The Indiana University East Alumni Association and the East Central Indiana Chapter of the IU Alumni Association have merged to serve the IU Alumni Association East Region.

Terry Wiesehan, director of Alumni Affairs, addresses guests during the 30th alumni anniversary gala held in September 2019.

The merger began in April 2019 when the IU Alumni Association reached out to each of the regional campuses to initiate a program to unify campus alumni boards and the alumni chapters in those regions. The goal is to serve alumni in these regions better.

The unification of the alumni effort is designed to help strengthen Indiana University’s overall presence throughout the state of Indiana – through each of the regional campuses – reminding everyone that we are one IU.

“We aspire to have all IU alumni in the region to deepen and strengthen our ties to IU and one another,” said J T. Forbes, IU Bloomington ‘90, IUPUI ‘96, chief executive officer of the IU Alumni Association. “No matter your campus of origin, we are all alumni of Indiana University who can work together.”

Terry Wiesehan, IU East ‘96, is the director of Alumni Relations at IU East. She worked with both boards throughout the merger.

“The members of the two boards were extremely helpful in this process. I appreciate their dedication to their alma mater and their vision for how this unified group can move forward in serving our region’s alumni,” Wiesehan said.

To better serve all alumni living in the East Region, the IU Alumni Association East Region Community board is now comprised of members from the IU East, IU Bloomington and IUPUI campuses to extend the IU network in the region. The East Region service area includes the Indiana counties of Wayne, Dearborn, Fayette, Franklin, Henry, Ohio, Randolph, Ripley, Rush, Switzerland and Union. It also includes the Ohio counties of Butler, Darke, Mercer and Preble.

Jason Troutwine, IU East ‘01, is the IU East vice chancellor for the Office of External Affairs. He said the new board is well positioned to help the university and campus connect with all IU alumni.

“As IU celebrates its 200th anniversary and IU East prepares to enter its 50th year of serving the region, this is the perfect time to combine our efforts. This new board will have a wonderful opportunity to engage more alumni and leverage our collective resources, and affection for our alma mater, to grow Indiana University’s presence and influence within the region.”

Sarah Soper, IU Bloomington ‘02, IU East ‘13, will serve as the board president. Prior to the merger, Soper served as the East Central Indiana Chapter IU Alumni Association president.

“Our two boards have a robust history of working together to provide quality IU events on the local stage,” Soper said. “This formal unification will allow us to more holistically meet the needs of and serve all alumni in the region.  We are proud of the work everyone has done, and the work that will be done moving forward, to support all IU alumni who call this region home.”

IU Alumni Association East Region officers also include vice president, Rachel Rose (IU East ‘11 and ‘16), secretary, Dr. Jerry Logan (IU Bloomington ‘67 and ‘69), and past president, Angela Fairchild (IU East ‘97).

Other board members include:
Corey Baker, IU Bloomington ‘12
Dr. Elise Beatty, IU Bloomington ‘99, ‘02
Kandra Conley, IUPUI ‘08, ‘10
Travis Cornett, IU East ‘07
James Day, IU East ‘92
Jim Low, IU Bloomington ‘82
Chad Steen, IU East ‘90, IUPUI ‘92, IU East ‘14
Lorin Williams, IU Bloomington ‘10

“We are proud of the history of the alumni associations and the support to programs, events, services and networking opportunities they have brought to students and to all alumni in this region,” Wiesehan said. “Now we look forward to continuing that tradition of excellence as we move forward as one.”

The IU Alumni Association East Region may be found online at iue.edu/alumni/ or social media including Twitter at @IUAAER or Facebook at facebook.com/IUAAER.