Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie has issued the following statements about the remediation work to buildings on the IU Bloomington campus.
October 16, 2018
Before I begin my state of the university speech I would like to address an issue that is presently of great concern to many of our students and their parents. This concerns the presence of mold in a number of our student halls of residence. Tom Morrison, IU’s Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities, is leading the remediation efforts. To date we have remediated 285 rooms. We are urgently remediating and inspecting an additional 140 rooms. We have provided temporary housing to students and will continue to do so until every room has been remediated and confirmatory air sampling proves that it is safe to remain in the room. We have an independent third party confirming the air quality before students return and will have them repeat these tests as needed.
In addition, by Friday of this week we will have a claims processing procedure in place.
Any student who has received medical care for any respiratory illness or other illness related to mold since the beginning of this academic year will be fully reimbursed for these medical expenses. We will put information on our website to notify you as to how to file such a claim.
We are providing free laundry facilities for all students in McNutt and Foster and we will be providing a laundry service for all bedding which will meet public health standards.
Those students who incurred expenses to move out of their rooms before October 15 when IU provided alternative housing and moving services will also be fully reimbursed.
Finally, we have heard the concerns expressed about the impact on the academics of students. A message has been sent to each dean and department chair on the Bloomington Campus explaining the nature of the problem and instructing our faculty to make "accommodations for freshman from these dorms, particularly in regard to assignments and exams."
I am extremely sorry the freshman semester for many of our students started off with this trying circumstance. We are doing everything we can to provide a safe and healthy environment for our students and we are doing everything we can to limit the inconvenience as much as possible while we conduct the remediation.
October 11, 2018
As remediation work concerning mold continues at Foster and McNutt Halls at Indiana University, effective immediately President Michael A. McRobbie has appointed Tom Morrison, vice president, capital planning and facilities, to oversee all aspects of remedying the situation at these buildings as rapidly as possible.
Students and their families are to be provided with daily progress updates through a dedicated website, and some students will be temporarily reassigned to other living quarters as the work proceeds. Indiana University is committing all needed resources to resolve this situation as swiftly as is possible for the student residents.