Educator and Longtime IU Alumni Volunteer Sees Giving Back as “Imperative”

As an undergraduate student at Indiana University, Dawn Michele Whitehead, BA’97, MS’03, PhD’07, learned firsthand the power of generosity.

She was a Minority Achievers Program (now Hudson & Holland Scholars Program) scholar and received a Neal-Marshall Alumni Club scholarship, which enabled her to pursue a wide array of academic interests in history, anthropology, and Afro-American studies, graduating with high distinction honors.

It also set her on course for a personal journey that has included three IU degrees, an interest in global cultures, and a devotion to give back to others.

“I led a summer study abroad program in Ghana for many years,” she says. “And the people in Ghana who I worked with showed me such kindness, such compassion, welcomeness, and patience.”

“I’ve had the same experiences in my IU-related work in Indonesia, China, Kenya, and Mexico,” Whitehead continues. “When I was lost, confused, or just needed a hand, someone always stepped up with a smile. Others, who just wanted to make me feel welcome, showed me amazing cultural and historical sites, or invited me into their homes.”

“And so, for me, because IU facilitated so many of those experiences, I just feel it’s imperative that I give back.”

Whitehead started giving back to her alma mater after graduation by volunteering with the Neal-Marshall Alumni Club and the IU Alumni Association, eventually serving as president of the IUAA Board of Managers from 2024 to 2025.

Even after moving to Washington, D.C., in 2015, where she currently serves as vice president of the Office of Global Citizenship for Campus, Community, and Careers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Whitehead has stayed connected to IU students and alumni.

“Many students and alums from either Indianapolis or Bloomington—and occasionally, students from other campuses—reach out to me [locally],” she says. “So I’ll often meet students here. I make a conscious effort to reach out to them. We try to go to dinner a couple of times.”

“For me, I really think it’s all about investment in people; when people invest in you, you give back,” Whitehead adds. “When I think about my experiences at IU, I mean, they were just amazing. I know people say that all the time, but I really had life-changing experiences. And so, I see it as my responsibility to make sure students have these same rich, transformational experiences.”

Through her international travels and her journeys around the country as a volunteer ambassador for IU, Whitehead has been able to help students see that they also can have the same impact through their own experiences.

“When I think about giving back and being involved with alumni, we all have a special gift that we can share, and that may be our ability to relate with a particular student,” she says. “It may be someone who says, ‘You know, look, I’m from Indiana. What does Indiana have to do with the world?’”

“And then they engage with someone like me who’s able to say, ‘Oh, you know, I’ve traveled to almost all the continents, and it was facilitated from my experience at IU. You can do the same thing,’” she adds.

Whitehead’s mission, as she sees it, is to enable IU students to have the greatest impact possible on the state, the nation, and the world. Each of IU’s 806,000+ alumni worldwide have the same opportunity to help IU students reach their greatest ambitions and potential.

“I think others should engage in [giving back] because as Marian Wright Edelman wrote, ‘Young people need the example and validity of adults they respect,’ and we can be those people,” Whitehead says.

“I benefited greatly from IU, and I want to ensure today’s students also reap these same benefits. As alumni, we are poised to ensure students continue to have transformative experiences through meaningful engagement.”

Alumni can help expand IU’s impact by volunteering for their school, campus, or the IU Alumni Association.

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