Indiana University celebrating 2025 commencement across state
Indiana University awarded more than 20,000 degrees in nine commencement ceremonies and celebrations across the state from May 9 to 15.
This year’s IU graduates have a wide range of experiences and goals for the future. Some interesting facts about our 2025 graduates include that they represent all 92 counties of Indiana, 50 states and 133 countries. The youngest graduate is 18 while the oldest graduate is 73. There are 46 sets of twins and one set of triplets in this graduating class.
The most common majors among the graduates are finance, nursing and media.
IU aims for commencement to be a memorable experience, which is why the University Events team and departments at each school spend many months planning and preparing for the big day — and for the estimated 80,000 attendees who were expected to be at the main commencement ceremonies statewide.
Two IU Bloomington undergraduates delivered commencement messages to their fellow graduates: Mohammad Nasir Moradi and Drew Kimble. The IU Bloomington graduate speaker was IU alumna, Harriet Newman.
This will be the first commencement ceremony for IU Indianapolis with a combined graduate and undergraduate commencement ceremony. Sahiti Somalraju, a Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering graduate, was the IU Indianapolis commencement speaker.
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Learn more about IU’s Class of 2025
Learn more about IU’s commencement preparations
IU Celebrates Vice President Tom Morrison
On May 6, the Office of University Relations hosted an event honoring the career and service to Indiana higher education of outgoing Vice President Tom Morrison. Morrison has accepted a new role as vice president for facilities at Duke University effective June 1.
Tom joined Indiana University as associate vice president of public affairs and state relations in 2008, after serving 17 years in multiple roles at Ball State University. In 2009, Morrison was named IU’s first vice president for capital planning and facilities. For the last 16 years, Tom has served as IU’s chief capital, facilities, planning, and real estate officer overseeing all facility-related operations, acquisitions, and capital projects. Morrison has also served as a liaison to state and federal agencies for all IU capital-related items.
Tom was presented with multiple recognitions during the event’s program:
- “Satchemore of the Wabash” from Phil “Satch” Sachtleben, Associate Vice President Emeritus for Government Relations, Ball State University; and Executive Director Emeritus, Legislative Services Agency
- Customized IU-INDYCAR helmet from Mark Miles, President and CEO, Penske Entertainment Corporation
- House Resolution 35 from Representative Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne), House Minority Leader
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 42 from Senator Shelli Yoder (D-Bloomington), Senate Minority Leader
- Sagamore of the Wabash from Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, presented by nominators Representative Gregory Porter (D-Indianapolis) and Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Chris Lowery; fellow co-nominator Senator Ryan Mishler (R-Mishawaka) was unable to attend.
IU President Pamela Whitten presented Morrison with the Indiana University Distinguished Service Medal - a rare recognition which commends outstanding service to IU and the academic community. “If you go for a walk around any Indiana University campus, you will see examples of Tom Morrison's impact everywhere you look,” President Whitten said, “from the Medical Education and Research Building we dedicated last month in Indianapolis to the beautifully renovated buildings of the historic Old Crescent in Bloomington.”
On behalf of Indiana University, the Office of University Relations thanks Tom Morrison for his exemplary service, dedication, leadership and partnership - IU students, faculty and staff will benefit from his work for decades to come.
State Update
The 2025 Indiana General Assembly legislative session concluded April 25. Only 243 of the 1,229 bills filed in the beginning of the session passed both chambers. Of the 708 House bills filed, 20% passed. Of the 521 Senate bills, 20% passed. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed into law all bills sent to his desk. As part of its statutory responsibilities upon passage of the state budget, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education recommended “non-binding tuition and mandatory fee increase targets for each state educational institution” for the next biennium.
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Federal Update
This week’s Federal Update covers Congressional and Executive Branch activities of interest in Washington, D.C.
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Previous editions of the Federal Update since the April 25 Report:
May 1, 2025
May 8, 2025
Economic Engagement Update
Inaugural Economic Development Summit ‘Call for Proposals’ now open
The IU Economic Development summit is a day-long event that will bring together faculty, staff, business leaders, elected officials, and community partners to showcase Indiana University’s statewide leadership in economic and community development. Through engaging panels, breakout sessions, and networking, the Summit will highlight the many ways IU’s campuses fuel innovation, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and regional prosperity across Indiana.
