Indiana University Northwest: An Overview As one of eight Indiana University campuses, IU Northwest leads the region as the premier, urban campus dedicated to serving the needs of more than 6,000 students from the state’s most diverse and industrialized region. The campus employs nearly 400 faculty members from throughout the U.S. and world, and 250 staff members with a variety of professional experiences.
The 33-acre campus is located in the city of Gary’s Glen Park area and plays a vital role in the economic development of the region. Located 35 miles from Chicago, IU Northwest is accessible to students, faculty and staff throughout Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area.
The IU Northwest Campus consists of 16 buildings with a total square footage of approximately 900,000. Seven of the buildings are located on the 33-acre main campus site. The buildings are Raintree Hall, a classroom/office building and the Moraine student union building, which were put into operation in 1969; Hawthorn Hall, a four-story classroom/office building, which was occupied in 1976; and the John W. Anderson Library/Conference Center completed in the spring of 1980. A three-story science/laboratory building, Marram Hall, opened in 1991, and the Savannah Center, which houses an art gallery, auditorium, health club and bookstore, opened in 2000. In 2006, the University dedicated the new Dunes Medical/Professional Building. Renovation of the former Child Care Center on 35th Avenue was completed in the fall of 2014, which houses the Office of University Advancement and External Affairs. IU approved the renaming of the Child Care Center to Cedar Hall. Adjacent to the campus is a building for divisional, departmental, and faculty offices. Two other structures contain university offices, research offices, and campus support services. There are also a greenhouse and physical plant facilities. Check out our virtual campus tour at http://iun.edu/tour.
IU Northwest is committed to fulfilling the promise of making accessible to its students: high-quality IU degree programs, incorporating excellence in teaching, learning, research and creative activity; strong liberal arts and sciences programs and professional disciplines; and diversity and civic engagement. IU Northwest positions its students to be leaders with more than 70 undergraduate, graduate and pre- professional degree options available through its various schools and academic divisions. IU Northwest is especially known for its excellent programs in the Arts & Sciences, Fine Arts, Business, the College of Health and Human Services, and the strong relationship with the IU School of Medicine – Northwest, the region’s only medical school, which is located on the campus.
The many dimensions of diversity that characterize the campus’s 6,052 students make IU Northwest distinctive, even among IU regional campuses, and is a reflection of the region served with 67 percent female students, 30 percent of degree-seeking students attending part-time, 26 percent aged 26 years or older, and about 44 percent of degree-seeking students being students of color. The campus is IU’s most diverse and serves many adult learners, as well as younger students who have “adult” commitments, who balance the competing demands of college, work and family responsibilities. In fact, 85 percent of IU Northwest seniors also work while earning their degrees, and one-third of graduating seniors work over 30 hours per week.
An estimated 70 percent of IU Northwest students receive financial aid, of which 49 percent receive some form of gift aid. Scholarship assistance helps the campus ensure that we continue to raise the bar of excellence in recruiting and retaining exceptional students, while also easing our students’ financial burden. The Northwest campus has redoubled its philanthropic efforts and commitment to transfer students and other degree completers with the Illiana Scholarship and the Transfer Student Scholarship.
Faculty members at IU Northwest are leading experts in their fields, with 81 percent of full-time tenured and tenure track faculty having attained the highest degree available in their field. Professors bring personal attention (16:1 student to faculty ratio) and the resources of Indiana University to the classroom, as well as a passion for engaging students in valuable research and experiential learning opportunities. Approximately 28,000 IU Northwest alumni are making important professional contributions in fields ranging from business and law to health care and education.
IU Northwest’s varsity athletic teams are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II and, as part of that association, fields teams in women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s cross-country. IU Northwest also offers a variety of intramural athletics and club sports, including basketball, flag football, ice hockey, volleyball, softball, co-ed cheerleading and baseball.
1 Community engagement is the hallmark of the campus’s commitment to advancing educational opportunities while addressing regional priorities, and is an essential part of the IU Northwest educational mission and purpose. The campus’s collaborative engagement with the region supports sustainable progress, addresses greater opportunities for diversity, and provides a valuable context for the complete student experience. As one of Northwest Indiana’s anchors, IU Northwest has a public obligation to be a community resource. An estimated 2,100 students annually contribute more than 126,000 service hours, demonstrated through course work and projects that are integral to the academic experience and connect students with their communities.
