From the Desk of the Chancellor, Feb. 22, 2010

Chancellor Charles R. Bantz View print-quality image

During my annual Report to the Community last Wednesday (Feb. 17, 2010), I announced the new Passport to IUPUI Scholarship and reported on the receipt of a $20.5 million grant to the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. These illustrate the power of interinstitutional partnerships in advancing important initiatives—even in tough economic times—all the while keeping our focus on serving community needs.

The new Passport to IUPUI Scholarship will provide a renewable $1,500 scholarship to eligible community college graduates from Vincennes University or Ivy Tech State College who transfer to IUPUI within a year of receiving their associate degree. By offering this financial support, we hope to encourage people to keep up the momentum in their studies and aim for the baccalaureate. When I came to IUPUI in 2003, I challenged the campus to double its annual production of bachelor’s degrees by 2010 from 2,200 to 4,400. As of December 2009, we had reached 3,073. We have made progress, but not as rapidly as we had hoped. This new scholarship, along with other efforts at recruitment and retention, will help.

Earlier that morning, we learned that the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Eugene and Marilyn Glick, had received a $20.5 million grant from federal stimulus money. This will allow the eight-mile trail connecting IUPUI, downtown cultural attractions, and the Monon Trail to be completed by 2012 in time for the influx of Super Bowl visitors to Indianapolis. Led by IUPUI Board of Advisors member and Central Indiana Community Foundation President Brian Payne, the cultivation of this wonderful amenity will be a distinctive signature for Indianapolis. It will boost healthful activities like walking and biking, spotlight the city’s public art, create economic development, and link IUPUI even closer to the city of which we are a part. Congressman André Carson and Mayor Greg Ballard joined in the announcement of the grant.

For a video of my Report to the Community, visit this Web site .

Comments? Write chancllr@iupui.edu .