Todd Huston: I know Pamela Whitten. She's the leader Indiana University needs.

If you checked your news feed recently, you likely saw some of our nation's university leaders come under fire by Congress — and rightfully so — for their failed handling of the recent campus protests.

From the University of California, Los Angeles, to Columbia University, we all learned a great lesson. Leadership vacuums are hotbeds for chaos, frustration and civil unrest. Administrations' permissive attitudes toward encampments and campus rules led to significant public safety concerns, violence, destruction of property and flat-out disregard for the law.

I'm proud to say that's not what happened in Indiana.

At the IU Bloomington campus, President Pamela Whitten and the administration took quick, collaborative action along with Indiana State Police to maintain public order and ensure peaceful protests followed campus rules. She put student safety first and, as a parent of a new IU graduate, I'm thankful she stepped up and made the right call.

It takes incredible courage, especially under immense pressure from all sides, to do what's right and let the politics shake out for themselves. Chairman Quinn Buckner and his fellow trustees have shown that same courage with their steadfast support for Whitten as she has navigated those challenges.

Since taking over as university president almost three years ago, I've met and spoken with Whitten many times. I respect her student-focused approach not just when it comes to campus safety, but also her tenacity for leading one of our state's respected flagship universities.

The Indiana University Board of Trustees also made the right call to fill the president's role with a highly respected change agent like Whitten. She took her post when IU ranked in the bottom quartile of the Big Ten and has made it her mission to chip away at the competition and elevate the university's reputation as a global leader. Purdue University is now in its second decade of phenomenal success and it's time for IU to accelerate and raise the bar.

Change is happening. In fact, the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings place IU's graduate programs among the best in the nation. The university also leads the state in the total number of top 10 and top 20 graduate programs or specialties, which is up from last year.

The Kelley School of Business in Bloomington was ranked No. 5 among public universities and No. 20 overall, the school’s highest ranking since 2012. As a proud IU alumnus, I'm excited about the university's momentum, the much-needed changes that are being made despite strong status quo bias and the bright future that lies ahead.

Whitten is a great example of servant leadership in action, and I admire her commitment to student success, strengthening academic rigor and enhancing accountability and fiscal responsibility. All of which are evident in her words and actions.

She's the right leader for IU and she has my vote of confidence.

Todd Huston is speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives.