The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana argued in Monroe Circuit Court Friday that a last-minute provision to the state budget last year unconstitutionally singles out Indiana University by removing the ability of IU alumni to directly elect trustees.
House Enrolled Act 1001 grants that power exclusively to the governor — who now appoints all nine trustees to the powerful board responsible for IU’s budget, tuition rates and academic programs.
Prior to HEA 1001, alumni elected three of the nine trustees, while the governor appointed the remaining six members.
The ACLU sued the state on behalf of alumnus Justin Vasel, one of five trustee candidates whose campaigns were cut short by the passage of HEA 1001.
“Depriving a candidate the ability to access the ballot is irrevocable harm,” said ACLU Legal Director Ken Falk said Friday in defense of his motion for summary judgement.
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A unique process
Indiana University stood out as the sole public university in Indiana where alumni directly elected some of their trustees.
Other four-year colleges like Purdue University and Indiana State University rely on alumni associations to recommend several appointments to the governor.
Falk argued Friday this process grants alumni at those institutions a voice in trustee appointments, while Assistant Deputy Solicitor General John Lowrey said alumni associations merely vet candidates for the governor.
Lowrey said this “unique characteristic” of IU’s trustee selection process justifies a special law, though the state maintains HEA 1001 should rightly be considered general law.
Few alumni vote in trustee elections
Lowrey cited low turnout in alumni trustee elections — only 1-3% of IU’s 400,000 alumni vote in these elections — in defense of the new selection process, arguing a greater share of alumni vote for the governor than their trustee.
This isn’t the first time the legislature has changed the trustee selection process either. Lowrey said the process has been revised 11 times since the school’s founding, and HEA 1001 is just a “natural extension” of this.
The ACLU and state each filed competing motions for summary judgement from special Judge Erik Allen, appointed to oversee the case.
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In its motion for summary judgement, the state argued recent controversies at IU demonstrate a greater need for accountability — justify the termination of the “unique selection model that reduces accountability.”
Falk contested this in court Friday, arguing IU is not the only public university in Indiana to become the subject of controversy, so the school shouldn’t be singled out.
Falk said the ACLU is not seeking to overturn Gov. Mike Braun’s appointments, which include conservative attorney James Bopp Jr., sportscaster Sage Steel and attorney Brian Eagle.
The appointees could either resign or finish their term but the process would then revert back to alumni selection.
Allen gave both parties 30 days to submit entries before he will issue a ruling.
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