PRESS RELEASE: IU’s Sustaining Hoosier Communities launches first alum year with expanded rural partnerships

The following is a press release written by Jeni Waters for the IU Center for Rural Engagement.

The Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement’s Sustaining Hoosier Communities (SHC) initiative launched its first alum community year, giving past rural partner communities the opportunity to advance new projects and deepen existing relationships with IU. 
 
This effort marks a new chapter for SHC, as the initiative moves from a single-year model of community engagement toward long-term, multi-year partnerships across Indiana for sustained impact. 
 
To date, SHC has collaborated with counties including Lawrence, Orange, Greene, Washington, Dubois and Daviess. Each has benefited from a year of focused engagement. Through alum year partnerships, they will continue building momentum with new and evolving projects. 
 
Launched as the Center for Rural Engagement’s flagship initiative, SHC partners rural Indiana communities with IU faculty, students and staff for the duration of an academic year to advance community-identified projects. Through these partnerships, communities enrich their health, prosperity and vitality while IU students engage in meaningful learning opportunities with real-world impact. 
 
This innovative approach has earned IU national recognition. The university was recently selected as a regional winner of the 2025 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award for SHC’s impact. The award honors programs that “redesign learning, discovery and engagement missions to deepen partnerships and achieve broader impacts in their communities.”  
 
“Sustaining Hoosier Communities works because it is truly a win-win for everyone involved,” said Colleen Rose, director of student engagement. “Rural Indiana communities benefit from working with energized and enthusiastic IU students and faculty who bring fresh eyes and expertise to advance community priorities. IU students benefit by learning from real challenges that face real communities, and experience how they can use their degree to serve the greater good.” 
 
Through the 2025-26 academic year, IU faculty, staff and students are collaborating with rural communities on approximately 30 projects focused on areas including public recreation, business development, public health, arts and culture, historical preservation, cybersecurity, community resilience and land development. 
 
The emerging Monon South Trail will be a focus of the alum year projects through a partnership with Radius Indiana. The completed 57-mile trail will connect eight local communities in Lawrence, Orange, Washington and Clark counties. 
 
“One of Radius's primary goals with the trail is not just construction, but maximizing the economic development opportunity it offers small southern Indiana communities,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius Indiana. “Many of these towns have not seen much growth in recent years, and this trail represents a potential catalyst for business growth and prosperity.” 
 
Through the SHC alum year initiative, teams from the Kelley School of Business and Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs are leading efforts to unlock this potential. One initiative will study successful businesses that exist along other well-known rail trail systems, such as the Great Alleghany Passage, which attracts up to 1.4 million visitors annually. The other project will explore trail-adjacent housing development opportunities.  
 
On the arts and culture side, students in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design will participate in plein air, or “open air,” painting sessions at various locations along the Monon South Trail to creatively document the evolution of the trail and surrounding communities over time. 
 
“The Sustaining Hoosier Communities program really helps fill in gaps where we don’t have experience or abilities,” Quyle said. “Having IU as a partner makes new possibilities come alive for the region.” 
 
In Orange County, new alum year projects are deepening the community’s relationship with IU. Dr. Brandy Terrell, chair of Southern Indiana Community Health Care’s Thrive Orange County initiative, helped facilitate community partnerships for the alum year, including a project that will address trauma and resilience for youth. 
 
“The more we collaborate on one thing, the easier it is for the next,” Terrell said. “As a whole, these programs really start to make a difference—whether that’s improving a park so children can play, raising awareness about adverse childhood experiences, or focusing on food as medicine. The partnerships have been pretty amazing.” 
 
The alum year initiative will extend through the summer of 2026. Current and upcoming projects include: 

For a detailed list of alum year projects, visit go.iu.edu/2025-shc-alum.