Charlton, New York
Hometown: Greensburg, Indiana
Email: LandforIUTrustee@protonmail.com
Facebook: Mark Land for IU Trustee
BA-Journalism, IU-Bloomington (1985); MBA, Columbia University (1989)
Career overview:
- 40-year career as a journalist, communications and marketing leader
- Current role: Vice president - communications and marketing, Union College, Schenectady, NY.
- 14 years in higher education leadership, including five (2011-2016) as Associate Vice President – Public Affairs and university spokesman at IU.
- 16 years as an adjunct journalism and communications faculty member, 13 at IU.
Personal: Married to Karen (Smith) Land, IU-Bloomington ‘86 (Journalism and Art); one grown daughter, two large and adorable dogs
Fellow IU alums:
I am honored to appear on the ballot for alumni trustee and grateful to those who helped make this possible.
As a first-generation college student and native Hoosier, I deeply appreciate the transformative power of an IU education. Most of the good fortune I have enjoyed as an adult – career success, meeting my wife, a cadre of close lifelong friends and much more – can be traced to my time as a student on the Bloomington campus.
I suspect my IU experience is not unlike many of yours. Regardless of which campus you called home or what era you attended, IU has long been a special place filled with life-changing opportunities.
My desire to join the Board of Trustees is rooted in the spirit of contributing to an institution that has given me so much. In that regard, I’m like the other candidates asking for your vote.
And yet a willingness to help is only part of the equation. I have a distinct set of experiences and skills that make me particularly well suited to help IU move forward in a fraught environment for higher education. Over the past 14 years as the senior communications and marketing leader at three outstanding institutions – including IU – I have helped navigate those challenges.
As a spokesman, I have defended university reputations during challenging times.
I have been in the trenches with my colleagues working virtually nonstop for two years as we guided our institutions through the worst days of an unprecedented pandemic.
I have been the architect of lofty strategic plans and helped raise the profile of already-strong institutions by leading comprehensive brand updates.
I continue to passionately articulate the enduring value of a college education to an increasingly skeptical public in a climate that has become downright hostile to higher education and, more broadly, expertise.
I have deep experience working with Trustees and have developed a strong sense of how I could be effective in this role. The best trustees share common leadership traits:
- They know their role and stay in their lane. That means staying out of the day-to-day management of the university except in the most extraordinary circumstances.
- At the same time, they are willing to ask uncomfortable questions and hold the administration accountable for its performance and actions. Trustees have an obligation to do more than act as caretakers, or worse, absentee landlords of the university they serve.
- They are accountable for their own actions and decisions. Making tough calls is part of any board member’s job, and those actions must be made transparently and explained clearly.
- They never lose sight of the fact that they are there to protect and promote the interests of the university, the students it serves and those who make that education possible. The increasing politicization of higher education and interference from outside constituents pose a significant long-term threat to the American educational system, which has long been the envy of the world.
At a fundamental level, I am convinced we want the same things for our beloved university. Indiana University should be a leader in creating and disseminating knowledge, making every member of the community feel supported and valued, developing graduates prepared to lead with courage and compassion and helping Indiana reach its full potential as a state.
The Board of Trustees plays a crucial role in reinforcing the institution’s mission and values as its long-term steward.
If elected, I pledge to ask tough questions and listen openly to the answers. I aspire to seek common ground with all those who act in good faith and call out those who don’t.
And I pledge to never, ever forget that I’m working for the 90,000 students trusting Indiana University each year to provide a path to the futures they deserve.