The IU Board of Trustees completed the first of its two days of meetings Thursday at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis.
From a large grant for the IU School of Medicine to the formation of a Greek Taskforce and a fourth consecutive university diversity award, IU’s trustees had a lot to discuss. Here’s what you need to know.
Greek Task Force assembled
A new task force created by IU Provost Lauren Robel in the spring of 2018 will work to address disciplinary issues within the greek community at IU. The Provost’s Greek Advisory Task Force is composed of sorority and fraternity alumni and focuses its attention on hazing, alcohol, drug and sexual violence education.
The task force is one of two groups created to review issues within the greek community. The Greek Working Group for Sexual Violence Prevention and Response was created in the spring of 2018 by the Office of Student Welfare and Title IX. It was created as a part of a formal agreement with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights following multiple investigations of IU’s sexual misconduct policies.
Although no wrongdoing was found in the University’s policy, the resolution meant IU had to create a general working group and a greek working group, organized to study IU's practices of sexual assault training, education and prevention.
Only the task force created by the Office of Student Welfare and Title IX is related to the University's agreement with the Office of Civil Rights.
Potential initiatives for the provost's task force may include mandatory monthly training for live-in advisers, junior and senior leadership requirements in houses, deferred recruitment and reduction of chapter size, said David O’Guinn, vice provost for student affairs and dean of students.
Robel said 23 percent of IU’s student body are in one of the 72 sororities and fraternities on campus, and she is focused on making the right next steps to ensure that the organizations are safe.
Fall report shows enrollment has stalled
Although undergraduate enrollment has stalled over the last few years, John Applegate, executive vice president for University academic affairs, said there are sharp increases in the four-year completion rate.
When asked what can be learned from the previous enrollment cycles, Applegate said there needs to be cautious budgeting. He reminded the trustees that tuition is the largest revenue stream for IU’s general fund.
The report also revealed international enrollment has decreased University-wide for two years in a row after an all-time high in 2016. IU-Bloomington has fallen from 6,534 international students in 2016 to 5,795 students in 2018.
IU School of Medicine receives grant for Alzheimer’s research
Jay Hess, dean of the IU School of Medicine, announced that IU received a $44.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund research on early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Hess said this is the largest single NIH grant in IU history.
Dr. Liana Apostolova will lead the Longitudinal Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Study which will work to identify new potential paths to effective therapies for both early and late-onset forms of the disease over a five-year-long study, according to an IU press release.
“With this extraordinary investment in research support from the National Institutes of Health, the LEADS project will marshal the extensive range of expertise and resources of IU's outstanding School of Medicine and those of our partners to help develop new therapies and transformative solutions for patients,” said IU President Michael McRobbie in the release.
Spanning across nine campuses with an annual budget of about $1.65 billion, Hess said the IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the United States.
Trustees unanimously approve new major
The committee of trustees unanimously approved a proposal for a new degree in nursing for IU-Bloomington. Students will now be able to complete an online Master of Science in Nursing.
IU wins diversity award for fourth consecutive year
Insight Magazine awarded the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award to IU-Bloomington for the fourth consecutive year and IUPUI for the seventh consecutive year, said James Wimbush, vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs.
Wimbush said the total enrollment for minority degree-seeking students has increased by 4 percent. Minorities represent 25.1 percent of IU’s student population, which is higher than the minority portion of the state of Indiana’s population at 23 percent, Wimbush said in the diversity report.
In comparison with a 50 percent four-year graduation rate for majority students, there is only a 33 percent four year graduation rate for minority students. Wimbush said this minority rate has increased by about 10 percent from 2009.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Provost's Greek Advisory Task Force was created as a result of an agreement with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. The IDS regrets this error.
