Third year of IUB 2030 brings continued progress and new initiatives
By Caroline Dwyer Gilley
May 12, 2026
Teams across IU Bloomington have spent year three of IUB 2030 continuing to advance initiatives across the three strategic plan pillars: Student Success and Opportunity, Transformative Research and Creativity, and Service to the State and Beyond.
Learn more about the wide-ranging efforts across campus to continue strategic plan momentum and drive progress on key metrics.
Experience for first-year students
A new experience for first-year students will debut in the fall following an extensive review of programming by the Office of Student Life. The new program, Hoosier Welcome, represents a fundamental shift from the short-term welcome model of Welcome Week.
A comprehensive, eight-week transition experience, Hoosier Welcome brings together a wide range of initiatives to support students’ successful transition to campus. The new model is designed to intentionally integrate academic and student life, strengthen belonging and improve student success outcomes — from the moment a student arrives through the critical first weeks of the semester — and reflects all student populations, including domestic, transfer and international students.
Several new events and initiatives will be part of Hoosier Welcome, culminating in a signature First-Year Experience event called Hoosier the Bison’s Big Red Rodeo. The high-energy, community-building event is designed to celebrate IU spirit, reinforce what it means to be a Hoosier, introduce shared traditions and integrate elements of the Indiana Promise.
New undergraduate and graduate academic offerings
Eight new degrees launched at IU Bloomington: seven undergraduate degrees and one graduate degree.
- Bachelor of Science in computer engineering.
- Bachelor of Science in robotics.
- Bachelor of Science in business intelligence and data science.
- Bachelor of Science in global media.
- Bachelor of Science in media advertising.
- Bachelor of Science in public relations.
- Bachelor of Science in sports media.
- Master of Science in media leadership and business.
The new B.S. in business intelligence and data science — a collaboration between the Kelley School of Business and the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering — has already drawn nearly 1,000 applicants.
These new programs complement a $75 million investment in new engineering programs, reflecting IU’s commitment to combining technical expertise with our historic strengths in human-centered disciplines.
Financial support for in-state undergraduate students
This year, IU Bloomington has launched two need-based grant programs to support Indiana residents: the Crimson Commitment Grant and the Hoosier Crossroads Grant. The new grants provide transformational financial support to low- and middle-income students from Indiana, allowing them to focus on their studies and achieve their academic goals.
The Office of Enrollment Management has begun awarding the grants to over 3,200 prospective Indiana resident students and will begin awarding them to continuing students in early June.
General education
The new framework, which will go into effect with the entering fall 2027 class, will apply consistently across majors, provide greater clarity for students and potentially reduce time to graduation.
Experiential learning
IU Bloomington continues to explore an experiential learning graduation requirement as many experiential learning structures and opportunities have expanded over the past year.
Along with 2,162 designated academic courses, there are now 25 designated co-curricular Experiential Learning Activities that have been reviewed by the co-curricular subcommittee and approved by the campus curriculum committee. These activities, along with coded curricular (for credit) experiential learning opportunities, will appear on the Experiential Learning Record, a new offering for incoming students beginning this fall.
With generous donor support, the Vertically Integrated Projects program launched this spring with five teams and will grow to 13 teams in the fall. The new program gives undergraduate students the opportunity to earn academic credit while engaging in extended multidisciplinary, team-based projects in the research areas of associated faculty.
The IU Undergraduate Research Summer Research Program expanded its cohort from 39 students in the previous year to 50 students. The program, which will expand beyond STEM research areas this summer, provides undergraduate students with an on-campus, residential summer research opportunity.
Transformational research
IU Bloomington continues to build capacity for large-scale, interdisciplinary research to meet evolving demands as the national funding environment becomes more competitive.
The research networks in aging, artificial intelligence, quantum technology and the environment are advancing interdisciplinary collaboration by organizing faculty working groups, hosting research development activities and supporting pilot programs to build competitive teams.
Among other direct support for large, multi-investigator grant submissions for federal funding opportunities, a $3.9 million proposal to the National Institutes of Health was developed through the aging research network.
Both the aging and environment groups hosted symposia in the spring. The AI research network hosted AI Day in the fall and sent an IU-wide survey on the use of AI in research and creative activity to more than 42,500 recipients.
