IU President, First Lady celebrate homecoming in university's Bicentennial Year

President Michael A. McRobbie waves to parade goers during the IU Bloomington Homecoming Parade Oct. 11.    Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University
First Lady Laurie Burns McRobbie and President McRobbie participate in IU Bloomington's annual homecoming parade.    Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University
IU Bloomington students, alumni and community members braved the rain for the parade.  Photo courtesy IU Office of Student Affairs
The IU Marching Hundred play as they march down Woodlawn Ave. during the homecoming parade.    Photo courtesy IU Office of Student Affairs
IU cheerleaders pump up the crowd as they walk in the homecoming parade.  Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University

Students, faculty, staff and alumni gathered on IU Bloomington's campus over the weekend to celebrate 200 years of Hoosier traditions. 

IU President Michael A. McRobbie and First Lady Laurie Burns McRobbie kicked off the weekend's celebrations by participating in the annual parade. They joined university and student groups, as well as community organizations, as they made their way down Woodlawn Avenue to the Indiana Memorial Union. 

President McRobbie presented this year's Distinguished Alumni Service Awards to five honorees during IU Bloomington's homecoming week. The 2019 recipients are Matthew R. Gutwein, BA’85, JD’88; Lillian S. Stokes, MSN’69, PhD’98; Jane M. Jorgensen, BS’72; Edwin Cochran Marshall, BA’68, BS’70, OD’71, MS’79; and Isaac P. Torres, MBA’00. Photos by Ann Schertz

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Among the alumni who returned to campus for homecoming week were the five recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Service Award. The honor is the highest an IU alumni can receive. President McRobbie presented the awards during a dinner earlier in the week. 

"It is especially fitting during Indiana University's Bicentennial Year that we honor Indiana University's most distinguished alumni whose dedicated volunteer leadership and generous philanthropic support are part of a longstanding tradition that has helped sustain the university, and whose remarkably accomplished careers have brought enormous distinction to Indiana University," McRobbie said during the ceremony. 

The Hoosiers wore special uniforms during the homecoming game against Rutgers in honor of IU's Bicentennial.    Photo by Missy Minear, Indiana Athletics

Homecoming celebrations continued through the weekend with IU football's bicentennial game against Rutgers. Players sported special uniforms with candy-striped sleeves and helmets with the retro IU trident in honor of the anniversary.