Last modified: Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Abbey Stemler is IU's new student trustee
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Abbey Stemler, a second-year law student at the IU Maurer School of Law, has been appointed by Gov. Mitch Daniels as the new student member of the Indiana University Board of Trustees.
Stemler also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with highest distinction at IU Bloomington in 2008.
Her two-year term on the nine-member board of trustees was effective July 1. She succeeds Arthur D. King of Columbus, who graduated in May.
"I am especially pleased that the governor selected someone with such a strong background as a student leader, both in and out of the classroom," Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie said. "Her experiences will be a great resource for the other trustees. I particularly appreciate that the governor worked very hard to find someone who understands the needs of both undergraduate and professional students."
"I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to serve Indiana University and the state along with the other board members," Stemler said. "As one of the first in my family to attend college, IU has played an incredibly important role in my life. The university has led me to places I never thought I would go -- Ecuador, Australia and even law school -- and it has provided me with countless challenges and opportunities.
"Now, I am eager to work hard and serve the university, helping it meet an even higher standard of excellence," she added.
Stemler, who was a salutatorian of her 2004 New Albany High School graduating class, has been involved in a wide variety of student activities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels on the Bloomington campus.
In 2006, she co-founded The Virtú Project, a student-led social entrepreneurship initiative that uses a mock investment portfolio to raise money for The Timmy Foundation, a non-profit that provides health care and health education to children in developing countries.
Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Stemler also was a student in the Hutton Honors College and the Liberal Arts and Management Program (LAMP). She coordinated the HHC's mentor program and served as president of LAMP's student advisory board. She earned her degree in the anthropology of mental health and illness through IU's Individualized Major Program and in psychology.
As a senior, Stemler studied and conducted research on narrative therapy at the University of Adelaide in Australia. She was the recipient of several IU academic honors, including the the IU Hutton Honors College Lloyd G. and Mildred Balfour Scholarship in four consecutive years, the Palmer Brandon Prize and the Beryl Showers Holland Fellowship.
As a law student, Stemler is a active in the Women's Law Caucus and serves on the law school's faculty appointments entry-level committee. She is working toward earning her doctorate of jurisprudence in 2011 and also plans to pursue an MBA from the Kelley School of Business.
