Pamela S. Whitten is an American academic administrator and telemedicine specialist. She is currently the 19th president of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

and is the first female president in the university's history. She previously was the 5th president of

Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia with two campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in the Kennesaw area and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was founded ...

and served on the NCAA Division I Committee on Academics.

Early life and education

Pamela Whitten grew up in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. She lived in Brentwood and

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

before her family moved when she was 14. Whitten earned her bachelor's degree in management from

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

School of Business in 1985, her master's degree in organizational communication from the University of Kentucky in 1986 and her PhD in communication studies from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 1996.

Career

Whitten is a telemedicine specialist. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and two books about the subject. After receiving her PhD in communication studies from University of Kansas in 1996, Whitten became an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the

University of Kansas Medical Center The University of Kansas Medical Center, commonly referred to as KU Med or KUMC, is a medical campus for the University of Kansas. KU Med houses the university's schools of medicine, nursing, and health professions, with the primary health scienc ...

. In 1998, she moved to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

as an assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunications. She was promoted to Associate Professor and later to full Professor in 2001 and 2005 respectively.

Academic administration and controversies

At Michigan State, Whitten was promoted to Assistant Dean, Associate Dean, and then full dean for the College of Communication Arts & Sciences at Michigan State in 2006, 2007, and 2009 respectively. She was director of telemedicine at the

and the

dean of College of Communication Arts and Science. Whitten was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

from 2014 until 2018. She was a finalist for the position of chancellor of

University of Tennessee, Knoxville The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1794, two years before Te ...

, in 2016 and also president of the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

in 2017. In 2018, Whitten became president of

. The following year, in 2019, she joined the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

Committee on Academics. On April 16, 2021, the

(IU) board of trustees named Whitten the 19th President-Elect of the university. This makes Whitten the first woman to ever hold the position of president at IU. Her term as IU president started on July 1, 2021. The appointment was praised by some alumni, but the search process that led to Whitten's appointment was controversial amongst some faculty. On April 16, 2024, the Indiana University Bloomington faculty overwhelmingly passed

votes of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

for IU President Pamela Whitten with 93.1% (827 to 29) of the vote against Whitten. In response, the Indiana University Board of Trustees reaffirmed their support for Whitten and her administration, although it was later revealed that the support was not unanimous. On April 25, 2024, Whitten formed an ad hoc committee to change the terms of use of Indiana University Assembly Ground on the eve of

pro-Palestinian protests Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated from April 2024 until the summer, spreading in the United States and other countries, as part of wider Gaza war protests. The escalation, nicknamed by activists the "student inti ...

. This policy change facilitated the arrest of students, faculty, and community members who were occupying Dunn Meadow. Legal scholars interviewed by ''

The Herald-Times ''The Herald-Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Bloomington, Indiana and surrounding areas. The newspaper won the Blue Ribbon Daily award in 1975, 1984 2007, and 2014, naming it the best daily newspaper in the state of Indiana in those years. ...

'' questioned whether the policy changes may have violated the First Amendment. On January 22, 2025,

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...

reported that Whitten's dissertation had more than three dozen instances of copied language without a source, or plagiarism. Indiana University has cleared her for this academic misconduct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitten, Pamela Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Academics from Tennessee Michigan State University faculty National Collegiate Athletic Association people Presidents of Indiana University Presidents of Kennesaw State University Telemedicine Tulane University alumni University of Georgia faculty University of Kansas alumni University of Kansas faculty University of Kentucky alumni Women heads of universities and colleges