Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)[a] was a publicresearch university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It was a collaboration between Indiana University and Purdue University that offered undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees from both universities. Administered primarily through Indiana University as a core campus and secondarily through Purdue University as a regional campus, it was Indiana's primary urban research and academic health sciences institution. IUPUI was located in downtown Indianapolis along the White River and Fall Creek.
On August 12, 2022, the boards of trustees of both Purdue and IU announced that IUPUI would split into two separate universities, Indiana University Indianapolis and Purdue University in Indianapolis. The split was finalized on July 1, 2024. The IUPUI athletic program was transferred to the new IU Indianapolis as the IU Indy Jaguars, inheriting IUPUI's memberships in Division I and the Horizon League.
Founded in 1969, IUPUI was an urban campus in Indianapolis, the 15th largest city in the United States, with a population of two million in the metropolitan statistical area. The campus was just west of downtown, within walking distance of the state capitol and other governmental offices, and the site of numerous nationally renowned businesses and art, sports, education, and health facilities.
In 1968, Dr. Maynard K. Hine,[10] dean of the IU School of Dentistry began working with then-Mayor of Indianapolis Richard Lugar, IU President Joseph L. Sutton, Purdue President Frederick L. Hovde, and others to establish IUPUI in 1969 through the merger of the Indianapolis extension programs of both IU and Purdue. Some schools, however, were established before the merger, including the IU School of Medicine, IU School of Dentistry, IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law, IU School of Liberal Arts, and IU Herron School of Art.
The student-run newspaper of the former IU extension campus, the Onomatopoeia, and that of the former Purdue University extension campus, the Component, merged in 1971 to form The Sagamore, which operated until 2009.[11] Archives are available online. That publication was replaced by The Campus Citizen in 2011.[12] A second student newspaper known as The Collegiate Commons was formed in 2023. It is a Christian publication[13] and is part of the Collegiate Network.
IUPUI's research expenditures for fiscal year 2014 totaled $271,093,483 with the federal government as the largest sponsor of the research at 61 percent of the total.[14]
IUPUI CyberLab, a lab in the School of Engineering and Technology that provides research and intellectual support for the design, development, and implementation of innovative educational technology,[15] was established in 1996 by Dr. Ali Jafari and funded by William Plater, the Executive Vice-Chancellor of IUPUI at the time. Ali Jafari, David Mills, Brian Ho, and Amy Warner[16] was the first team at the CyberLab to start working on the development of the very first online (based on the Internet) on an Indiana University campus. The team received $160,000 from Indiana University to continue to implement Oncourse for all courses at IUPUI. Starting in 1998, Indiana University - Purdue University was the first IU campus to put all courses online. The CyberLab continued to develop and has now launched several projects, including; Sakai, ANGEL Learning, Epsilen,[17][18] and the current project called CourseNetworking.[19]
In 2012, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education approved IU's proposal to create what is believed to be the world's first school dedicated to the study and teaching of philanthropy.[20] The school has built on the strengths of the Center of Philanthropy at IU, a pioneer in philanthropy education, research and training. In 2013, the School was named the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy in honor of the Lilly family's philanthropic leadership, as well as their profound contributions to education, research, and the well-being of society.[21] Dr. Gene Tempel was named founding dean of the school.
