Dear IU Bloomington Faculty, Staff and Graduate Students,
For this final message of the semester about graduate education at IU Bloomington, I write to you with a comprehensive update about our ongoing work to transition from a University Graduate School to an IU Bloomington Graduate School – an approach that will ensure a more campus-centric approach for graduate education that reflects and advances the uniqueness of each IU campus.
This includes outlining our IU Bloomington-specific goals for this new structure, detailing how this shift will shape the way we serve and support our graduate students, providing an update on the appointment of permanent leadership for the IUB Graduate School, and affirming the importance of our 2030 planning and the ongoing work of the Task Force on Graduate Education as catalysts for shaping the future vision for the school.
First, as announced this summer, the University Graduate School—which has provided a system-wide structure for graduate education—will transition in Bloomington to the IU Bloomington Graduate School beginning next spring.
This new organization is intended to equip our Bloomington campus, in particular, to be responsive to this campus community and cultivate opportunities that best serve the unique needs of our students and faculty. Of course, we will continue to partner closely with our colleagues in Indianapolis, with our regional campuses, and with our peers, in developing and supporting both residential and online programs.
Second, by adopting a campus-specific structure, the newly configured IU Bloomington Graduate School will develop Bloomington-specific leadership and approaches to:
Create a stronger, more consistent, and high-quality student experience both in and out of the classroom that maintains minimum standards across all programs, is marked by cross-disciplinary engagement, and leverages the strengths of a diverse array of disciplines and academic programs across campus.
Ensure equity among student experiences and programs, which will necessitate continued and expanded investment in the recruitment and retention of a diverse graduate student population.
Continue to ensure robust structures are in place to support our graduate students – including strengthened stipends for SAAs, access to physical and mental health coverage, and common spaces and programs for all graduate students, among others.
Respond swiftly and holistically to identified student issues and concerns as they may arise.
Increase access to graduate education at IUB, including through AMP IU, our new accelerated master’s programs.
I believe that a campus-led graduate school will better foster the type of collaboration necessary to ensure that we meet our larger aspirations for graduate education at IUB – from attracting and retaining exceptional students to fostering continued excellence in our scholarship, teaching, and research.
Third, to support this transition, and following campus policy, we will soon launch a formal search for the dean of the IUB Graduate School, per campus policy. This will be an internal search, and we anticipate the search committee will be launched and the position description posted by the start of spring term. Executive Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Rick Van Kooten, will chair the search committee. I greatly appreciate his willingness to lead this important process.
I remain grateful to David Daleke, who continues to serve as interim dean, and is helping us navigate this transition effectively. It will be essential that our inaugural dean not only understands the existing context for graduate education at IUB, but that they also possess the collaborative spirit necessary to develop and implement an ambitious vision for graduate studies at IUB.
Finally, coincident to the search, we will continue to draw on the IUB 2030 process and the finalization of the work of the Task Force on Graduate Education to identify priorities and opportunities for the IUB Graduate School.
I see these planning efforts as particularly well-timed to equip our new dean – and the IUB graduate school as a whole – for success in the years to come.
Thank you, again, to all who have contributed to the advancements made this semester in service of graduate education at IUB. I remain proud of the progress achieved on behalf of our graduate students and SAAs and, most importantly, we are excited for the progress yet to come.
Sincerely,
Rahul Shrivastav
Provost and Executive Vice President
Indiana University Bloomington