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The Indiana University Foundation has announced that Melissa A. Proffitt Schmidt, ’85, and Steven L. Tuchman, ’71, are among five new members of the foundation board of directors.

They will join Indiana University’s 19^th president, Pamela Whitten, who began her tenure as IU Foundation Board Chair on July 1. The IUF Board stewards and supports Indiana University’s fundraising goals and serves as the legal governing body of the IU Foundation.

Proffitt Schmidt is Partner-in-Charge of Client Relations, former Managing Partner of the firm and former Office Managing Partner of the Firm, chairs the Food & Agribusiness Group and the Energy Group, and is former Chair of the Employee Benefits Group at IceMiller.

She is an accomplished attorney and community leader, active in politics and the Republican party, from the community to a national level. Proffitt Schmidt is often invited to share her knowledge at speaking events for a wide variety of professional organizations and has been recognized in a number of business journals and community publications as an outstanding leader and attorney She serves on the boards of numerous community organizations and volunteers her time for causes supporting economic development, diversity, and women's issues.

Proffitt Schmidt holds a B.A., with distinction, from IU Bloomington, where she was the recipient of a merit scholarship and consistently made the Dean's List, graduating in 1982. She received her J.D. in 1985 from the IU McKinney School of Law, cum laude. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma, and Alpha Lambda Delta honorary fraternities.

Tuchman recently retired from the Indianapolis-based law firm Lewis & Kappes where he had been a director for more than 30 years. At the firm, he focused his practice on immigration and nationality law. He is currently the only immigration attorney in Indiana to be designated as an Indiana Super Lawyer (2004-2015) and The Best Lawyers in America (2009-2020).

He is a member of several legal organizations and is a former director of several organizations, including Dance Kaleidoscope, Indiana Arts Commission, Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission, Planned Parenthood, and The Cabaret.

Tuchman received a B.A. in history in 1968 at IU Bloomington and a law degree from the IU McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis in 1971. He is also a member of the Board of Visitors of the McKinney School of Law and a past member of the Dean's Advisory Council of the School of Liberal Arts. He played a pivotal role in the conception of a new bachelor's degree in international studies, one of the fastest growing majors in the School of Liberal Arts. Among other IU honors, Tuchman is the recipient of both the IUPUI Maynard K. Hine Medal and the IUAA LGBT+ Distinguished Alumni Award.

In 2020, Tuchman and his husband, Reed Bobrick, made a $4 million gift to support the creation of an endowed scholarship and an endowed professorship to further the school’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. In honor of their contribution, the atrium in the law school building, Lawrence W. Inlow Hall, is named the Steve Tuchman and Reed Bobrick Atrium.