In 2013, IUPUI opened a School of Public Health named in honor of Richard M. Fairbanks. The Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health will focus on the areas of urban health, health policy, biostatistics, and epidemiology. Dr. Paul K. Halverson was named founding dean of the school.[22]
On August 12, 2022, the boards of trustees of both Purdue and IU announced that IUPUI would split into two separate universities, with completion of the split set to be finished by the fall 2024 semester.[23][24] The School of Science will be operated by IU along with its other programs, including business, law, nursing, and social work. The computer science, engineering, and technology programs will be operated by Purdue as the new Purdue University in Indianapolis, a fully integrated extension of its West Lafayette campus.[25] IU will add new computer science programs to its School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, and Purdue intends to open a branch of its applied research institute on or near the IUPUI campus, and plans to house several other programs in various locations throughout Indianapolis. IU will provide certain administrative services to both academic organizations, and the IUPUI athletic program will transfer to the new IU Indianapolis.[26]
In 2023, Purdue University created a separate tenure system called "University Tenure" for the IUPUI faculty affected by the split, which gave rise to concerns about unequal treatment and potential discrimination.[27][28] The IUPUI Faculty Council said that IU President Pamela Whitten and Board of Trustees "undermined" shared governance.[29]
IUPUI is one of nine campuses of Indiana University and one of five campuses of the Purdue University system. The campus offers more than 550 degree programs provided by 17 different schools, two of which are Purdue University schools.[30]
IUPUI has more students from the state of Indiana than any other campus in the state, the largest number of underrepresented minorities in the Indiana University system, and the largest population of graduate and professional students of any university in Indiana.[citation needed] Almost 75 percent of IUPUI classes have 25 or fewer students.
IUPUI has more than 3,800 full-time faculty members. With research funding of more than $629 million in 2024, IUPUI is the second-largest site for research in Indiana.[31]
IUPUI includes the nation's largest nursing school, the main campus of the largest medical school in the country, the only dental school in the state, and the country's oldest school of physical education. IUPUI is among the top 20 campuses in the nation for graduate professional degrees conferred.[32]
As a core campus of Indiana University, IUPUI is primarily governed by the IU Board of Trustees. Purdue University degree-granting programs are governed by the Purdue University Board of Trustees. While integrated into the Indiana University system budget, IUPUI is semi-autonomous in that it retains some independent control of its own academic curricula.
IUPUI has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1972. Many individual programs at IUPUI are accredited by discipline-specific accreditors.
Departments of Elementary Education (includes Physical Education and Music Education) • Secondary Education (includes Natural Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Social Sciences, Language Arts, and Foreign Languages)
offering a BSW, MSW, and PhD program. MSW concentrations include school social work; child welfare; leadership; mental health and addictions; children and families; and healthcare social work.
IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Offering a BA, MA,, PhD and PhilD program.
Houses the Lake Family Institute on Faith and Giving, the Women's Philanthropy Institute, and the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy
The U.S. News & World Report 2022 edition of "Best Colleges" ranked the university tied for 196th among national universities and tied for 99th among public universities, tied for 46th in the "Most Innovative Schools" category, 67th in "Best Value Schools", and tied for 114th in "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs" [43]
The campus offers several new buildings including:
University Hall (opened July 2015) – University Hall is the home of the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and also offers additional space for the IU School of Social Work. It also serves as the home to the IUPUI administration, the IUPUI Office of Alumni Relations, and the IU Foundation.
Engineering Science & Technology Building[49] – The first nonmedical science building to open on the IUPUI campus in 20 years contains more than 35,000 assignable square feet for research and teaching spaces. The first phase will include space for biomedical engineering, psychobiology, renewable energy research programs, and biology and chemistry labs. The second phase will provide space for teaching labs, meeting rooms, additional expansions, additional research laboratories, and administrative offices for the School of Science administration.
Eskenazi Fine Arts Center at Herron School of Art and Design[50] (opened May 2013) – An expansion of a 12-year-old facility formerly known as the Herron Sculpture and Ceramics Building, the facility includes a large multi-purpose studio for the creation of public art projects, as well as graduate studios, classrooms, galleries, and a computer lab.
Hine Hall[51] (opened January 2013) and University Tower and Tower Dining[52] (opened August 2013) – The former University Place Conference Center and Hotel was transformed into a multi-use facility designed to provide student housing, residential and campus dining and additional classroom space. The conversion of the facility began after nearly a yearlong study of the complex's viability by campus and Indiana University officials. Hine Hall offers 15 additional classrooms, University Tower offers residential space for 560 students and Tower Dining can seat 470 simultaneously.
