Indiana Humanities elects new slate of officers

The Indiana Humanities board of directors has elected its slate of officers for 2016-17. Beth Bechdol, director of agribusiness strategies at Ice Miller and president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana, has been elected chair of the statewide nonprofit, which creates and funds programs rooted in the fields of the humanities.

Now in its second year of a Quantum Leap initiative that explores what happens when we bridge the humanities with the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, Indiana Humanities programs include field trips to places of discovery, a podcast that features stories of Hoosier ingenuity, a statewide read of the classic novel “Frankenstein” and more.

The new officers include:

Chair:
Elizabeth Bechdol
Director of Agribusiness Strategies, Ice Miller LLP; President and CEO, AgriNovus Indiana
Auburn, Ind.

Vice Chair:
Carol Ann Bowman
Corporate Secretary and General Counsel, Whiteco Industries, Inc.
Merrillville, Ind.

Treasurer:
The Honorable Jonathan Weinzapfel
Chancellor, Ivy Tech Community College Southwest region; former Mayor of Evansville
Evansville, Ind.

Secretary:
Doran Moreland
Executive Director of Statewide Diversity and Community Outreach, Ivy Tech Community College
Indianapolis

Past chair:
The Honorable Jerry Torr
State Representative House District 39; Vice President, Hamilton Title
Carmel, Ind.

The board of directors also includes:

Keira Amstutz
President and CEO, Indiana Humanities
Indianapolis

Myra Borshoff
Owner, MB Communications LLC
Martinsville, Ind.

Rosemary Dorsa
Vice President, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance and Director, GIFT Technical Assistance Program
Indianapolis

Dr. Edward O. Frantz
Director of the Institute of Civic Leadership and Mayoral Archives and Professor of History, University of Indianapolis
Indianapolis

The Honorable Maria D. Granger
Superior Court Judge, Floyd County
New Albany, Ind.

The Honorable Christina Hale
CEO, Leadership Indianapolis; former state representative and candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
Indianapolis

Malina Jeffers
Director of Engagement and Operations, Midtown Indianapolis
Indianapolis

James M. Macdonald III
Executive Director & Market Manager, J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Indianapolis

Timothy P. Robinson
Grants Management Director, Lumina Foundation
Indianapolis

Larry Rowland
Retired Chairman, Lincoln National Reinsurance Companies
Fort Wayne, Ind.

Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
Director of The Religion, the Arts and Spirituality Initiative of Butler University in partnership with Christian Theological Seminary
Indianapolis

Dr. Sarah Skwire
Fellow, Liberty Fund, Inc.
Indianapolis

Adam D. Thies
Assistant Vice President of Capital Planning and Facilities, Indiana University
Bloomington, Ind.

Dr. Joseph F. Trimmer
Emeritus Professor of English & Director Emeritus, Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry, Ball State University
Muncie, Ind.