“We met upstairs in the tower, and on Union Board days, we wore blue blazers to school that day with the IMU on our pocket.”
When Jerry Abramson, Union Board 1966–1968, looks back on his time at IU, he sees how Union Board left an impact on his future in public service.
On Union Board, Jerry was involved with multiple programs, events, and initiatives, including chairing the Pop Concerts series, the committee in charge of reopening and bringing live music to the KIVA, the Lyceum Dinners, and the first Ride Board.
During his time in the organization, Jerry met music legends like Peter, Paul and Mary, Johnny Mathis, and Nancy Wilson, brought jazz and folk music to the Indiana Memorial Union, and so much more—but the initiative that left the biggest impression on him was the Ride Board.
“At the time, it was a big deal,” he said. “It really made a difference for the students.”
The Ride Board consisted of a large board with a map hung up in the IMU that had different areas of the United States tagged by number. Hooks were placed by the number so students knew which number to check if others were driving or needed a ride to Denver, Atlanta, or any other location.
After graduating from IU, Jerry attended Georgetown University Law School in Washington, D.C. before moving on to public service and spending over two decades as the longest-serving Mayor of Louisville, gaining a local nickname of “Mayor for Life” from Louisville residents.
“Union Board gave me the tools I needed to sit in a room and learn to listen more than I talk and it gave me the tools to understand how to make presentations for ideas that I had, in hopes of advocating strongly enough that the organization would agree that I was on the right track,” he said. “I think it gave me a base for moving on beyond IU to attend law school at Georgetown in Washington and go on to public service.”
Following his time as the Mayor of Louisville, Jerry spent a term as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky alongside Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and then received a request from President Obama to go work in the West Wing for the last two and a half years of his administration as Assistant to the President for State and Local Government.
Back in February 2020, Jerry visited the 2019–2020 Union Board when receiving a Bicentennial Medal in recognition of his distinguished services, continued contributions to education, and his state and national government work. Bicentennial Medals were awarded from 2019–2021 to individuals who broadened the reach of Indiana University around the state, nation, and world through their personal, professional, artistic, or philanthropic efforts.
Today, Jerry currently works as the Executive-in-Residence at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, where he lectures, holds community-wide panels on important local and national issues, and annually hosts city managers from across Kentucky on campus for workshops and seminars.
Jerry’s advice to current and future Union Board members is simple: Take it seriously.
“Use it as a real opportunity to learn from others and to hone your skills in terms of leadership and advocacy,” he said. “Use the experience to listen to the campus in terms of their needs and desires and reflect appropriately in response to those demands.”
