Indiana University will not confirm the status of a former executive, including whether she is still a university employee at a $550,000 salary, as it appears on the University Controller’s online salary listings.
Brenda Stopher, former vice president for student success, left the job suddenly in February without an official announcement, only a line in an IU news release saying Rahul Shrivastav was her interim replacement.
The release said Stopher chose to leave for personal reasons “after four years of significant contributions to the university.”
IU’s organization chart shows her reporting to Shrivastav as an Executive Advisor. Her salary for 2027 is the same as her salary as a university vice president.
IU spokesperson Mark Bode would not say whether Stopher still holds a position or receives a salary at the university, giving the familiar refrain in an emailed statement that “IU does not comment on individual personnel or legal matters.”
Salaries at IU, a taxpayer supported state institution, are public information.
Read more: IU's Elmer Fudd approach to transparency
Stopher is one of President Pamela Whitten’s longest collaborators, going back to the University of Georgia, where Whitten served as vice president in 2014. She went on to become her special assistant and vice president when Whitten was president of Kennesaw State University. Whitten brought Stopher to IU in 2022 as her chief of staff and put her in the newly created position of Vice President of Strategic Operations in 2024.
WFIU/WTIU News reached out to Stopher’s listed IU email and office phone numbers but did not receive a response.
