Need information technology workers? Seeking a collaboration partner? Are you a working professional or athlete with little time to devote toward completing a traditional college degree? Then look no further than IU East.
Such comments and more were offered by Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie during a Friday trip to Richmond, where he spent the day visiting the IU East campus and later gave the keynote address before the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce.
During his visit to IU East, McRobbie noted that student enrollment has increased for eight consecutive years, due largely to IU East’s “path-breaking” work in online education. Professional tennis player Venus Williams recently completed an online degree through IU East and IU Online was ranked 39th among the nation’s Best Online Education Programs by U.S. News and World Report — up from a ranking of 72nd the year before.
McRobbie also stated the importance of IU East to the region’s economy:
“Hundreds of people work on the campus. The economic multiplier, based on a study done a few years ago, is $50 million. We’re the fifth-largest employer in the region.”
— IU President Michael A. McRobbie
In his chamber address, McRobbie noted that IU East is turning out record numbers of graduates in information technology — a key contribution given the technological “skills gap” that Indiana faces. He added that Wayne County has a strong history of collaboration and that future partnerships to drive economic development in the area are a possibility.
McRobbie also mentioned IU’s recent ranking by Reuters News as one of the world’s 50 most innovative universities. During the 2105 fiscal year, IU set a school record in issuing 183 U.S. and foreign patents.
Read more about McRobbie’s visit to IU East here — and learn more about his chamber address here. Both stories appeared in the Richmond Palladium-Item.
[…] of IU President Michael A. McRobbie’s series of regional campus visits, including his most recent trip to the IU East campus in […]