Billionaire philanthropists Mel and Bren Simon are laying the groundwork to donate Asherwood–their extravagant Carmel estate
and golf course–to the Indiana University Foundation, potentially to house a new think tank. The couple plans to downsize
into a home just outside the town square in the nearby Village of WestClay.
Indiana University President Michael McRobbie calls it “Innovate Indiana.” His ambition is to corral all of IU’s strengths
under one new branded initiative to boost the Hoosier economy. Purdue University already has leveraged a similar strategy,
promoted with “Go BusinessMakers!” billboards, to national acclaim.
Based on 50 conversations IU Foundation President Curt Simic had with donors the week after news broke of the potential firing
of men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson over alleged NCAA improprieties, the chief of Indiana University’s philanthropic
arm says he has little fear the latest athletic department controversy will affect financial support to the school.
For the last two months, two academics at Indiana University and Purdue University have been discussing how the institutions
can work together to rev up research in medicine and life sciences and, in the process, boost Indiana’s economy.
Indiana University and the state’s Office of Technology have sought an emergency order from regulators to halt a Colorado
company’s further assimilation of an Indianapolis fiber provider it bought Oct. 1.
The new Big Ten Network and some of the nation’s largest cable television systems are fighting over how consumers will be charged for the network’s programming. Hundreds of sporting events could be blacked out in local markets, including scores of Indiana and Purdue university football and basketball games, if the two sides don’t reach an agreement.
Indianapolis businessman Barton Kaufman is auctioning off 26 paintings by notable New York artist LeRoy Neiman. Kaufman plans
to donate the money to Indiana University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1962 and law degree in 1965.
Indiana University Kelley School of Business students will market and sell five lots along a strip of white sandy beach on
secluded Dog Island, Fla., as a class project that likely will span
several semesters. Whatever the students get for the land will be all profit.
Indiana University appears poised to choose an internal candidate as president for the first time in 35 years . The decision
could be announced within days. Two IU trustees confirmed that finalists include Michael McRobbie and Ora Pescovitz, well-known
IU administrators.
Taking a page from Purdue University’s playbook, Indiana University has quietly put its economic-development efforts under review. IU hired Chicago-based Huron Consulting Group this month to examine its process of economic development and evaluate whether it matches Gov. Mitch Daniels' business-first agenda.
Indiana University leaders believe their researchers can spawn 100 new companies, pump $2.4 billion into the state's economy, help create 14,000 jobs, and generate a $2.25 return for every dollar spends if the General Assembly will invest in their bold life sciences strategy.
