McRobbie Welcome Video 2012
McRobbie Welcome Video 2012
Full Video Transcript
I'm Michael McRobbie, president of Indiana University.
I want to be among the first to welcome you to the start of what promises to be another productive and busy academic year for all of us.
This fall, we will welcome more than 100,000 students to our campuses across the state and we will likely set enrollment records on a number of our campuses, including Bloomington, IU Kokomo and IU East.
Those numbers include our largest freshman class ever in Bloomington, which also is one of the most diverse and academically accomplished classes ever to enter the university.
We are seeing gains in both the diversity and academic qualifications of our new students at other campuses as well. For example, at IU Northwest the number of freshmen entering this fall with academic honors diplomas is up 15 percent from last year.
Thanks to the outstanding work being done by all of you, Indiana University continues to live up to its promise of providing a world-class education at an affordable cost.
We have announced several major new academic initiatives in recent months, including Trustee approval for a new School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis and the state's first schools of public health in Bloomington and Indianapolis.
New degree programs have been approved across most of our campuses--including 15 new programs this fall at IU Kokomo alone.
Our facilities continue to improve with projects such as the expansions of the Kelley School of Business and Jacobs School of Music; the opening of a new graduate center at IU Southeast and the creation of a new rooftop greenhouse and observatory at IU South Bend. Better facilities mean a better education for our students and more, and better, research from our faculty.
We continue to address student debt, which is one of the most pressing issues facing our students and their families today. Our new Office of Student Financial Literacy will provide a range of services aimed at helping students at all campuses manage their finances and reduce their debt loads.
Our outstanding faculty continues to earn praise from its students and recognition from its peers. As an example, we had a record ten faculty members elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science this past winter.
And, IU's reputation as one of the leading research universities in the world has never been stronger.
In fact, I am very pleased to share the news with you that our faculty and students secured more than $530 million dollars in research funding in 2012.
This represents the second-highest annual total in the university's history and just the third time we have exceeded a half-billion dollars in research grants in a single year.
In the year ahead we have further outstanding opportunities to improve even more. As just one example, we hope to start a new academic program in global and international studies on our Bloomington campus.
At the same time, the environment for higher education remains extremely challenging. State support for higher education in Indiana and around the country continues to decline, as the national economy remains very sluggish.
As a result, institutions such as ours are increasingly being forced to defend their value to a somewhat skeptical public and to differentiate themselves from a growing number of aspiring competitors.
Fortunately, we have a compelling story to tell, strong plans in place for the future and an excellent team to take us where we need to go.
Again, welcome to the start of a new year, and thank you for everything you do to make Indiana University better.