An important milestone was reached recently when the IU Board of Trustees approved the design of the new Arts & Sciences Building, in partnership with Ivy Tech Community College Northwest. The $45 million academic building, to be located on the IU Northwest campus at Broadway and 35th Avenue, demonstrates IU’s commitment to and investment in student academic success and Northwest Indiana. The new academic building will serve the educational needs of both IU Northwest and Ivy Tech-Northwest students, which will strengthen the partnership between the two institutions and enhance the transfer-student pathway. The building is anticipated to open in 2017.
History IU Northwest has been a separately accredited campus of Indiana University since 1967; however, its history dates back to 1921 when IU offered its first extension classes in Lake County. Today’s campus in Gary’s Glen Park is a result of land acquisitions by IU beginning in 1955. The construction of Raintree Hall and the Moraine Student Center (1969), Hawthorn Hall (1976), the John W. Anderson Library/Conference Center (1980), Marram Hall (1991), the Savannah Center (2000), Cedar Hall (2000) and Dunes Medical/Professional Building (2006) constitutes the campus of today.
Governance The IU Northwest campus values its tradition of shared governance. The Executive Vice Chancellor and other key administrators work closely with faculty and other campus constituents to ensure the governance system operates effectively. The new EVCAA will continue to foster a climate in which deliberation and decisions are inclusive and timely.
IU Northwest is a regional campus of Indiana University. IU is a single university with eight campuses (of which two are shared with Purdue University: IU manages the Indianapolis campus and Purdue manages the Fort Wayne campus). IU is led by one president, Dr. Michael McRobbie, and a single Board of Trustees. Academic degrees are granted by the university, and the university establishes fundamental policies across all functional areas. In several areas, especially academics, IU has traditionally provided individual campuses with considerable flexibility in applying university priorities and policies to campus mission and regional setting. Responsiveness to the mission and region is a core strength of the IU regional campuses.
The Indiana University organizational chart is available online at: http://www.indiana.edu/about/org-chart.shtml
The IU Northwest organizational chart is available online at: http://www.iun.edu/academic-affairs/vicechancellor-search/documents/Campus-Org-Chart.pdf
2 Economic Impact According to a recent study conducted by Tripp Umbach, a leading economic development impact analysis firm, IU Northwest’s economic impact for the 2010-2011 fiscal year was an estimated $105.7 million, or double its annual operating budget of $53 million. Of that total, $50.4 million was in direct impact and $55.3 million in indirect and induced impact. The study also showed that the total employment impact of IU Northwest is 1,277 jobs (638 direct jobs and 639 indirect and induced jobs). According to the report, IU Northwest generates $5.6 million per year in state and local tax revenue. The report also showed that IU Northwest faculty, staff and students contribute more than $6.5 million annually in charitable donations and volunteer service.
Indiana University Northwest Mission Statement The mission of IU Northwest, a regional campus of Indiana University, is to provide a high-quality and relevant education to the citizens of Northwest Indiana, the most diverse and industrialized area of the state. The institution strives to create a community dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and intellectual development, leading to undergraduate and selected graduate degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and professional disciplines. The campus is strongly dedicated to the value of education, lifelong learning, diversity, celebration of cultures and opportunity for all, as well as to participating in the sustainable economic development of the region and of the state. IU Northwest is committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
Finances, Facilities and Fundraising The annual operating budget for IU Northwest is $53 million, of which approximately 56 percent is derived from tuition and fees and 44 percent from state appropriations. In recent years, the level of state support has gradually declined to its current level. IU Northwest has made strategic investments to create a strong and vibrant advancement and fundraising program, in preparation to launch a multi-million dollar comprehensive campaign that will focus on student success, faculty innovation, an innovative learning environment, and sustaining a health community.
