Last modified: Monday, January 30, 2012
IT pioneer Garland Elmore receives President's Medal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 30, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie presented the President's Medal for Excellence to Garland C. Elmore, associate vice president of information technology and associate professor of informatics.
Garland C. Elmore, left, receives the President's Medal for Excellence from Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie.
The presentation was made in Indianapolis at a function to honor Elmore's accomplishments that span three decades of service to the university. The President's Medal is one of the highest awards the university can bestow.
"Garland has made major contributions to the information technology landscape at Indiana University over the course of his more than 35 years of service to the university and to the IUPUI campus," McRobbie said. "He has been a leader in the use of telecommunications technologies in the classroom, and he played a central role in helping to develop and implement the university's IT strategic plans. I wish him the very best in the next chapter of his life."
Elmore joined the faculty at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 1976 to develop an academic program in communication technology. He established the curriculum and degrees, recruited the faculty and staff, and directed the program.
As an extension of his work in communication, he collaborated closely with faculty in music, journalism, information science, art and other disciplines to develop the curriculum and interdisciplinary degree proposals for an applied major in new and emerging media. He became a founding member of the new media faculty when the program was approved. As his faculty and administrative interests continued to converge, Elmore recently accepted a tenured appointment in the School of Informatics at IUPUI.
In 1989, Elmore moved into campus administration to lead the development of an information technology strategy for IUPUI. As part of the implementation, the central computing, media and telecommunication support units were merged. He served as executive director of the new organization through the transition and then became associate dean of the faculties and associate vice chancellor at IUPUI.
He was appointed to his present position in 1997 when Indiana University created the Office of the Vice President of Information Technology to provide leadership for information technology and to extend support across all eight campuses of the institution.
One of the architects of the eight-campus strategic plan for IT, Elmore contributed to shaping IU's vision for a teaching and learning environment richly enabled by technology. He also led the implementation of an infrastructure of resources and services now recognized as one of the nation's finest.
The President's Medal recognizes, among other criteria, distinction in public service, service to IU and extraordinary merit and achievement in the arts, humanities, sciences, education and industry. The medal itself is a reproduction in silver of the symbolic jewel of office worn by IU's president at ceremonial occasions.
A list of past recipients of the President's Medal is available here. Note: The list does not include emeriti faculty members John Preer and Ting-Kai Li, who received the president's medal in September 2011; Vice President Emeritus Patrick O'Meara, who received the award in November 2011; and January 2012 recipients of the award, Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson and David Baker, distinguished professor of jazz studies.
