Awards

Bicentennial Medal - 2019

About John Whelan

John Whelan is the vice president for human resources for Indiana University. Whelan earned his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Notre Dame. In his role at IU, Whelan has overseen efforts to reorganize human resources across all of IU's campuses, operating as a single office with uniform policies. He has also guided the development and implementation of HR2020, IU's first-ever human resources strategic plan.

Whelan's career in human resources spans 25 years. Whelan, a native of Boston, joined IU in 2014 after having previously been the chief human resources officer at Baylor University. He has also served as director of Human Resources Business Partners at the University of Notre Dame and in human resources positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gillette, and the investment bank of Brown Brothers Harriman.

Whelan is also a long-time CUPA-HR member, serving in various roles, including chair of the CUPA-HR board of directors, three years as an at-large member on the board, and has served in leadership roles on the budget and finance committee, the public policy committee, the learning and professional development committee, and the research advisory committee. He has also participated in numerous CUPA-HR conferences and symposiums.

Whelan received the IU Bicentennial Medal in August 2019 in recognition of his service as vice president for human resources for Indiana University.