Trailblazing Former IU Chancellor Passes Away

Sharon Brehm

Former Indiana University Bloomington chancellor and professor emerita Sharon Brehm died March 30 from complications from Alzheimer’s disease. Brehm served as chancellor and vice president for academic affairs from 2001-2003.

Brehm was also a professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences’ Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences and served as president of the American Psychological Association. She was the first woman to hold the Bloomington chancellor position. "Indiana University is deeply saddened by the passing of Sharon Brehm, who served the university admirably as a senior administrator, an exceptional scholar and an enthusiastic teacher," IU President Michael A. McRobbie said.

Brehm was born and raised in Roanoke, VA and before coming to IU, she held administrative positions at Kansas University, SUNY at Binghamton and Ohio University. Brehm was inducted into the Presidents Circle in 2011, which is IU’s most prestigious donor recognition society. She was also awarded the IU  Foundation President’s Medallion in 2013, which honors those who advanced philanthropy at IU.  Brehm was a major supporter of IU, and her estate gift will fund an endowed chair in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.