Indiana University Grad Workers Coalition Endorses John McGlothlin III for IU Board of Trustees

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—On Monday, June 3, the Organizing Committee for the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) voted unanimously to endorse Indiana University Board of Trustees candidate John McGlothlin III. McGlothlin has publicly endorsed graduate worker rights.

“Grad workers should have the right to organize, vote, and collective bargain,” his official campaign website states.

In addition to being a powerful voice for graduate worker union recognition, McGlothlin emphasizes the importance of shared governance and academic freedom. 

Despite the Bloomington Faculty Council’s historic vote of “no confidence” in President Whitten, the Board of Trustees’ chair W. Quinn Buckner issued on behalf of the Trustees a statement in defense of Whitten and her administration. McGlothlin criticizes the Trustees’ unwavering support. 

“Buckner’s declaration indicates a yawning disconnect between current trustees and broad swathes of IU’s stakeholders,” McGlothlin wrote in an open letter. “As fiduciaries, trustees must take repeated, serious grievances regarding the administration and university policies to heart, and must consider appropriate responses. Failing to do so is failing in one’s fiduciary duty, as is hastily deferring to authorities at the university or statehouse.”

McGlothlin, who currently works in the financial sector in Austin, TX, earned both his MA (2011) and PhD (2016) at Indiana University, Bloomington. His campaign for the Board of Trustees stresses four “focus areas” for IU: a commitment to serving the needs of faculty and staff, developing innovative solutions to problems that IU and higher education are facing, giving all those in the IU community a say in the university’s operations, and making education affordable and accessible.  

“I have found that the best, most innovative ideas are the product of open, honest debates,” McGlothlin wrote in his candidate statement. “I am committed to dedicating the time, research, and engagement required to ensuring the Board develops the best possible outcomes for IU’s vast community of stakeholders.”

Anyone who holds any degree from IU is eligible to vote in the Board of Trustees election, which ends on June 28. Those eligible are encouraged to vote at the 2024 IU Trustee Election website.