In collaboration with IU’s University Information Technology Services (UITS), UITS-Northwest provides state-of-the-art information technology resources to all faculty, staff, and students. All faculty and staff computers are replaced every three years through life- cycle funding, as are the computers in the student computer labs. Pervasive classroom technology enables faculty colleagues to adaptably support student academic success.
Students and faculty can download a wide variety of software applications from the University Information Technology Services website through IU Ware, either free of charge or for a nominal cost, which allows faculty and students to have programs on their portable or home devices that are compatible with those on campus. IU Northwest supports professional development designed to facilitate teaching in a variety of learning environments, including online learning. 3
The Northwest Indiana Region The campus of IU Northwest in Gary is adjacent to 240 acres of wooded park land, much of which, as currently developed, includes municipal playing fields, baseball diamonds, and golf courses. The campus is bounded on the north by an interstate expressway (I 80- 94), on the east by a major north-south artery (Broadway-Indiana 53), on the west by the Gleason Park Golf Course, and on the south by residential housing.
Northwest Indiana, also known locally as The Region, is the Indiana section of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. This region neighbors Lake Michigan. Northwest Indiana is the state’s second largest urban area after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area.
The Region is a cultural “melting pot” comprised of Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana. The northern portion of Northwest Indiana is noted for its heavy industry, including steel manufacturing. The Region’s population has shifted dramatically over the last 20 years, as suburban communities such as Schererville, Crown Point and Valparaiso have seen significant growth.
Indiana University: An Overview With eight campuses serving more than 115,000 students, Indiana University is one of the nation’s oldest and largest state universities. It was founded in 1820, only four years after Indiana achieved statehood. More than 80 percent of Indiana’s population lives within 50 miles of one of IU’s eight campuses.
Governance of Indiana University is maintained by nine Trustees of Indiana University, who are charged with policy and decision- making authority, granted by the Indiana General Assembly, to carry out the programs and missions of the university. Of the nine Trustees, the Governor of the State appoints five and the alumni elect three. A full-time student, appointed by the Governor, fills the ninth slot for a two-year period. The university is administered by President Michael McRobbie and other university officers, with a chancellor on seven of the campuses and a campus provost at Bloomington.
In addition to the campus in Gary, Indiana University is comprised of two core campuses: Indiana University Bloomington and Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. Indiana University also includes the following regional campuses: Indiana University East (Richmond), Indiana University Kokomo, Indiana University South Bend, Indiana University Southeast (New Albany), and Indiana University– Purdue University Fort Wayne.
IU also offers courses through facilities in Columbus, Elkhart, and several other sites. IU operates year-round with two academic semesters and summer school programs of varied lengths, depending on the campus. In 2012-13, more than 20,000 degrees were awarded throughout the university.
IU has almost 5,200 full-time faculty or lecturer-rank appointees and generates nearly 1,300,000 credit hours annually. Approximately 75 percent of all students are Indiana residents. The total university budget for 2014-15 is over $3.14 billion, coming from the Indiana General Assembly, student instructional fees, student housing and dining income, government and private gifts and grants, revenue from hospitals, and other income from sales and services. IU has more than 580,000 alumni living in all 50 states and 139 foreign countries.
The IU Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that serves the University by soliciting and receiving gifts, administering funds, and managing assets. Depending on gift restrictions, funds may be earmarked for the exclusive use of an individual campus. One of the major functions of the University is basic research, a key component of scholarship and teaching.
• The eight campuses offer more than 1,000 IU degree programs. • Current enrollment is nearly 115,000. • Two out of every five undergraduates at public universities in Indiana are IU students. • IU provides thousands of services for the people of Indiana. 4
Over the past 10 years, total full-time equivalent enrollments at the campuses have increased by more than 20 percent. Two-thirds of faculty members’ time is spent teaching, the other one-third is spent in research and service activities.
The president is appointed by the trustees to be chief executive of the university. Dr. Michael A. McRobbie became Indiana University’s eighteenth president on July 1, 2007. Dr. McRobbie became IU’s vice president for information technology in 1997, and he led the university to national leadership in that field. In May 2003, he took on additional responsibilities as vice president for research. Dr. McRobbie was appointed interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at IU Bloomington in 2006.
More information about Indiana University may be found on its website: http://www.iu.edu.
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