IU President McRobbie tours major construction projects on Bloomington campus

IU President Michael A. McRobbie and Tom Morrison, vice president for planning and capital facilities, toured several construction sites on the IU Bloomington campus on Sept. 21.  Photo by Chris Meyer, Indiana University

Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie got an update on several major construction projects on the Bloomington campus during a recent tour with Tom Morrison, vice president for planning and capital facilities. They visited the IU Health Regional Academic Health Center, Ballantine Hall, McNutt Quad and the Lilly Library.

The projects reflect IU’s continued efforts to further enable positive student outcomes, improve the health and well-being of Hoosiers, and to allow more scholars and students to access IU’s outstanding collections.

From top: Morrison and McRobbie walk outside at the IU Health Regional Academic Health Center construction site; elevators are under construction inside the RAHC ; McRobbie and Morrison discuss construction progress. Photos by Chris Meyer, Indiana University

The IU Health Regional Academic Health Center located on the IU Bloomington campus is scheduled for completion this fall, with the hospital expected to open in fall 2021. It will serve the region, and also be home to nearly 100 faculty and 1,000 students from five of IU Bloomington's clinical education programs. The facility includes classrooms, labs, faculty offices, and related spaces for programs in nursing, medical science, speech and hearing sciences, public health, and social work.

McRobbie and Morrison toured Ballantine Hall on Sept. 21 to see upgrades completed over the summer.    Photos by Chris Meyer, Indiana University

McRobbie also got a look at updates made to Ballantine Hall over the summer. Crews made changes to classrooms, restrooms and building systems. New windows and central air conditioning were also installed, and the building is fully in use.

Work on McNutt Quad -- which included new mechanical, plumbing, electrical and security systems -- was also completed over the summer. McRobbie toured several of the renovated spaces.

Morrison and McRobbie examine construction at the world-class Lilly Library, which will reopen in 2021. Photo by Chris Meyer, Indiana University

Major renovations at the Lilly Library continue, after it closed for renovations in Dec. 2019. McRobbie learned more about how replacing outdated systems will protect and prolong the library's irreplaceable materials. The project is scheduled for completion in 2021.  

All of the projects were approved and underway before the COVID-19 pandemic.