Gov. Mike Braun has named three new members to the Indiana University Board of Trustees, filling the seats left open as three trustees’ terms expired.
The new appointees are Steve Henke of Hamilton County, Matthew Ferguson of Atlanta and Mel Raines of Marion County. Each will serve through June 30, 2029.
Henke is the CEO of the Henke Development Group, a Zionsville-based real estate development company, according to the firm’s website. Before that, he practiced law for more than 40 years.
He is also listed on the IU Inc. website as a member of its Board of Directors. According to an IU spokesperson, Henke will keep serving on the IU Inc. board as a representative from the Board of Trustees, taking the place of former trustee J.
Timothy Morris. Morris, who served as a trustee, will continue in a role similar to the one Henke previously held.
Ferguson previously served as CEO of CareerBuilder.com, which was once the largest online job site. He attended IU and earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1989, according to his Wikipedia page.
He also holds degrees from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Ferguson led CareerBuilder from 2004 through 2018 and now serves as executive chairman.
Raines is the CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. She took over the job in 2024 and became the first woman to hold the position in the organization’s history.
Before that, she was president and COO. Her background also includes political work, with roles at six Republican National Conventions and a stint as an assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney.
The turnover comes after the terms of W. Quinn Buckner, Morris and Isaac P. Torres expired yesterday.
Buckner first joined the board in 2016 and was reappointed in 2025 by Braun for a one-year extension. Even with a provision in the 2025 state budget bill that bars trustees from serving more than three terms, Buckner just completed his fourth.
The law took effect July 1, 2025, and does not say whether the cap applies to trustees already serving. Buckner chaired the compensation committee.
Morris was appointed in 2023 by former Gov. Eric Holcomb. He is an IU Kelley School of Business alumnus and chaired the facilities and auxiliaries committee.
Holcomb also appointed Torres in 2023. Torres is from Mexico City and earned his MBA from IU South Bend in 2000.
The board has nine members, with eight three-year trustee seats and one one-year student trustee seat. IU Indianapolis rising senior Isaac White served as student trustee from July 1, 2025, until his term expired yesterday, after being appointed by Braun last year.
But in two separate press releases announcing the new trustees, there was no replacement named for the student trustee post. The trustees’ website still lists White on the board, even though it recently removed the members whose terms ended yesterday and added Braun’s new appointees.
An IU spokesperson directed the Indiana Daily Student to the governor’s spokesperson when asked about the student trustee position, and the governor’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment.
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