Rose-Hulman will honor trustee Linda E. White’s numerous contributions to the community, medical profession and higher education by conferring her with an honorary degree in engineering during the college’s Commencement on May 27.

The Terre Haute native has devoted more than 40 years to the Deaconess Health System, an organization with acute care hospitals throughout Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. As the system’s president and chief executive officer, White oversaw the opening of The Women’s Hospital, The Heart Hospital, Deaconess Gateway Hospital, and multiple ambulatory sites for the expansion of Deaconess Clinic, headquartered in Evansville, Indiana.

After retiring in 2017, White became executive director of the Deaconess Foundation and chief administrative officer of Deaconess Henderson Hospital in Henderson, Kentucky.

White is a Fellow of the American College of HealthCare Executives. 

Besides her involvement on the Rose-Hulman Board of Trustees, White’s community interests have included being chairperson of the Indiana Hospital Association’s Board of Directors, University of Evansville’s Board of Trustees, Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force, Evansville Sports Corporation, and Boys and Girls Club of Evansville. The Evansville resident also has contributed to the Evansville Regional Business Committee, Indiana Economic Development Corporation, several Chambers of Commerce organizations through the region, Henderson Community College Foundation, and Old National Bank Foundation.

That involvement has brought White such civic honors as the Evansville ATHENA Award, Henderson Woman of the Year, Evansville Regional and Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation Hall of Fames, and Independent Colleges of Indiana’s Indiana Academy. She most recently was recognized in IBJ Media’s Indiana 250, a publication recognizing the state’s most influential and monumental community, business, education, and public service leaders.

“Linda’s kindness, sincerity and concern for others have made her a guiding force in everything that she’s become involved, including our Board of Trustees. Presenting her with an honorary degree will make our upcoming Commencement even more special for us,” said Rose-Hulman President Robert A. Coons. “Linda has made considerable contributions to our Institute as a trustee, especially as we have charted courses for our short- and long-term goals. She has always put the students and their wellbeing at the forefront of her contributions.”

White’s affinity for Rose-Hulman comes from having eight members of her extended family being graduates of the college. That alumni list features her late father John White, a 1947 mechanical engineering graduate, who was bestowed an honorary degree from Rose-Hulman in 1997 and was a financial contributor for the Institute’s White Chapel. Also, there’s brother Steve White, a 1973 mechanical engineering alumnus, and uncle William Noel, a 1939 electrical and mechanical engineering graduate. There’s brother-in-law and Board of Trustee emeritus Jim Trueblood, a 1977 mechanical engineering graduate; his brother David Trueblood, a 1969 mechanical engineering alumnus; and his daughter Anne (Trueblood) Trobaugh, a 2003 mechanical engineering graduate, along with her husband, Corey Trobaugh, a 2003 chemistry graduate, along with his brother, Derek Trobaugh, a 2006 applied biology alumnus. 

“I’m proud to be receiving this honorary degree from an institute that means so much to me and my family. It will be great to share this special day with the Class of 2023, whose members are ready to be the latest Rose-Hulman graduates to make a difference in their science, engineering and mathematics career fields,” said White. 

White earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Indiana State University, a nursing degree from the Deaconess School of Nursing in Evansville, and a baccalaureate in nursing and Master of Business Administration from the University of Evansville.