Governor Mike Pence has awarded Gerald Bepko, former Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis chancellor and a current member of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, with the Sagamore of the Wabash Award, one of Indiana’s highest distinctions.
“It is my distinct pleasure to honor Gerald Bepko with the Sagamore of the Wabash Award for his selfless dedication and tireless efforts on behalf of higher education in Indiana,” said Governor Pence. “In addition to making Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis a premier institution that has helped thousands of Hoosiers achieve both undergraduate and advanced degrees, Gerald has volunteered countless hours in service to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and numerous other organizations. For his leadership on higher education issues and within the community, I express my profound gratitude on behalf of the State of Indiana.”
In 1972, Bepko joined the faculty at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis. After serving as a professor, associate dean for academic affairs and later dean of the law school, Bepko was appointed third chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 1986. Since that time, he is credited with bringing the Purdue School of Science, the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology and the IU Herron School of Art to the IUPUI campus. Enrollment at the university has also grown by nearly 25 percent and several successful fundraising campaigns have taken the school to new heights. Bepko retired as IUPUI chancellor in 2004.
Remaining active in the academic realm and his community, Bepko has served as the chair of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) Commission on the Urban Agenda. He has also served on the boards of First Indiana Corp., Indianapolis Life Insurance Co., Citizens Gas, and Lumina Foundation for Education.
For his service, Bepko also received Sagamore of the Wabash Awards from Governors Frank O’Bannon and Evan Bayh.