Campus Center[53] (opened spring 2008) – The Campus Center is a 179-foot (55 m) bell tower made of limestone and glass. The Campus Center houses Enrollment Services and the Offices of Financial Aid and Student Scholarship, as well as a Barnes & Noble bookstore, cultural arts gallery, game room, movie theater, bank, food court, coffee shop, meeting rooms, study spaces, and more.
The IUPUI campus is home to several nationally renowned hospitals and research entities including Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Eskenazi Health, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, Regenstrief Institute, and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.
More than 20 works of sculpture are located outdoors on the IUPUI campus, and the list of public art at IUPUI currently consists of 31 artworks. Additional sculptures are located on private property adjacent to IUPUI including the Indiana Avenue cultural district, Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, and the J.F. Miller Foundation.
Sustainability efforts began at IUPUI in the early 1990s with the development of a paper-recycling program. In 2005, the efforts became more formal through the development of an interdisciplinary campus coalition, with the formation of the IUPUI Office of Sustainability[54] in 2011. The Office of Sustainability was formed to create a culture of campus sustainability and to make IUPUI a place where students, faculty and staff are engaged in research, teaching, and learning about urban sustainability and its best practices. IUPUI has been named a Tree Campus USA for its campus forest management.[55]
The Office of Sustainability conducts recycling and waste reduction programs; initiated energy savings projects including LEED Gold Certification achieved by the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute and solar photovoltaic panels on the IU Kelley School of Business; implemented pollution prevention programs; created sustainable transportation on campus including the installation of bike maintenance stations and additional bike racks, supporting the development of a bike hub and establishing a partnership with Zip Cars; and developed an IUPUI Sustainability Certificate for students.[55]
IUPUI offered student organizations, fraternities and sororities, cultural heritage month celebrations, as well as Division I athletics, Jagapalooza,[56] and others including IUPUI's signature event, The IUPUI Regatta.[57]
With an enrollment of more than 30,000 before its dissolution, IUPUI's student body (undergraduate, graduate/professional) consisted of 56% female and 44% male students, with 89% of students from Indiana. Demographically, the student body was 71% White, 10% African American, 4% Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 5% Hispanic, 6% International, 3% two or more races, less than 1% American Indiana/Alaska Native and 1% unknown.[58]
On-campus housing[59] can currently accommodate approximately 2,400 students and includes Ball Residence Hall, University Tower, Riverwalk Apartments, The Townhomes at IUPUI and the newest addition, North Residence Hall.
Ball Hall and University Tower are traditional co-ed halls that house 324 students and 650 students, respectively, in single, double, and triple rooms and are dedicated to the housing and development of first-year students.
The Townhomes at IUPUI houses sixty residents in one- or two-bedroom fully furnished units averaging between 650 and 800 square feet and feature private individual residences.
Riverwalk Apartments feature one-, two-, and four-bedroom fully furnished units and house 750 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.
North Hall, which was completed during the summer of 2016, is located on North Street near University Tower. The first new residence building on campus, it accommodates 700 undergraduates along with spaces to support student life activities, fitness programs, a computer lab, game rooms, and laundry.
Ball Hall, University Tower, Riverwalk Apartments, and North Hall offer Residential Based Learning Communities on designated floors, areas, or buildings where students request to live near others who are interested in a particular social cause or academic area. There are twelve themes including International House, Living Your Freshman Experience, Women in Science, Purdue House, and others.
IUPUI also offers a dining hall in the heart of campus inside of the University Tower. Tower Dining is open to students, faculty, staff, and the general public and seats 470 simultaneously. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served Monday through Friday, and brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Tower Dining offers six different dining options, including special dietary menus such as vegetarian and low-fat.
IUPUI offers more than 400 organizations in which students can get involved.[60] Students can join an existing organization, start their own organization and/or plan, work at or attend a campus activity. Campus Center and Student Experiences helps students find matching activities outside of the classroom to their coursework, as well as to their academic and career goals. The Spot is a one-stop-shop portal[61] that contains a comprehensive list of student organizations, events, FAQs, and grant information.
