Celebrating IUPUI

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “There is nothing permanent except change.”

Yet change is difficult. On our beautiful campus in Indianapolis, we are in the midst of a significant realignment as IUPUI transforms to become IU Indianapolis. Even as we move forward, it is important that we honor the past and celebrate the people who worked hard to bring us to this moment in our history.

Thanks to a group of dedicated staff members working with members of the IUPUI Faculty Council, we hosted Celebrate IUPUI on Monday, April 29, 2024, to honor our past even as we look forward to an exciting future. With more than 425 attendees, Room 450 in the Campus Center was abuzz with activity: food, fun, friendship, memorabilia from the past, stories from our history, and speakers who shared their memories.

IFC President and Chancellor’s Professor Phil Goff talked about our uniqueness: next practices, not just best practices are what we are known for, and asked who cares about flagships when we are a starship. Professor David Nguyen spoke of his mother’s coming to America and to IUPUI as a student, which then brought him to be a student and now a faculty member at IUPUI. Ginny Washington shared fun memories of roller skating down the halls of Cavanaugh Hall, office weddings, and office Thanksgiving dinners over the past 45 years, all grounded by our top priority of meeting the needs of our students. Dr. Tiffany Kyser spoke of the strength of IUPUI’s alumni of over 206,000 with over 30% being first in family to attend college, 31% of students of color, and from 138 countries. Tiffany spoke of some of IUPUI’s successful alums:

• Alice Wong, activist and writer who founded the Disability Visibility Project,
• Drs. Keith Avin and Rebecca Bartlett of the School of Health and Human Sciences and the School of Nursing, respectively, whose work to improve the lives of people with chronic kidney disease earned them 2022 Research Frontiers Trailblazer Awards,
• School of Nursing alumna Claudia Dille who devoted her life to improving nursing services,
• The Great 8, eight Black women who earned their Ph.D.s were the largest contingent of black women to earn that credential in one year from any school of education within the Indiana University and includes Jasmine Haywood, Demetrees Hutchins, Tiffany Kyser, Shannon McCullough, Nadrea Njoku, Jada Phelps, Juhanna Rogers and Johari Shuck,
• Monica Medina who earned three degrees from IU, and also received the Distinguished Latino Alumni Award,
• George Hill, who remains IUPUI’s only NBA draft pick,
• Mark Humphrey who graduated from the School of Engineering and Technology and went on to found GreenMark, LLC, an environmentally friendly construction company
• Herron School of Art and Design alumna Alyse Tucker-Bounds whose mission is to bring about an “artistic renaissance” to the city of Indianapolis.

It was also a special treat to have Chancellor Emeritus Charles Bantz in our midst.

Thanks to all who attended to honor our past while we move into the future.

Go Jags!

Latha Ramchand
Chancellor