An online database with information about Indiana University Bloomington alumni, such as when they graduated and what they studied, recently added more than 430,000 names to its searchable list.

The names and degree information of IU Bloomington graduates from 1966 to the present were added to a searchable, online database. Photo by James Brosher/Indiana UniversityThe IU Bloomington Degree Compendium now includes information for graduates from 1966 to the present. In 2022, the Degree Compendium started with graduates from the classes of 1830 to 1890. The goal is to eventually include data about all IU Bloomington graduates.

“The work of the Office of the Registrar and Office of Enrollment Management is not only to help current students be successful at IU but to also help tell the story of IU through the accomplishments of our students,” Vice Provost for Enrollment Management David B. Johnson said. “Whether you search for your great-aunt, friend or colleague, this extensive database will allow you to find IU connections throughout the world and across time.”

Records about graduates before 1966 were kept on paper. However, from 1966 to the present, student information has been computerized. That made adding those records to the database a logical next step, said Ethan Bernhardt, senior associate director in the Office of Enrollment Management.

“We realized we were sitting on 50-plus years of computerized data, all in the Student Information System, and thought, ‘Why not publish that?’” Bernhardt said.

Later this fall, the plan is to add to the IU Bloomington Degree Compendium information about graduates from 1891 to 1910, Bernhardt said.

The public search option on the Degree Compendium provides a person’s full name, graduation year, major, degree type and degree school. An authorized user search, for which permission must be granted, includes additional information classified as University Internal and is intended for official university business.

“Researchers, primarily, use the authorized site,” Bernhardt said. “It’s not more broadly available because the data is sensitive.”

Former Indiana University President Herman B Wells signs diplomas. Photo by IU Archives

With the 2023 IU alumni census just completed, IU Alumni Association CEO Patricia Riveire Stumpf said she isn’t surprised by the compendium’s scale.

“When it comes to the sheer number of IU alumni, the figures are staggering,” she said. “We currently have 774,828 living Indiana University alumni the world over. Last year alone, we gained more than 14,000 alumni.

“The information shared in the IU Bloomington Degree Compendium speaks to the legacy of more than 200 years of academic history and achievement. IU alumni work in every corner of our state, our country and the world. This new resource brings depth and dimension to that legacy.”

Kirk Johannesen is a communications consultant in the Office of the Vice President for Communications and Marketing.