Indiana University President-elect Pamela Whitten toured the IU East campus on Tuesday, meeting with faculty, staff, local media and community members.

IU President-elect Pamela Whitten toured IU East with Chancellor Kathy Girten, student Zachery Honeycutt, and administrators on April 27.

Whitten was named the 19th IU President on April 16 by the IU Board of Trustees. The visit to Richmond is one of five stops at IU Regional campuses this week. Whitten will take the helm on July 1, 2021.

IU East Chancellor Kathy Girten welcomed Whitten to the Richmond campus.

“We are honored to welcome President-elect Whitten to IU East and the community,” Girten said. “She is very interested in the campus and all that we have to offer our students and the community. We look forward to working with President-elect Whitten as IU East continues to move toward fall 2021 and beyond.”

While at IU East, Whitten was given a tour of the facilities and grounds by Admissions Ambassador Zachery Honeycutt, a senior biochemistry major. Honeycutt – who plans to one day be a dentist – shared his IU East experience with President-elect Whitten and his future plans to attend the IU School of Dentistry.

“IU East really is like a family,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time here.”

IU President-elect Pamela Whitten listens as IU East student Zachery Honeycutt shares about the academic programs and resources available in Hayes Hall. Honeycutt is an Admissions Ambassador for the Office of Admissions.

President-elect Whitten had an opportunity to meet with other students as well, including the Student Government Association.

Andrea Hernández, SGA president, will graduate this May with a degree in human life science and minors in psychology, neuroscience and chemistry. She plans to attend medical school. “I am extremely excited for the impact President-elect Whitten will have on IU as a whole,” Hernández said.

Hernández said she appreciated the opportunity to talk with Whitten.

“Talking to her today I noticed she cares a lot about our IU community and has the students’ best interests at heart. Since we are a regional campus, I look forward to seeing her involvement with us, keeping us all connected as we are all one IU family regardless of what campus we come from,” Hernández said. “I know President-elect Whitten will have a very positive impact on the regional campuses and the IU community. I was honored to have the privilege to meet her today and I cannot wait to see all that is accomplished during her presidential term.”

Alex Hakes, SGA vice president, is a junior double-major in political science and Spanish.

“I was so honored to meet President-elect Whitten today. I have a feeling that her expertise and strategy for the IU community will benefit us greatly,” Hakes said. “Under Chancellor Girten and President-elect Whitten, the opportunities for growth as a campus will be limitless.”

IU President-elect Pamela Whitten met with IU East Student Government Association members while she visited campus on Tuesday.

Whitten, a visionary scholar and accomplished educator and researcher, will be the first female president for IU. She will oversee one of the nation’s leading research universities at a time of record-level research funding and philanthropic support.She is currently the president of Kennesaw State University.

Whitten holds a Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Kansas, a Master of Arts in communication from the University of Kentucky and a Bachelor of Science in management from Tulane University. She is an internationally recognized expert in the field of telemedicine. As part of her work in higher education, she additionally held leadership roles at University of Georgia and the University of Kansas Medical Center.

For more information on President-elect Whitten, visit iu.edu/about/leadership/incoming-president/index.html.