The new CROSSROADS program — Collaborative Research Opportunities Supporting Scholarly Networks and Development — is a funding initiative for IU Bloomington supporting targeted, high-impact workshops for tenure-track faculty designed to accelerate major scholarly projects.
IU LAB was established to drive progress on bioscience innovation in Indiana. Recent collaborations include a research and workforce partnership with Zimmer Biomet and the FAMES Lab initiative with the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering and Cook Medical focused on MRI innovation. IU and Eli Lilly and Company announced in December a five-year, $40 million agreement to expand access to clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and cancer.
Strategic faculty hiring
Fifty-eight new faculty members have joined IU Bloomington in the four years since the launch of the Faculty 100 initiative, and an additional 16 are planning to join the faculty for the upcoming academic year, rounding out hiring in the high-impact areas of engineering and microelectronics.
Chancellor David Reingold and Interim Provost John Ciorciari are spearheading an additional strategic hiring initiative to build on the campus’s existing strengths and develop additional areas of excellence alongside the next round of Faculty 100 searches.
Faculty development
Several academic leadership programs and initiatives have been created or expanded on campus by the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs.
A full leadership series was developed for department chairs, with workshops focused on specific competencies. The Current Conversations program invites department chairs to meet once a semester for an open question-and-answer session with the provost and a second session with the vice provost for faculty and academic affairs.
A new two-day workshop at the beginning of the academic year provides onboarding for new department chairs and professional development for returning chairs. Opportunities for peer mentoring and community building are available for faculty leaders.
The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs created the Faculty Forward monthly newsletter to support and inform all IU Bloomington faculty.
Innovation and entrepreneurship
This year, it hosted its first pitch competition. It also refined its program structure around four core principles: an open door welcoming any IU student regardless of school, major or stage; an interdisciplinary culture of peer collaboration; near-peer mentorship led by current student entrepreneurs and recent alumni; and bespoke connections to IU’s broader alumni network for deeper expertise, investment and partnership opportunities.
Civic engagement and free expression
IU reaffirmed its commitment to free expression, civic engagement and academic freedom with the Board of Trustees’ vote to adopt the Chicago Principles in February. The adoption followed deliberations led by faculty leaders, and an implementation committee was formed to consider next steps.
IU Bloomington created a campus America 250 commemoration, with programming, exhibitions and events that provide a common experience for the campus and community to explore the nation’s history and future. The exhibition “The Declaration of Independence: The Motives, The Moment” features the Lilly Library’s Dunlap Broadside, one of 26 known surviving copies of the Declaration printed on the evening of July 4, 1776. It will remain on display through the calendar year.
Community engagement
Rachael Jones McAfee, who was hired as the interim executive director for community engagement at IU Bloomington in 2024, transitioned into a permanent role to provide sustained capacity for community engagement initiatives on campus. Over the past year, she developed a campus-level community engagement strategic plan to strengthen campus infrastructure for this work, and implementation of the plan will begin this summer.
The Alliance for Community Competitiveness, an initiative co-sponsored by Chancellor Reingold and Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson, launched to convene university, civic, nonprofit and business leaders and strengthen the partnership between the campus and city. The group’s mission is to deliver actionable recommendations on economic competitiveness, workforce retention, quality of life and talent development.
With the goal of advancing economic development partnerships, IU Bloomington is supporting the work of Amplify Bloomington to align campus investment, innovation and entrepreneurship resources with local and regional economic growth efforts.
Carnegie classification
IU Bloomington was selected as one of 237 U.S. colleges and universities to receive the prestigious 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement sponsored by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The recognition highlights deep and meaningful partnerships with local, regional and global communities aimed at addressing urgent societal challenges and advancing the public good.
Staff engagement
New staff engagement initiatives over the past year focused on efforts to recruit, retain, engage and recognize staff across campus.
The new employee welcome session, a popular event that began in 2025, was expanded into a staff resource fair open to all IU Bloomington staff. More than 500 staff members have participated in this event showcasing a wide range of campus and community resources. Planning is underway for an event for staff who work nontraditional hours to ensure access for the entire staff community.
The Staff Merit Awards program experienced significant growth in 2025, with nominations increasing by 45% compared to the previous year. And later this year, the university will expand its recognition of long-term staff contributions by celebrating employees with 20 or more years of service (rather than 25 previously) at a campus-level long-service reception.
Caroline Dwyer Gilley is a strategy and innovation specialist at Indiana University.