Brehm named to succeed Gros Louis

By Susan Dillman

Gros Louis

Brehm was selected to succeed Kenneth R. R. Gros Louis, who will retire June 30 from the position of vice president and Bloomington chancellor after 21 years.

Brehm was selected to succeed Kenneth R. R. Gros Louis, who will retire June 30 from the position of vice president and Bloomington chancellor after 21 years. Brehm’s position with the university won’t be official until the trustees vote on her appointment at their meeting next week on the Indianapolis campus. She would be the first woman to hold the post of Bloomington chancellor.

Brand noted Brehm’s dedication and determination, as well as her ability to cultivate a collegial atmosphere. As dean of the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at the State University of New York at Binghamton, she guarded the school’s academic reputation while steering it through six years of budget cuts totaling 14 percent. She was responsible for a program which included 6,500 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students, and she supervised 300 full-time faculty and an annual budget of more than $25 million.

In her current position as Ohio University provost, she helped boost undergraduate scholarships by 266 percent and hired under-represented faculty and dual-career spouses.

She serves on the steering committee of the Ohio Plan for Technology and Economic Development of the Ohio Board of Regents. She has obtained grants for special programs that use technology to link Ohio University with students across the state, and she worked on a committee to address the gap in technology for the state’s urban and rural residents.

She holds a Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology from Duke University and a master’s degree in social relations (clinical psychology) from Harvard University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Brand observed that Brehm is a “doer,” someone who gets the job done.

Bloomington Faculty Council President Jim Sherman, a member of the chancellor search committee, sees another side of Brehm, whom he has known as a colleague in the field of psychology. Like Gros Louis, Brehm is a “very, very good listener,” Sherman said. She also is very dedicated to undergraduate education, Sherman noted, adding that Brehm has written several undergraduate textbooks.

Most of all, Brehm comes with a solid reputation for academics, which is a critical quality for the person who will help set the academic tone for the campus as well as preside over such decisions as faculty tenure, according to Sherman.

She was one of two women who were finalists for the post. Sherman praised all three candidates, saying any of them could have handled the job.

But Brehm offered a unique blend of talents including an extraordinary record of accomplishments, according to Brand. He noted in particular Brehm’s ability to tackle difficult tasks in a collegial way.

Brehm said she is “delighted” to join the IU family and excited about relocating to Bloomington, which she considers “the quintessential college town.” Brehm added that the Bloomington campus’ reputation for excellence is well known. “I have always had a very strong impression of IU and of its quality,” she said.

The Roanoke, Va., native is an avid opera fan. “When they told me they had six operas a year, I thought that was sheer heaven,” she said.

Brehm said she plans to spend much of her first months on the job listening to faculty, students, staff and city officials. She explained she likely will pursue three general themes as chancellor: enhancing academic excellence, increasing diversity, and encouraging collaboration and partnerships both on and off campus.

Gros Louis said his successor will have many challenges, including the prospect of constrained funding, building the new School of Informatics and nurturing the Bloomington campus’ unique culture.

But Brehm’s current boss, Ohio University President Robert Glidden, gave her a glowing vote of confidence.

“I have no doubt that she will be an excellent addition to that admirable institution,” Glidden said. “She will make a superb chancellor for the same reasons she was a superb provost: her strong academic values, broad understanding of American higher education and ability to work effectively with many different constituencies.”

Brehm was selected from a pool of 50 applicants. Candidates were interviewed by a wide range of faculty, staff, students and administrators from the Bloomington campus and other campuses of IU as well. She will earn a salary of $250,000 a year as vice president and IUB chancellor.