September 29, 2022
It has been an exciting, fast-paced start to the fall term at IU. Already, we have celebrated many successes, from new faculty discoveries and honors to fantastic student and staff achievements.
Sadly, the beginning of this semester has also been marked by the heartbreaking news of several students who have lost their lives. Our campus mourns deeply when we lose a member of the IU community, and these losses are especially painful when felt in quick succession. While we are often not able to share publicly the details of a community member’s passing, out of respect for the family and other considerations, we work directly with families and friends to ensure those closest to them have the resources they need to begin to heal.
We are looking for a new way to pay tribute more fully to all those community members—students, faculty, and staff—who pass away throughout the year. Thus, I am charging a new working group, led by University Events, to create a fitting means to memorialize members of our community that includes families, friends, colleagues, and others.
I welcome you to email iubprov@indiana.edu and share your ideas on how we might best honor these community members. I will follow up with more information on this new tradition when the group makes recommendations later this year.
Meanwhile, numerous campus resources are available for students, faculty, and staff. I urge everyone to continue to look out for each other and our shared well-being. We are here for all Hoosiers, and never more so than in times of loss and need.
