Awards

Bicentennial Medal - 2021

About Kirk White

Kirk White joined the Office of the Vice President for Government Relations and Economic Engagement in 2010. He is responsible for coordinating national defense and homeland security partnerships with state and federal government agencies as well as building IU's mutually beneficial relationships with local government and economic development organizations in southwest Indiana.

Since April 2020, White is temporarily assigned as the co-chair of the IU Bloomington COVID Response Unit (CRU) and as a member of IU’s COVID Medical Response Unit, responsible for implementing policies and procedures to mitigate the spread of the pandemic and maintain a healthy and safe Bloomington campus environment.

He holds additional appointments as military liaison for the IU Office of the President and as a member of the IU Emergency Management incident management team.

White joined IU’s professional staff in 1984 after completing his Bachelor of Science degree in the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He has served IU in several external, alumni, and government relations assignments, most recently as director of community relations.

A former elected official, White served eight years as a member of the Bloomington City Council (1988–95) and one term as Monroe County commissioner (1997–2000). In city and county office he focused on land use planning, improving public works, utilities, public safety, emergency management, animal control, and fleet management. The Association of Indiana Counties awarded Monroe County the 2001 Local Government Cooperation Award for an emergency communications system project that White directed.

White also served in the military for 30 years, retiring as a field artillery officer in the Indiana Army National Guard in 2020. He held command positions at the battery, battalion, brigade, and provisional task force levels while assigned at 2-150th field artillery regiment, 38th infantry division and 81st troop command. White was called to active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom for three overseas mobilizations. He served as chief of an embedded training team with a light infantry battalion of the Afghanistan National Army (2004–05), where he was awarded the Combat Action Badge; a second tour in Afghanistan (2009–10) as commander of a provisional task force responsible for base operations and force protection in Kabul and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal; and as officer-in-charge, Task Force Spartan-Jordan (2019-20) where he served as the senior army officer in Jordan directing the 38th infantry division’s forward command post and assisting Jordanian army partners.

White was appointed by the Indiana Supreme Court as a commissioner on the court’s attorney disciplinary commission. He is chairman of the governing board at First United Methodist Church in Bloomington. White serves on the boards of the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Monroe County and the Hoosier Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America. He is past president of the Rotary Club of Bloomington North. In 2021, White was awarded Indiana University's Bicentennial Medal in recognition of his distinguished service and contributions.