A major milestone for the Hoosier state: IU Indianapolis achieves R1 status
IU Indianapolis has cemented its status as one of the nation’s premier urban research universities after receiving Research 1 status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Announced yesterday by Indiana University President Pamela Whitten, the classification recognizes institutions who have achieved the highest level of research activity, as determined by the amount of research and development expenditures and doctoral degrees conferred.
With both its Indianapolis and Bloomington campuses classified as R1, IU is now among a select group of universities nationwide to have multiple R1 campuses.
“Our ambitions for IU Indianapolis and our capital city are limitless, and achieving R1 status is the latest indicator that we’re reshaping Indianapolis into a city of bold ideas and innovative solutions,” Whitten said. “We are building on decades of innovative research and making significant investments, including the development of the SciTech Corridor and the launch of two new biosciences institutes, to expand our impact here in Indiana and around the world. This new designation affirms IU Indianapolis’ place as a leading research university.”
Being named an R1 institution can strengthen a university’s ability to recruit top-tier faculty and students to the campus and can help attract more research funding. It also underscores for potential community and industry partners the tremendous economic and societal impacts of university innovation.
“IU Indianapolis is an academic and economic anchor for our city, state and region,” IU Indianapolis Chancellor Latha Ramchand said. “Our faculty and students are improving lives through research—whether by creating a tool for less invasive prostate cancer screenings, developing treatments for health challenges like hydrocephalus, or exploring how cultural environments shape our cities and communities. This R1 designation will increase our ability to invest in research that spurs innovations and transforms lives.”
Read more about the historic R1 designation
State Update
This Statehouse Update provides a summary of bills the IU State Relations team is tracking and that moved during the sixth week of session. Lawmakers raced to meet the deadline to move bills out of committee and to the floor before Monday’s deadline. Additionally, many important bills hit the floor of the House and the Senate for second reading, which is the opportunity for the whole chamber to offer amendments on the bill. By the end of next week, we will know all the bills that passed out of their originating chamber and are still eligible to become law.
Read the State Update
Federal Update
This week’s Federal Update covers Congressional and Executive Branchactivities of interest in Washington, D.C.
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Economic Engagement Update
Apprentice program offers a new path to teaching degree
Starting this fall, Indiana University East will join IU’s campuses in Indianapolis and Kokomo in offering a federal apprenticeship program designed to address the nation’s need for more licensed teachers.
The IU Registered Apprenticeship K-12 Teacher Program provides participants with assistance on tuition, textbooks, travel and childcare. Apprentices can work as a school employee while they complete a bachelor’s degree in education through one of the participating IU campuses.
The program, which the U.S. Department of Labor started in 2021, had nearly 13,000 participants in 2024. IU received the program designation this past fall, making it the only group sponsor in the state.
The program applies the theory that school corporations needing more licensed teachers already have a built-in supply of potential candidates, including paraprofessionals, long-term substitutes, teaching assistants and adjunct instructors.
Learn more about the program
Training tomorrow’s cybersecurity and global policy experts
Demand for highly skilled cybersecurity professionals is growing twice as fast as the workforce, according to recent studies. It is estimated that more than 500,000 cybersecurity positions are open in the U.S. alone, and the global number is estimated at 4 million. The threat of cyberattacks on both private and public sectors has created growing demand for graduates entering the workforce to approach cybersecurity from a variety of disciplines and viewpoints, and Indiana University is leading efforts to train tomorrow’s cybersecurity experts.
IU’s interdisciplinary Cybersecurity and Global Policy Program combines the technology of cybersecurity with the study of global policymaking, taking a practical approach to preparing students for careers where the two disciplines often intersect. Ranked in the country’s top 25 cybersecurity undergraduate programs, it has grown to include nearly 300 students and receives upwards of 400 applications each year.
Discover more about the program
IU in the News
Brondizio awarded ‘Nobel Prize for the environment,’ honoring decades-long research on the Amazon
Indiana University environmental anthropologist Eduardo Brondizio was awarded the 2025 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for his work on human-environment interaction in the Amazon and global-level work linking biodiversity to humankind. He is sharing the prize, which is often called the “Nobel Prize for the environment,” with Argentinian ecologist Sandra Díaz.
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IU researchers find new way to 'starve' prostate cancer tumors at the cellular level
New research by a team of Indiana University School of Medicine scientists and their collaborators has uncovered a novel vulnerability in prostate cancer animal models that starves prostate tumors of critical nutrients and stunts their growth, which could lead to the development of new treatments for the deadly disease.
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Teams from Kelley School’s Master of Science in Finance program sweep the competition at Purdue event
For the second year in a row, Master of Science in Finance students from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business emerged as the winners of Purdue University’s Private Equity Case Competition. This year, the three Kelley School teams swept the awards, also coming in second and third place, defeating a dozen other teams from the universities of Notre Dame and Illinois, Washington University of St. Louis and Purdue.
Full story
Dance Theatre of Harlem to lead weeklong statewide residency
Performers of the critically acclaimed company will visit Gary, including IU Northwest, as well as Indianapolis, Greensburg and Bloomington, wrapping up with a performance at IU Auditorium. Three company members are graduates of the Jacobs School of Music ballet department.
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