Biography
Brief Introduction
Portrait Gallery
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As IU’s 18th First Lady, Laurie brings broad experience with research universities to her role. She is an effective ambassador for Indiana University, actively promoting the university and her husband’s vision for IU as a global leader in the 21st century. She is closely engaged with IU’s extensive alumni community across the nation and around the world, championing the philanthropic spirit among IU’s alumni and particularly the growing importance of women’s philanthropy. Laurie is a founder of the Women’s Philanthropy Council at the Indiana University Foundation and serves as its honorary chair (for updates on activities and events visit the Women’s Philanthropy at Indiana University website). She is also the current Chair of the Program Committee of the Association of American Universities Partners organization. In 2012, she was named the Woman of the Year by the City of Bloomington’s Commission on the Status of Women.
Laurie, who has been a technologist in higher education for more than 25 years, holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the IU School of Informatics and Computing, where she helped found and currently chairs the Advisory Committee for Serve IT, an IT clinic that provides service–learning opportunities for students with Bloomington area nonprofits. Before her husband became IU’s 18th president, she was an executive director with Internet2. In her faculty role at Indiana University, Laurie focuses on promoting service learning as well as science and technology literacy, particularly for historically underrepresented populations in these fields.
IU’s first lady also devotes her energies to fostering the relationship between Indiana University and the surrounding community. Laurie serves on the board of Middle Way House, a national model program addressing domestic violence. She also is a member of the Community Advisory Board of Bloomington New Tech High School. Additionally, she is secretary of the board of Society of Friends of Music.
Laurie is currently enrolled in the Executive MA program in Philanthropic Studies at IUPUI. She received a bachelor’s degree in history with honors from the University of Michigan in 1978 and helped establish a major in Women’s Studies as an undergraduate. While working at the University of Michigan in the mid–1980s and 1990s, where she served in numerous management and executive positions, Laurie co–chaired the university’s Commission for Women and served on the President’s Advisory Commission on Women’s Issues.
