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News Release

Last modified: Thursday, October 4, 2012

Indiana University to celebrate lives of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 4, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A celebration of life in honor of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom, Indiana University faculty members who were world renowned for their original and influential research on resource management and democratic governance, will take place at 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, in the IU Auditorium in Bloomington.

Elinor Ostrom, Distinguished Professor and Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science and the only woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, died June 12. Vincent Ostrom, Arthur F. Bentley Professor Emeritus of Political Science, died June 29.

Partners and colleagues for nearly 50 years, the Ostroms created a body of work that changed the way people think about the relationship between people and institutions. In 1973 they founded what is now the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, a collaborative research center with strong connections to an international network of scholars.

"Lin's and Vincent's contributions were immense, both in fostering a rich scientific community of scholars, now spread across the world, and with regards to broader impacts in academia and policy," said Tom Evans, co-director of the Workshop and associate professor of geography at IU Bloomington. "They both cared deeply about the Workshop and IU, and they always felt that it was the people who made those institutions what they are today. We remain inspired by their work and know that they would like nothing more than for us all to continue working on the challenging issues of understanding how self-governance and democratic reform can contribute to the sustainability of our planet."

The celebration will include remarks by IU President Michael A. McRobbie, IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel, Nobel laureate Douglass C. North of Washington University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs Dean John D. Graham, Theo Toonen of Delft University of Technology and IU political scientists Michael McGinnis and Marjorie Hershey. Also speaking will be several former students of the Ostroms: Barbara Allen of Carleton College, Krister Andersson of the University of Colorado and Gwen Arnold of the University of Cincinnati.

Music will be provided by musicians from the IU Jacobs School of Music.

A reception will follow in the Grand Foyer of the auditorium. Please RSVP online by Oct. 9.

Parking is limited near IU Auditorium, and attendees are encouraged to park at the university's Atwater and Poplars garages; shuttles will run between the garages and the auditorium starting at 2 p.m. Pay parking is also available at the Indiana Memorial Union lots.

Doors to the auditorium will open at 2 p.m. The celebration will be streamed live at www.broadcast.iu.edu.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations may be made to The Ostrom/Tocqueville Fund for the Study of Human Institutions through the IU Foundation.

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