Annual Performance Report -- Introduction
Extraordinary Students, Extraordinary Success
A Message from Chancellor Charles R. Bantz
IUPUI students are extraordinary. Many are the first in their families to attend or graduate from college. Many are members of minorities historically underrepresented in higher education. Even though 72 percent of our undergraduates are enrolled full time, most hold jobs that pay at least part of the cost of their education and 28 percent have children. They and their families sacrifice for their education, and some surmount formidable personal and financial obstacles to persevere to graduation. We owe it to them to offer extraordinary opportunities to succeed.
And we do. Ensuring and enhancing student success is at the core of
our mission as Indiana's urban research and academic health sciences campus. Through systematic evaluation and improvement, we have developed first-year experience programs that ease the transition to college-level work and have been recognized repeatedly as among the nation's best. Carefully designed learning environments, academic support services, and co-curricular opportunities promote the academic success of all of our students. While we must continue to do more, the number of bachelor's degrees has increased by more than 1,400 (a 64 percent increase), master's degrees have increased by 87 percent, and the number of Ph.D.'s conferred has doubled in the last ten years.
We are keenly aware of our responsibility to prepare students to work and thrive in a changing, challenging, globalizing, diverse, and technological world. Our
RISE (research, international experience, service learning, and other experiential learning) to the Challenge Initiative and endowed RISE Scholarships offer expanded opportunities for students to engage in discovery and innovation, learn first-hand about other cultures, translate theory into practice, and serve their communities. Such experiences build on IUPUI's unique strengths and are grounded in proven high-impact educational practices. They deepen learning, add value for employers, and prepare students for roles as thoughtful, engaged citizens.
New 21st-century degree programs, a faculty known for innovative, evidence-based teaching, and access to the latest technologies equip students for employment in growing fields like behavioral neuroscience, energy engineering, public health, philanthropy, and health communication. In fact, the achievements of our students and faculty have earned us recognition for four years running as one of the
top ten "up and coming" national universities by
U.S. News & World Report and as the
eighth best public college in the Midwest by
Forbes.
Now more than ever, our students? success is crucial to the future of Indiana and Indianapolis. We know that the biggest predictor of a city?s economic vitality is the percentage of adults over 25 with baccalaureate degrees and above. Fully 86 percent of our undergraduate students are employed in the state after graduation. Our alumni include 80 percent of Indiana?s dentists, more than half of the physicians and lawyers, and large proportions of the work force in other health professions and fields ranging from engineering and technology to social work to education. It is imperative that these graduates be well prepared to take on today's and tomorrow's challenges.
Since our founding in 1969, members of our community have continued to affirm the importance of IUPUI to the future of our city and region and have invested in our success. We are proud that, to date, the current
IUPUI IMPACT Campaign has raised more than $1 billion, with many of these funds dedicated to enabling us to continue our focus on extraordinary student success. The RISE Initiative, in particular, has attracted close to $1 million in private donations, matched by $300,000 in campus funds?enough to fund 49 students every year. We are deeply grateful to the community members and friends who have supported our students, faculty, and staff throughout the campaign.
These funds and your confidence provide a foundation for the future, as we begin work on a
new strategic plan that aims to establish IUPUI as a premier urban research university. As we envision IUPUI in 20 years, we are asking ourselves what talents and resources are required to make our nation and state successful? How can our campus prepare citizens and professionals who are ready to contribute, create, innovate, and lead? What can we do to ensure that extraordinary student success translates to extraordinary success for our city, region, state, and beyond?
The following pages offer highlights of the extraordinary successes of our students, as well as of our outstanding faculty and staff members, and of the work of our faculty and staff in supporting student success. I invite you to visit the report web site at iport.iupui.edu for a wealth of additional details and data. I hope that you will be as encouraged as I am by the impact of IUPUI on our students? lives?and by their impact on all the communities they touch.
Charles R. Bantz
Chancellor of IUPUI