At IUPUI, there are two recognized university student organizations representing graduate, professional, and undergraduate students.
Undergraduate Student Government, which consists of elected executive officers and student representatives from student organizations serving as liaisons to the student body, campus partners, and university officials.[62]
Graduate and Professional Student Government, are elected executive officers from the General Assembly and each academic school as representatives that serve the graduate and professional student experience.[63]
IUPUI is home to 24 nationally recognized fraternities and sororities that span across four governing councils and include the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the College Panhellenic Council, the Multicultural Greek Council, and the Interfraternity Council. Student membership in IUPUI's fraternities and sororities has tripled since fall 2010.[64]
Through the Center for Service & Learning[66] and Division of Student Affairs,[67] IUPUI gives students the opportunity to volunteer on campus and in the Indianapolis community through numerous campus-wide service and civic engagement events. During the 2014–2015 academic year, 8,750 students participated in 303,061 hours of service to 438 community partners.[68]
Campus Recreation[69] provides activities that facilitate healthy lifestyles for a diverse population of students, faculty, and staff at IUPUI. Membership provides access to swimming at the world-class IU Natatorium, fitness classes, three weight and fitness rooms, recreational open gym, access to the new IUPUI Outdoor Recreational Complex (outdoor basketball courts) and participation in the intramural program, which includes basketball, broomball, dodgeball, flag football, golf, inner tube water polo, kickball, racquetball, soccer, softball, ultimate Frisbee and volleyball.
IUPUI also has a partnership with the National Institute for Fitness and Sport[70] and offers discounted fitness opportunities to NIFS for all full- and part-time IUPUI students. Through this partnership, the NIFS initiative fee will be waived and the monthly membership dues will be reduced for full and limited memberships.
Before IUPUI was dissolved, the IUPUI Jaguars competed at the NCAA Division I level in the Horizon League in 16 men's (7) and women's (9) sports.[71] The Jaguars have earned NCAA Tournament bids in volleyball,[72]NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, women's soccer, men's golf, NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship and women's tennis, as well as The Summit League championship in volleyball, men's tennis and women's soccer. Nine athletes have been recognized as Summit League Athletes of the Year, with seven coaches earning Coach of the Year honors. Prior to 1995, IUPUI athletic teams were known as the Metros and competed in NCAA Division II.
Closely affiliated with IUPUI, Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus was established in 1970 and is located one hour south of Indianapolis in Columbus, Indiana—an area known for its collection of modern architecture[74] with an estimated population of more than 45,000. The growing campus serves more than 1,700 undergraduate and graduate students who live primarily in Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jennings Jackson, Johnson, Ripley, and Shelby counties and offers a broad range of undergraduate degree programs in business, communication studies, elementary education, English, general studies, mechanical engineering, nursing, psychology, and sociology, as well as two graduate degree programs – Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling. IUPUC is administered through IUPUI as a regional campus.
By July 1, 2024, IUPUC transitioned completely to Indiana University Columbus (IUC) and is now administered through IU Indianapolis. The only two Purdue degree-granting programs at IUPUC were biology and mechanical engineering; the biology degree continues to be offered at IUC through Indiana University, but the engineering degree was discontinued.[75]
^Typically pronounced "I-U-P-U-I" /aɪjuːpiːjuːaɪ/ with each letter pronounced separately, it is sometimes colloquially pronounced "ooey-pooey" /uːwiːpuːwiː/.[5][6][7]
^Gray, Ralph D. (2003). IUPUI--the making of an urban university. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 81. ISBN9780253342423. Retrieved May 19, 2022. Sutton's later comment that IUPUI would be pronounced "oo-ee-poo-ee" in the Thai language gave the new university its unwanted nickname.
^"IUPUI Overview". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved December 16, 2021.