Austin, Texas
Phone: 512-350-7024
Email: johnjmcglothlin@gmail.com
Website: mcgfortrustee.com
MA, English, 2011
PhD, English, 2016
I am a proud, relatively recent alumni of Indiana University-Bloomington, and I am thrilled by the prospect of serving as trustee for my alma mater.
The range of positions I held at IUB provided me with a broad, on-the-ground perspective of university life. Along with being a graduate student, I served as Assistant Director of Composition within the Department of English, as Assistant Coordinator for J101 (a course that serves first-generation college students) and, following graduation, as a Visiting Lecturer within the Kelley School of Business. These professional experiences shaped my belief that faculty, staff, and graduate students form the foundation upon which Indiana University operates when fulfilling its academic mission. Sustaining that mission therefore requires ensuring that IU’s workforce has ready access to the resources it needs to flourish. If elected, I would ensure that graduate student and faculty needs constitute a central concern for the Board of Trustees.
Additionally, I believe equal access to quality education is not simply an ideal to which institutions like IU must aspire, but a necessity. Study after study demonstrates that education offers a tremendous “bang for your buck” when it comes to investing in the health of our economy and our social welfare. This belief led me to serve on the board for Open Door Preschools, a nonprofit pre-k school with three campuses in Austin, Texas. Open Door purposefully builds inclusive, diverse classrooms while providing fair pay to faculty and wrap-around services to parents in need. As a board member, I help school administrators maintain mission focus while juggling funding pipelines that range from private donations to tuition, public grants, and governmental support. The differences between institutions like IU and Open Door are merely those of scale, not of mission. I will bring my understanding of the logistics at work behind thriving educational institutions to my role on the Board of Trustees.
I have a keen understanding of the responsibilities and expectations associated with board service thanks to my time at Open Door and the Capital Area Parkinson’s Society, where I served as treasurer for two years. In my experience, the most impactful boards contain members who are deeply committed to their organizations, who understand how to work together effectively, and who know how and when to question one another. I believe trustees must think creatively to develop suitable responses to the numerous challenges currently facing higher education, and I have found that the best, most innovative ideas are the product of open, honest debates. I am committed to dedicating the time, research, and engagement required to ensuring the Board develops the best possible outcomes for IU’s vast community of stakeholders.
I now live in my native Austin, where I work in the financial sector. But I maintain deep connections to IU and to higher education more broadly. My wife is an Indiana native and an IU alum. A host of family members are IU graduates and current Indiana residents. Numerous friends and former colleagues are employed not only at IU, but at institutions across the US. These connections all motivate my desire to serve as trustee. Indeed, as a board member I plan to draw upon the insights this network can offer regarding IU, Indiana, and higher education writ large.
On a more personal note, I feel profound gratitude for the years I spent at IUB. My interactions with fellow students and faculty fundamentally shaped my sense of self and engendered the values I hold today. Moreover, I saw first-hand how public institutions like IU endow students with not only marketable skills and valuable know-how, but with an understanding of their own civic and ethical responsibilities. As trustee, I want to ensure that current and future IU students are afforded similar opportunities to develop as individuals, thinkers, workers, and citizens.
For more information about me and my platform, please visit mcgfortrustee.com. I also welcome the opportunity to hear from you directly. I hope to learn from the IU community throughout my time as trustee, and to use your insights to guide my decision-making. My contact information is available here and on my website.
Thank you for your consideration and your support.