London. Also in 2009, she studied federal government and completed an internship in Washington, D.C., with the Washington Leadership Program.
Closer to home, she has been actively involved in several community service projects, including as a member of the board of directors for the Indiana Chapter of the Huntington's Disease Society of America, the IUPUI Jagathon Committee, which raises money for Riley Hospital for Children, and the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, among other organizations.
In March, Griffin was among three Outstanding Woman Student Leaders honored by the IUPUI Office for Women and the Office of Student Involvement at the annual Women's Leadership Reception.
