Indiana University President Michael McRobbie speaks during an interview on Friday. Staff photo by Matthew Hatcher
Listen to any of Indiana University President Michael McRobbie’s recent speeches, and the upcoming bicentennial in 2020 and moving IU into its third century is in the framework.
At his October State of the University address, McRobbie outlined seven priorities in the Bicentennial Strategic Plan as part of the university’s ongoing strategic planning of goals and benchmarks for 2020.
And the resulting changes at IU — about six years down the road — will be noticeable, the university president said.
“It is going to be fairly substantially different, though I think the core of all that is being put in place now, and has been put in place,” McRobbie said.
The IU student of 2020 will study in an established school with more international focus and ample advising resources. He or she will likely go to class in renovated buildings and live in a renovated dorm.
The bicentennial goals are changes to both academic and student life programming as well as physical changes to the campus, he said.
Campus changes include making a now partitioned Woodlawn Avenue into a major road through campus and completing renovation of the Old Crescent, returning what are now administrative buildings to academic use.
“All of that I think is going to really change the way in which the campus works, and many of these renovated buildings are going to be where some of these new academic units are going to be based,” he said.
One example is Franklin Hall, next to the Sample Gates, which is becoming the home of the new Media School.
“Before Christmas, we’ll see the renovations start in Franklin Hall,” he said.
All these changes have started to have an impact on the student experience, McRobbie said. One more change for students is development of various initiatives to improve advising for academics and careers.
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