Introduction
Thank you very much, Nasser, for the very kind and generous words you shared earlier. You have been an invaluable partner in all that has been accomplished on the IUPUI campus. This campus, IU East, IUPUC as well as the university more broadly never better exemplified than during the pandemic —are indeed fortunate to have had the benefit of your outstanding and energetic leadership.
My thanks as well to Dean Greg Hull, Ms. Dobouni, and Mr. Ricci for your kind remarks.
I am also very pleased that trustees Bishop, Connor, and Spears are with us in person today, all representing their many current and former trustee colleagues who have contributed so much to the success of Indiana University over the last 14 years.
And I am very pleased that the namesakes of Eskenazi Hall, our good friends Sid and Lois Eskenazi are here today with their daughter, Sandy. The Eskenazis are, of course, among Indiana’s greatest philanthropic leaders and they have generously supported, through their service and philanthropy, many initiatives at Indiana University, particularly in the arts and humanities.
Expressing ideas and feelings in ways beyond words
Laurie and I will be delighted to receive Ms. Gordon’s painting of today’s event. We will cherish it as a reminder of this special day and of the many IUPUI colleagues and friends with whom we have worked closely over so many years, many of whom are here today or with us virtually.
We are also deeply honored by the establishment of the Emerging Artist Series and its naming in honor of us. The Herron School of Art and Design has a long tradition of bringing both established and emerging artists from around the country and the world to the campus for over a century. I am delighted that this tradition will continue and grow through this series—and Laurie and I look forward to attending the lectures and exhibitions that will be part of it.
The superb work of the faculty of the Herron School, some of which you will be able to see in the exhibition in Eskenazi Hall today, underscores the major role that art plays in our daily lives.
Human experiences are sometimes so profound that words alone cannot give them full expression. Through art, people can express ideas and feelings in ways beyond words or which cannot adequately be expressed in words. Art can help us to frame our identities, and literally paint a direction to the future.
Many of you also enjoy, as do Laurie and I, exploring the great museums and galleries of the United States and the world—and you value and respect these important institutions. The IUPUI campus is fortunate to be in very close proximity to a number of wonderful museums and to have, right here in Eskenazi Hall, excellent galleries that feature the major contributions made by Herron students and faculty to the culture of the campus, to the greater Indianapolis arts community, and beyond.
The emerging future of a great urban research university campus
More broadly, the IUPUI campus has grown over 52 years and is now firmly established and recognized nationally as a thriving urban research campus.
The campus is home to an extensive research enterprise, and is the location of the largest medical school in the nation, and the schools of nursing and dentistry—all among the oldest in the country, as well as other vital health science schools.
Across the campus, outstanding faculty members are engaged in a wide range of research and scholarship that results in the generation of innovative new ideas, new scholarly works, and discoveries that cure disease, protect our environment, help secure our nation, grow the economy, and advance art and culture in our communities.
One of the great accomplishments on this campus over the last 14 years of which I am most proud under the leadership first of Charles Bantz and now Nasser Paydar, has been the transformation of IUPUI from being primarily a commuter campus to its true emergence as a residential campus. I fully expect that this transformation will continue. As the campus has continued to grow and mature, more and more students have come to IUPUI seeking the classic on-campus experience that helps shape lives, strengthen education, and allows students to achieve at the highest levels. The addition of new on-campus housing in the renovated University Place Hotel and in North Hall; the spectacular renovation of Ball Hall, which we dedicate this afternoon and which has preserved a window into the history of the campus; and the opening of the Campus Center in 2007 are dramatically changing the character of the campus, making it a vibrant hub of student life at all hours.
The campus has been further transformed by the conversion of New York and Michigan Streets into safer, slower two-way streets, almost instantly turning the campus into a much friendlier and more welcoming place and strengthening the campus’ connection to downtown Indianapolis. And the “Welcoming Campus Initiative,” which Nasser has overseen and championed, has created enjoyable and comfortable spaces that enhance and improve the student experience. The impact of this in a few short years has been extensive, with the campus becoming more and more attractive as a place to live and work.
But even more importantly, the functionality of the whole campus and all of its components has been greatly improved through the new schools, new facilities, and new degree programs that Nasser mentioned earlier. All of these are contributing in major ways to enhancing and expanding the university’s fundamental education and research missions, and the impact it has on Indianapolis and the state.
And, of course, the deep commitment of the IUPUI campus to community, service-learning, and civic engagement, is one of the most powerful and visible ways IUPUI is helping to transform the community it serves, a commitment that has become a distinctive characteristic of an IUPUI education.
One need only look at the cities of Chicago and Los Angeles, where the impact of the development of the campuses of the University of Chicago and the University of Southern California illustrates the transformative impact a great residential, urban campus can have on a city. This is now the future that is emerging in Indianapolis.
Conclusion
So, thank you once again for the kind words you have shared today.
It has been my privilege to lead this great university for the last 14 years, and to have served in senior positions for 24 years—more than a third of my life.
I am enormously proud of all that has been accomplished at IUPUI and across the university over this period. And, as I said when I announced my retirement, IU’s accomplishments over this time have not been a one-person show.
They are the collective product of the hard and unremitting work of IU's outstanding senior leaders, the strong support of superb faculty, engaged and talented students—like Ms. Dobouni, from whom we heard earlier—who have and will continue to go on to become leaders in their chosen fields, exceptional staff whose professionalism and dedication have been the linchpin of so many of our successes, and loyal alumni and friends whose volunteer support and generous philanthropy have helped ensure the university’s success.
I am immensely grateful to all of you. Laurie and I look forward to watching—and doing all we can to contribute to—the future growth and development of the IUPUI campus as it continues to become one of America’s leading residential urban research campuses.
Thank you very much.
And now I invite my wife Laurie Burns McRobbie, the First Lady of Indiana University, to the podium to add a few words.