News Archive

Professor Gerald L. Bepko has held a variety of posts throughout his academic career. But did you know that prior to all of that, he served as an FBI agent?

Professor Bepko’s FBI service, which began in Mississippi at the height of the civil rights movement, is examined in a post for the blog IUPUI Intelligence by Indiana University Communications Specialist Diane Brown.

In the post, Brown writes that she spoke with Bepko about that time, and learned that he worked on the case concerning James Meredith. Meredith was the first African American to study at the University of Mississippi. During his second year of law school at Columbia University, he wanted to undertake a march from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, in a march against fear, Bepko told Brown.

The post was published March 25, and the second installment will be posted March 31.

Professor Bepko is IUPUI Chancellor Emeritus and an IU Trustee Professor. He teaches the online course Secured Transactions. He joined the faculty at IU McKinney in 1972. After serving as a professor, associate dean for academic affairs and later dean of the law school, Bepko was appointed third chancellor of IUPUI in 1986. During his time as chancellor, he is credited with bringing the Purdue School of Science, the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, and the IU Herron School of Art to the IUPUI campus. Enrollment at the university during his tenure grew by nearly 25 percent, and and several successful fundraising campaigns undertaken during his time as chancellor helped to establish IUPUI as a major urban campus that is classified among the best in its peer group. Bepko retired as chancellor in 2004.