Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie joined faculty and staff members of the IU School of Global and International Studies, university leaders, and the IU community to honor two of America’s greatest statesmen and internationalists: former U.S. Rep. Lee H. Hamilton and former U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar.

At the event, McRobbie announced that the school would be renamed in their honor: the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Since its founding in 2012, the school has been extremely successful offering instruction in around 70 foreign languages each year – the largest number of any university in the country. Majors in the school have increased by over 70 percent in just the last three years, and this year a record number of 11 IU area studies centers and programs in the school were awarded grant funding for 18 separate programs under the U.S. Department of Education's prestigious Title VI program. 

With these outstanding achievements as a backdrop, McRobbie made the announcement that the school would be named after the two statesmen.

"Naming the school in their honor is a fitting and appropriate tribute that reflects not only the impact of their service to the school, but also the impact of their service to the state of Indiana and the nation," McRobbie said.

In their combined 70 years in the U.S. Congress and since, Hamilton and Lugar have been committed to U.S. global leadership, prudent about the application of American power, and exemplars of Congress carrying out its constitutional role in foreign policy. Hamilton and Lugar remain pre-eminent figures in U.S. international relations. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian award, by President Barack Obama, both statesmen led efforts to shift U.S. foreign policy away from a Cold War footing and toward the challenges and opportunities of a new century.

"The national and international standing and quality of the school has been greatly enhanced by the presence in it of two of Indiana’s and the nation's most illustrious statesmen: Congressman Lee Hamilton and Senator Richard Lugar," McRobbie said. "Their service in the school has provided our students and faculty with wonderful opportunities to interact with and to learn from two of America’s foremost experts on international relations and two leaders with unparalleled expertise in a wide array of policy areas."

At the event to announce the school's name, McRobbie was joined by Representative Hamilton, Senator Lugar, IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President of IU Lauren Robel, and Lee Feinstein, founding dean of the school, to unveil the sign that will be placed in front of the newly named building.

The Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies is housed in an architecturally-distinctive new building that is one of the iconic buildings of the Bloomington campus. In 2015, then-Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Bloomington campus to speak and help IU inaugurate the new building.

The naming of the Lee H. Hamilton and Richard G. Lugar School of Global and International Studies also kicks off a $25 million fundraising campaign to establish a scholarship program and endowed faculty positions within the school. The Global Leadership Scholars Program will support scholarships and fellowships for high-achieving students demonstrating a commitment to global engagement. The Hamilton Lugar Political Leadership Scholars Program will fund faculty positions for top policy scholars focused on areas central to Hamilton's and Lugar's legacies, such as homeland security and nonproliferation.

Read IU President McRobbie’s speech from the announcement