From the Desk of the Chancellor, Dec. 13, 2010

Chancellor Charles R. Bantz View print-quality image

IUPUI is committed to supporting student success—by encouraging students to challenge themselves to excellence. Our commitment to engaged education is built on our tradition of learning through practice—whether as scientists, lawyers, engineers, health professionals, educators, or social workers. Both concepts form the basis of our RISE initiative, where undergraduates are challenged to participate in two learning experiences (research, international, service learning, or experiential learning—R-I-S-E—activities). By participating in these learning experiences, students not only learn more but also are more likely to complete their degrees. To further encourage students to embrace this learning challenge, we established RISE to the IUPUI Challenge Scholarships for undergraduates and committed to provide a match to endowment income derived from scholarship gifts.

Donors who commit $20,000 to endow a RISE scholarship will find that the campus will add $500 each year to the student’s scholarship. In this way, we will support our students and improve their learning and persistence to graduation. The IUPUI IMPACT Campaign will be a critical factor in the effort to raise money for this scholarship fund.

With the IUPUI IMPACT Campaign, we will tap into IUPUI’s deep and longstanding involvement with the community and seek to encourage philanthropic support by communicating our efforts to bring more intellectual capital to our state. Through partnerships with business, government, and nonprofits, and with the support of alumni and friends, we are looking to significantly increase scholarship availability for our students. Knowing that most of our students, especially undergraduates, tend to stay in state after graduation, we can pull together with our community supporters to achieve a real “brain gain” for Indiana.

The $860 million raised in the $1.25 billion IUPUI IMPACT Campaign during its silent phase so far includes $51.3 million for student support in the form of 155 scholarships for undergraduates and 14 fellowships for graduate students. The campaign concludes in June 2013—less than 3 years from now. We have work to do!

Comments? Write chancllr@iupui.edu.