Raymond Haberski Jr. has been named assistant vice provost and chief learning officer for the IU LAB Academic Gateway, effective June 1. He most recently served as associate dean for the IU School of Liberal Arts’ academic programs at IU Indianapolis.

This is the first academic appointment for the Indiana University Launch Accelerator for Biosciences, known as IU LAB. Supported by a $138 million Lilly Endowment Inc. grant, IU LAB is Indiana University’s central engine for academic-industry collaboration in the human health arena to scale innovation, commercialize new products, engage with industry partners and train the life science leaders of the future.

Raymond Haberski Jr. “Ray Haberski’s leadership, collaborative approach and commitment to interdisciplinary education make him exceptionally well-suited to build the Academic Gateway and create new opportunities to connect Indiana University’s academic strengths with industry and workforce needs in ways that drive innovation across the state,” IU LAB President and CEO David Rosenberg said.

The Academic Gateway serves as the hub for experiential, industry-aligned STEM and biosciences education across IU. In his new role, Haberski is responsible for developing and implementing the delivery of these programs, as well as connecting and convening K-12 activities and partnerships; supporting new interdisciplinary graduate programs and services; and developing and expanding educational opportunities that lead to microcredentials and certificates in health and biosciences aligned with workforce needs.

“Ray understands how to bring people and ideas together across disciplines, campuses and sectors,” IU Indianapolis Chancellor Latha Ramchand said. “His leadership will be important as we build the IU LAB Academic Gateway into a model for experiential, industry-aligned education that creates new opportunities for our students, strengthens partnerships across academia and industry, and advances Indiana’s growing biosciences ecosystem.”

Haberski will also coordinate academic space utilization planning for the new five-story, 150,000-square-foot IU LAB facility, opening in 2027. IU broke ground for the new building in October 2025 in the 16 Tech Innovation District, next to the Herron School of Art and Design’s Eskenazi Fine Arts Center on Indiana Avenue.

The facility will feature five interconnected spaces designed to foster collaboration and innovation across disciplines: the Academic Gateway, Futures Center, Bio Start-up Center, Public-Private Partnerships Center and Joint Center of Excellence for Point of Care Precision Medicine.

“IU LAB is an incredibly powerful platform to leverage the intellectual resources of our state and Indiana University for the benefit of discovery, translation and meaningful success,” Haberski said. “I’m thrilled to join this work at this pivotal moment and to work closely with faculty, industry partners and the state, using creative collaboration to turn bold ideas into real-world outcomes.”

Haberski, a professor of history and American studies in the School of Liberal Arts at IU Indianapolis, has also served as director of the school’s Institute for American Thought, director of the American studies doctoral program and a project director in the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture. In the 2008-09 academic year, he held the Fulbright Danish Distinguished Chair in American Studies at the Copenhagen Business School. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Albany and his doctoral degree from Ohio University.