McRobbie addresses 'major recent developments' in fall newsletter

IU President Michael McRobbie addressed what he called “a number of major recent developments at IU” in his beginning-of-the-year newsletter sent Monday to students and others affiliated with IU.

Didn’t get a chance to take a look? Here are the highlights.

Record enrollments

The University’s eight campuses experienced record enrollment for the fall semester.
“These figures show that we are continuing to provide an affordable, high-quality education that students want and value, whether they are traditional-age students seeking a world-class college experience, graduate students pursuing specialized studies, working adults who want to advance their careers or high school students getting a head start on college,” McRobbie said.

New Academic Directions

The report, endorsed by the Board of Trustees in April 2011, contains ways in which IU can grow and change its programs.

The response to the report, McRobbie said, has been “vigorous and energetic.”
McRobbie said he expects the University will have made major changes to six schools by the end of the year.

International studies

The University’s search for a leader of the School of Global and International Studies on the Bloomington campus has begun, and construction of the school’s building is projected to start in spring 2013.

When complete, McRobbie said, the school will allow IU to expand the number of foreign languages offered to nearly 80, among other things.
“I believe this to be one of the most significant developments of my tenure as president and, indeed, in the nearly 200-year history of the University,” he said.

Public health

The accreditation process has begun for new schools of public health at IU-Bloomington and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis. McRobbie said the goal is to complete the process within two years

IU will formally celebrate the creation of IU-Bloomington’s School of Public Health, formerly the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, later this month.

IU online

Last week, McRobbie announced the University’s plans for an $8 million investment to expand online course offerings.

“By fall 2013, IU expects to increase its online undergraduate degree and certificate programs in areas such as business, technology and the liberal arts and sciences,” he said. “At the graduate level, every IU professional school has developed — or will begin developing — at least one online degree or certificate by fall 2013.”

Major research funding

For the 2012 fiscal year, faculty, staff and students received about $533 million in awards and grants, McRobbie said. The amount marks a 9 percent increase from 2011 and is the second-highest annual total in history.

Outstanding faculty

McRobbie said although singling out members of IU’s world-class faculty runs the risk of leaving someone out, he would “be remiss not to congratulate a number of IU faculty members for their roles in two of the most significant scientific breakthroughs in recent memory.”

He recognized professors Harold Ogren and Harold Evans for their contributions leading to the discovery of the Higgs boson, which McRobbie explained as “an infinitesimally small particle that plays a very large role in explaining why everything in the world around us has mass.”

McRobbie also recognized professors David Bish and Juergen Schieber for their analysis of data collected by Curiosity, a NASA Mars rover.

New leadership

McRobbie announced several leadership changes within the University, including Lauren Robel’s position as IU-Bloomington’s provost, Kelley School of Business Dean Dan Smith’s position as IU Foundation president and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Neil Theobald’s move to Temple University.

— Kirsten Clark