The Indiana University Board of Trustees Friday awarded President Pamela Whitten a bonus of $175,500, as the campus leader continues to face student and faculty criticism for her handling of Pro-Palestine protestors and other political issues.
Some board members argued for her bonus, 25% of her $702,000 salary, by listing her accomplishments such as shepherding some $900 million into science and technology research, overseeing the transition from IUPUI to IU Indianapolis and launching IU Innovates, a program that support student startups and business ventures.
Whitten’s bonus, the most the board could award her, comes five months after IU faculty overwhelmingly voted that they had “no confidence” in her leadership .
Fewer than 30% of faculty participated in the vote. But the movement to vote “no-confidence” signaled mounting frustrations with campus leadership’s response to pressures from Indiana legislators to control higher education as well as the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian activism among faculty and students.