President McRobbie presents Lilly Endowment with top IU medal

IU President Michael McRobbie has presented Lilly Endowment Inc. with the highest non-academic award the University can bestow.

The University Medal, which honors organizations or individuals for important contributions to the University, including achievement in science, law and art, was presented to Lilly chairman Thomas Lofton during an event in Indianapolis on Monday.

The medal was created in 1982 by then President John W. Ryan, and it is the only IU medal that requires approval from the IU Board of Trustees.

“The endowment has supported genomics, neurosciences and other life sciences research,” McRobbie said in a press release.

“It has supported IU’s emergence as one of the country’s leaders in the uses and applications of information technology. It has funded research centers and institutes that help Indiana University continue to push back the frontiers of knowledge.

“It has helped build IU’s extensive system of libraries and archives. It has supported scholarships that have opened countless doors of learning and success to IU students across the state.”

Recently, Lilly Endowment Inc. gave $44 million to the Jacobs School of Music Studio Building, which is currently under construction, as well as funded the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Columbus, Ind., which is home to IU, Purdue and Ivy Tech programs.  

In all, Lilly Endowment has donated more than $500 million to the University throughout the past 30 years, including $155 million to the Indiana Genomics Initiative, $25 million to attract top faculty to the Maurer School of Law and $40 million to support the Center of Philanthropy at IU.

“The endowment’s generosity has transformed the face of this university and the face of this wonderful state we all share,” McRobbie said.

— Jake New