Indiana University Bloomington faculty voted no confidence in current administration during an all-faculty meeting on April 16.
For an in-person vote to be ratified, 800 faculty members had to be present at the meeting. There were 948 attendees, according to minutes posted by the Bloomington Faculty Council.
Of the 948 faculty members who attended, 827 voted no confidence in President Pamela Whitten, which was 93.1% of the vote.
“I don’t like the direction the university is taking under Whitten’s so-called leadership. Seems like multiple steps in the wrong direction,” university employee Paul Smith said.
Full interview with university employee Paul Smith, who held a “Justice for Halaby” sign outside the IU Auditorium as faculty entered for the meeting.
Eight-hundred and four faculty members voted no confidence in Provost Rahul Shrivastav and 672 voted no confidence in Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty.
“Even having a no-confidence vote is a pretty strong signal that somebody can send,” Associate Professor of Communication Science Mike Gruszczynski said. “The fact that there’s an all-faculty meeting is a pretty strong signal,”
The vote comes after many recent controversial decisions under Whitten’s leadership, such as canceling IU alumna and Palestinian artist Samia Halaby’s art exhibit after three years of planning due to safety concerns.
Also, Docherty violated policy when she suspended tenured political science professor Abdulkader Sinno without due process after his attempt to reserve a room for a Palestine Solidarity Committee event.
Sinno was present at the all-faculty meeting, and he along with others spoke on the administration and campus climate changing to something of secrecy and dishonesty.
Faculty at the meeting, many of whom were afraid to give their names, said there is a growing chill on free speech, and they have concerns regarding the university’s handling of Senate Bill 202 and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) concepts.
“People are expressing just a displeasure with the way things are being run,” Gruszczynski said.
Full interview with associate professor of communication science Mike Gruszczynski on the meaning behind a no confidence vote.
The no confidence vote is not binding for Whitten and her administration, and they can choose how to move forward from here. Whitten’s contract expires in June 2026.
In 2005, IU’s 17th President Adam Herbert received an informal vote of no confidence and resigned shortly after.
Within a few hours of the vote, Whitten sent an e-mail to faculty members. She wrote that times and pressures on universities have changed and there’s no going back. She hopes to respectfully collaborate and move forward together.
“Working together, we can achieve even more for this extraordinary institution,” Whitten wrote in the e-mail. “We can uphold the legacy of Herman B Wells and ensure IU thrives as an international academic leader while being a workplace that embraces respectful collaboration.”
Also shortly after the vote, the IU Board of Trustees released a statement offering their full support to President Whitten.
“She is the right leader at the right time precisely because she has pursued a future for Indiana University that will ensure that it thrives in its next era,” the Board said in the statement. “It is our intention that President Whitten’s tenure as the leader at IU will provide the many years necessary to realize the vision we have established for the university.”
