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Last modified: Friday, July 26, 2013

Marshall retiring as IU diversity leader; Graduate School Dean Wimbush to be named successor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2013

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Edwin C. Marshall, Indiana University vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs since July 2007, will retire effective July 31 after 42 years as a professor and administrator at IU, the university has announced.

Edwin Marshall

Photo by Hillary Demmon

Edwin Marshall

Print-Quality Photo

IU President Michael A. McRobbie has selected James C. Wimbush, dean of the University Graduate School, to immediately succeed Marshall subject to the approval of the IU Board of Trustees at its next meeting Aug. 9. Wimbush, who will continue in his position as dean, has served as IU's top graduate school administrator for the past seven years and has been a professor at the IU Kelley School of Business since 1991.

"Ed Marshall has made enormous contributions to IU for more than four decades, first as one of the nation's leading optometry professors and scholars, and for the past six years as IU's leading voice on vitally important issues related to diversity and equity," McRobbie said. "His intellect, experience and passion for IU will be deeply missed, and I wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.

"Ed has also been instrumental in the successful launch last year of IU's two new schools of public health in Bloomington and Indianapolis, and I am very pleased that he has agreed to continue to serve as chair of the IU Public Health Coordinating Council," he added.

Marshall called his decision to retire "a challenging one," given his deep ties to the university, but said he looks forward to remaining involved at IU through his ongoing work on the IU Public Health Coordinating Council and as chairman of the search committee for the next permanent chancellor at IU Southeast.

"Over the course of my time at IU, I have had the pleasure of working with great individuals across different disciplines on each of our campuses," Marshall said. "While there are many things I will miss as I phase into retirement, what I will miss most is working as part of a collaborative team to promote academic excellence through diversity and inclusion at IU."

Under Marshall's leadership, the percentage of minority students across all IU campuses, as a percentage of domestic enrollment, increased from 14.5 percent in 2007 to 19.8 percent at the end of 2012. Additionally, he directed the creation of diversity plans at all IU campuses, launched and led the President's University Diversity Initiative and also worked with the IU Bloomington provost to more than double the amount of scholarship funds available through the Hudson and Holland Scholars Program.

Additional highlights of Marshall's tenure as vice president for DEMA can be found here.

In announcing the appointment today, McRobbie cited Wimbush's leadership experience at the graduate school level as having played an important role in IU's ongoing effort to increase the diversity of its faculty, as well as attracting more graduate students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic groups.

"I'm grateful to President McRobbie for the opportunity to serve Indiana University as vice president of DEMA," Wimbush said. "My good friend and colleague Ed Marshall has served the office very well, and I look forward to building upon his work.

"Indiana University has established a proud legacy for diversity dating back decades to the time of former IU President Herman Wells, but there is much more to be done on all campuses to build community, increase diversity among the faculty, staff and student body, and to provide outreach and advocacy on issues of societal concern. I'm prepared to work with my colleagues on this challenge."

To bolster the university's commitment to attracting and retaining a greater number of minority graduate students, McRobbie also announced today that the university will provide an additional $1 million in funding each year to DEMA and the University Graduate School to fund such efforts. The additional money will be used principally to fund graduate fellowships with an emphasis on the sciences, mathematics and information technology; because a graduate degree is required for nearly all academic positions, this will help increase the number of minority university faculty members.

"The funding from President McRobbie demonstrates his strong commitment for both diversity and graduate education," Wimbush said. "Funding and mentoring are the top two factors affecting completion. Our goal is to create additional recruitment programs, fellowships, and mentoring and support programs to make IU not only attractive for graduate study, but to also help our graduate students complete in a timely manner."

Before taking leadership of IU's graduate programs, Wimbush served as chairman of the IU Kelley School of Business' Department of Management. He also has been active in service and advisory roles throughout his career at the university.

He has served on several academic search committees and previously has chaired IU's Athletics Committee. In 2012, Wimbush received the Bill Orwig Medal, the highest honor bestowed on a non-IU alumnus for service to IU Athletics.

Nationally, Wimbush is the chair-elect of the board for the Council of Graduate Schools, an advocacy organization for graduate education. The council's member institutions grant over 92 percent of all doctorates and 81 percent of all master's degrees in the United States. He is past chair of the board for the GRE, the organization that creates and administers the standardized test used by most universities for graduate school admissions.

He also is a member of the executive committee for the American Association of Universities' Association of Graduate Schools. Wimbush earned his master's degree in human resources management and industrial and labor relations from Virginia Tech University, where he also earned a doctorate in management.

"James has established an outstanding record of scholarship, teaching excellence and administrative leadership during his time at IU, and he brings a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities we face as an institution that is continually seeking to become more diverse and inclusive," McRobbie said. "I have every bit of confidence that he will build on the foundation laid by his predecessors in this important role."

Wimbush's appointment also drew the praise of former IU diversity leader Charlie Nelms, a national expert on matters of race and inclusion. Nelms, who retired as chancellor of North Carolina Central University in 2012, served as vice president for institutional development and student affairs at IU from 1998 to 2007 and also served as chancellor at IU East from 1987 to 1994.

"Given Dr. Wimbush's experience as an exemplary teacher, scholar and university-wide administrator, he is an excellent choice to lead IU's diversity, equity and multicultural efforts," Nelms said. "I encourage all members of the IU community, irrespective of campus or status, to re-commit themselves to assisting the university with achieving its diversity objectives. Working collaboratively works."

Wimbush's is the third senior executive appointment made in the diversity area at IU in the past three months. In April, Martin McCrory was named a university associate vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs and vice provost for educational inclusion and diversity for the IU Bloomington campus, while Karen Dace was appointed vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis early this month.