Learn more and submit your proposal here
From Frankfort to the Front of the Class: IU’s New Teacher Apprentices Chart a New Path
In November of 2024, The U.S. Department of Labor designated IU as a “Group Sponsor,” enabling it to work closely with participating campuses and school districts statewide to offer a comprehensive apprentice program for aspiring teachers. The new career pathway blends hands-on teaching experience with college coursework, professional mentorship—and a paycheck.
Indiana University confers nearly one-quarter of all education degrees awarded in the state making it uniquely positioned—and responsible— to help close that gap. By aligning educator preparation at a participating campus with paid, local experience, the Registered Apprenticeship Program creates a talent pipeline that serves students, schools, and local communities.
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Economic Education Efforts Flowing Both Ways
Due to the efforts of IU South Bend’s Center for Economic Education and Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana, there is a pipeline of partnerships that runs from community professionals to IU South Bend students and running in turn from Titan leaders to area school children. Just as the local business experts offer assistance to Titan students, those same students can offer guidance to K-12 kids.
Vicar Valencia, associate professor of economics at the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics, serves as director of the Center for Economic Education. He coordinates with Junior Achievement to promote the program to IU South Bend students, assigning them to K-12 classrooms where they teach the basics of financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work-readiness. Valencia has also collaborated with Everwise Credit Union in setting up financial literacy presentations.
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IU in the News
IU School of Medicine dedicates Medical Education and Research Building in new Indy Health District
It’s been over a decade since leaders at the Indiana University School of Medicine and IU Health cast the synergistic vision for a world-class facility in downtown Indianapolis that would not only train medical doctors but also create space for innovative biomedical science, ultimately impacting Hoosier health for the better.
This vision is fast becoming reality. On April 22, IU held a dedication ceremony for the School of Medicine’s new Medical Education and Research Building, a 326,000-square-foot, 11-story flagship facility that will open this summer. Right next door, IU Health is building its new 2.6-million-square-foot, 864-bed hospital. The medical campus also includes the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute and IU Health Neuroscience Center. It’s all part of the newly announced Indy Health District encompassing 1,500 acres on the city’s north side.
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IU students produce behind-the-scenes Little 500 docuseries ‘Two Days in April’
Each year, The Media School at Indiana University Bloomington partners with the IU Student Foundation around the Little 500 cycling races to train students in every facet of sports media, from reporting and commentating to shooting and streaming live for audiences across the world. In recent years, students interested in longform storytelling participated in a course called “Two Days in April.” They created a docuseries about the races, crafting a time capsule of what occurs behind the scenes during “The World’s Greatest College Weekend.”
Shot and edited in the style of shows like Max’s “Hard Knocks” and ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” “Two Days in April” episodes are produced for social media. First taught during the 2023-24 school year, the class is funded by a gift from IU alumnus Thomas Miller and his mother, Kathy Miller.
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“One-shot” Behavioral Tool Could Change How Social Media Users Interact with Negative Content
Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, an associate professor and associate chair in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences; and Johan Bollen, professor and chair of informatics in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering and the College’s Cognitive Science Program conducted a study to examine social media impacts on mental health.
Bollen and Lorenzo-Luaces had previously found that depressed people are more likely to produce content that exhibits higher levels of negative, rigid and extreme language on social media, also known as distorted thinking. In the PNAS Nexus study, the team investigated whether cognitive behavioral therapy could train social media users to recognize posts that exhibit distorted thinking before interacting with it, in hopes of drastically reducing the amplification of such content.
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IU East Business Students Present Richmond Budget Findings to Older, Shreve
Students in Mark Sanders’ Governmental Accounting class had the opportunity to distill a semester’s worth of research and hard work into a presentation to Richmond Mayor Ron Oler and Jefferson Shreve, U.S. representative from Indiana’s 6th congressional district, as well as their respective staffs. Students in the course analyzed the City of Richmond actual and budgeted financial statements and prepared a slide deck with recommendations.
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