March 22, 2024

Continuing on a path of progress and innovation

Earlier this week, Indiana University President Pamela Whitten emailed members of the IU community about Indiana’s recently concluded 2024 legislative session. This year’s “short” session, which ended on March 8, resulted in 172 bills passing both chambers of the General Assembly, the majority of which Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed into law.  

As Whitten explained, IU worked throughout the session to shape new legislation, respond to lawmakers’ requests for data and insights, and collaborate with them on proposals with the potential to impact IU’s core teaching and research missions. IU’s efforts led to several positive legislative actions, such as allowing four-year campuses to explore the feasibility of offering associate degrees to students who wish to complete their education at this level (Senate Bill 8).  

Several bills that passed during the session feature new requirements for state universities, Whitten noted, and IU continues to assess the requirements included in the most notable new law, Senate Bill 202, including its language regarding faculty tenure.  

“Any steps required for legal compliance will include and affirm our values of intellectual rigor and academic freedom,” she wrote.  

In a week that also saw IU announce a $20 million gift from Indianapolis philanthropist Julie Wood that will deepen the university’s leadership in fighting lung cancer, Whitten concluded her message by underscoring IU’s commitment to increase its partnership with state and federal officials to strengthen Indiana’s economy and quality of life.  

“We have made it clear that our contributions to the State of Indiana are as robust and impactful as ever, and I am tremendously optimistic that IU and Indiana will remain firmly on a path of innovation, progress and transformation.”  

Read President Whitten’s message on the end of the legislative session 

Read President Whitten’s announcement of the $20 million gift to establish the Wood Center for Lung Cancer Research 

Statehouse Update

The 2024 short session of the Indiana General Assembly adjourned “sine die” six calendar days before their statutory Thursday, March 14th deadline. Of the 443 House bills filed, 21% passed. Of the 296 Senate bills, 26% passed.Adjournment also marked the end of nine retiring legislators’ legislative careers. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed all but one bill(HB 1002). It is his eighth and final veto of his tenure as governor. 

Read the Statehouse Update

Federal Update

Congress has until midnight Friday to pass a six-bill spending deal to avoid a partial government shutdown...

Read the Federal Update

An Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy alumna who helps communities affected by substance use disorder was a guest in first lady Jill Biden’s box at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7. Justin Phillips was recently named Indiana’s 2024 Woman of the Year by USA Today.

Meet Justin Phillips

Economic Engagement Update

Indiana University is launching a new career track aimed at attracting and retaining top diverse talent to engage in research at IU. The IU Research Innovator Career Track will support hiring specialized staff with deep experience from industry, government and nonprofits, offering highly competitive salaries. 

Explore the initiative 

In a recent webinar, Julie Heath, the inaugural executive director of IU Innovates, IU’s newly launched initiative to support students and faculty in the creation and growth of startup ventures, shared her insights into how universities can play an even greater role in economic development by leveraging their resources and networks to drive innovation and entrepreneurship. 

Watch the webinar 

The construction sector has experienced substantial growth in the United States and Indiana in the past few years. Despite this growth, construction companies are raising alarm bells about labor shortages they expect to become even more acute over the next decade-plus. The latest issue of INcontext, a publication of the Indiana Business Research Center at IU’s Kelley School of Business, explores the dynamics of the state’s construction industry and charts a course toward building a more resilient and inclusive workforce.  

Read the analysis 

Indiana University South Bend and the South Bend Community School Corporation have launched a groundbreaking partnership to provide career pathway opportunities for students enrolled in the exercise science program at Washington High School. Washington High School will offer college-credit education courses, taught by an IU South Bend faculty member, to qualified high school students, empowering them to start on an early-in pathway to higher education at IU South Bend.

Learn more about the partnership

Upcoming Events

AlgoRhythms: The World of Music and AI  

March 29-30 

What does it mean to be a music artist or composer in the age of AI? Will AI enrich or impoverished our musical imaginations? Who will own AI generated music? The summit connects members of the IU Jacobs School of Music, IU Innovates, Maurer School of Law, Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture, and Design, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, and more. The collaboration extends to the Bloomington creative community through a strategic partnership with The Mill, the city’s nonprofit center for coworking and entrepreneurship. 

Register now 

IU Founders & Funders Network Venture Summit 

May 16-17 

The annual Venture Summit, to be held May 16-17 at IU Bloomington’s Indiana Memorial Union, will provide IU-affiliated entrepreneurs, innovators and investors interested in starting, nurturing or growing venture-capital backed businesses the opportunity to connect, build and learn from others in IU’s global venture ecosystem. Registration is limited to 250 people.  

Register now 

IU in the News

IU leads USAID effort to transform higher education in Vietnam 

Indiana University is leading efforts to equip Vietnamese universities with the tools they need to innovate. For the past three years, O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Anh Tran and IU Global associate vice president for international research and development Teshome Alemneh have been at the forefront of transforming higher education through a multi-million dollar initiative funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development called the Partnership for Higher Education Reform project in Vietnam.

Read the full story

Indiana sees stronger population growth in 2023 

After two years of comparatively slow growth through the pandemic era, Indiana’s population gains in 2023 nearly matched its average annual increase of 30,170 residents from 2010 to 2020, according to analysis from the Indiana Business Research Center at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. 

Read the full story 

Grant funds success coach for 21st Century Scholars at IU Kokomo 

Students in the 21st Century Scholars program at Indiana University Kokomo will receive one-on-one support from a dedicated success coach as part of a grant from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. 

Read the full story