Dear IU Bloomington Faculty, Staff and Student Academic Appointees,
With IUB 2030 planning efforts underway, the Task Force on Graduate Education and IUB 2030 planning process are aligning on the shared priorities of improving graduate education and the experience of our graduate students. I view the inclusion of the Task Force (and the recommendations of its working groups) within IUB 2030 planning as crucial to ensuring that we formalize key commitments and priorities on graduate education within the overall strategic plan for IUB.
First, I am excited to share that IUB 2030 planning efforts have only accelerated further since my most recent update. Currently, there are 25 separate committees—with more than 450 total participants from across the campus—which began meeting in recent weeks. A full list of both the committees and their participants are available on the IUB 2030 website. I’m deeply thankful and appreciative for the strong engagement from faculty, students, and staff—including from the leaders and members of the Task Force on Graduate Education, which is now officially meeting as part of the IUB 2030 process.
The Task Force’s long-term recommendations—originally slated for completion in June of 2023—will be accelerated so that its final report can be presented to campus by March and be considered formally by the IUB 2030 planning and executive teams for inclusion in the 2030 plan. This will include the recommendations of each of the Task Force’s working groups, which continue to meet and consider recommendations.
Of course, opportunities for ongoing engagement from our community remain. I urge you to continue sharing feedback and recommendations on graduate education or any other core strategic planning topic through the IUB planning site and through interactions with working group participants.
Second, we will continue to share updates specific to our focus on graduate education, progress on commitments announced this year, and details about the reconstituted IUB graduate school.
Between now and the conclusion of the semester, my messages regarding graduate education will focus on two core areas:
- Providing a progress update on the various initiatives announced this semester as the result of recommendations from the Task Force on Graduate Education—from identifying and creating a common space for IUB graduate students to health insurance coverage for SAAs during approved medical or parental leaves, and many more.
- Outlining progress and developments regarding the IUB Graduate school and its new leadership structure, as first announced in July.
Sincerely,
Rahul Shrivastav
Provost
Indiana University Bloomington