Fall 2010

Charles R. Bantz

Imagine a University

Charles R. Bantz
Chancellor of IUPUI

It has been 41 years since Indiana University and Purdue University merged their Indianapolis programs to form IUPUI. I sometimes wonder what the first chancellor, Dr. Maynard Hine, imagined in 1969 as he began the task of stitching that patchwork together. Could he and city leaders have fully envisioned what IUPUI is today?

From modest beginnings, IUPUI has become a thriving urban research university. It is Indiana’s health and life sciences campus, and its premier professional campus. It is actively and thoroughly engaged in the life of the city and the state. It has earned a national reputation for first-year experiences and service learning. Translational research with global impact has become a hallmark of the work of IUPUI’s faculty.

Closing the first decade of the twenty-first century, I have been reflecting, “What do we need to accomplish to be what our community imagines for us in the next decade, as we approach 2020?”

Consider that just in the last 10 years:

  • Enrollment is up from 27,500 to 30,566.
  • Undergraduates went from 58 percent full-time to 71 percent full-time.
  • The quality of campus life improved light years with the opening of the Campus Center and the addition of new student housing. We established an Honors College and the Bepko, Cox, and Sam Jones Scholars programs.
  • The number of degrees awarded (all levels) rose from just under 4,000 to nearly 6,000.
  • New facilities to support faculty research have been constructed, including the Health Information and Translational Sciences facility, the Informatics and Communications Technology Complex, and Walther Hall.
  • Research funding has more than doubled, surpassing $400 million in fiscal year
    2009–10.

What will IUPUI’s future be? I don’t know the details, but I know we will continue to pursue our vision to be one of the best urban universities, recognized locally, nationally, and internationally for our achievements.

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