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The next chapter in Indiana University’s more than 130 years of service to Indianapolis is well underway.
Indiana University Indianapolis doesn’t officially launch until fall of 2024, but the state’s preeminent urban research university is already on the rise. With new funding and focus, IU-Indianapolis is doubling down on science, tech and other disciplines with bold new initiatives to serve the city, state, and world.
“Innovating in response to the needs of our city and state is a hallmark of Indiana University’s rich history on the Indianapolis campus,” IU President Pamela Whitten said. “With investments in key academic programs, faculty, research space, and the creation of the SciTech Corridor at IU Indianapolis, we are creating a world-class urban research university with global reach and impact.”
IU-Indianapolis is the result of the decoupling of Indiana University and Purdue University programs at the 50-year-old IUPUI campus just west of downtown Indianapolis.
While the universities will continue embarking on life-changing initiatives together, such as the creation of a new biosciences engineering institute, an independent IU in the capital city will lead to transformative change for Indiana’s economy and the well-being of Hoosiers across the state.
Immediate impact
In June, immediately after the trustees of IU and Purdue approved the creation of independent campuses in Indianapolis, IU announced plans to double enrollment in key tech-focused academic programs, invest in expanded research and laboratory space, and expand the ranks of its Indianapolis-based STEM faculty. Those moves and other initiatives announced in the months leading up to the June signing, include:
- IU will establish a Science and Technology Corridor on its Indianapolis campus to serve as a focal point of Central Indiana’s science and technology ecosystem. The SciTech Corridor will leverage expanded research programs, new laboratory space and robust STEM degree programs to attract faculty talent and grow enrollment, bolster the talent pipeline for Indiana employers, and foster new industry collaboration.
- The IU School of Science in Indianapolis will lead $11.7 million in research, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, to pursue the development of new treatments for hydrocephalus, a common complication faced by patients who have suffered traumatic brain injury or stroke. Simultaneously, the IU School of Science in Indianapolis is creating the national Hydrocephalus Research Center, where IU researchers will collaborate with colleagues at Johns Hopkins University, Purdue and other research institutions across the country to develop treatments for hydrocephalus and related conditions.
- IU will double enrollment in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering—the nation’s first school of informatics—which recently expanded from Bloomington to Indianapolis. Drawing on dedicated funds appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly, the university will also invest $60 million to significantly expand and renovate research and laboratory space and up to $10 million to attract 30 new STEM faculty.
- The university is doubling instructional capacity at the IU School of Nursing, which will allow for a 50% increase in the school’s enrollment and help address a crucial health care talent need for the city and state.
- A new direct path to enrollment from the IU School of Science to the IU School of Medicine will make the dream of becoming a physician more attainable and accessible to Indiana students. The Pathway to Medicine program at IU Indianapolis will invest in growing health care talent at a time of significant need for more Hoosier physicians to study and practice across our state.
The IU School of Medicine, the nation’s largest and a medical research powerhouse, is a key component of the university’s presence in Indianapolis. The school is approaching the halfway point in construction of a $230 million medical education and research building, the largest construction project in the school’s 120-year history.
Improving Hoosier lives
Academic buildings under construction, expanded degree programs and growing faculty rosters don’t tell the full story of IU Indianapolis. The campus is home to student and faculty researchers who are trying to improve the lives of Hoosiers by tackling a variety of seemingly intractable problems.
Those problems include health inequities, such as poor maternal health and exposure to toxic chemicals; medical conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease; and vexing global challenges like environmental sustainability and food insecurity.
Building on IU’s decades of history in the city, IU Indianapolis is excited to begin a new era of service to the community and beyond, President Whitten said.
“With leading faculty across disciplines — from the sciences and the arts to medicine, business, law, nursing, social work and more — IU’s Indianapolis campus will be an increasingly crucial source of Hoosier talent while offering expanding contributions to the vitality of our city, state and nation.”