‘IU Day’ Brings Multiple Gifts

The Jewish Studies Program at IU was named after Robert and Sandra Borns in 1992. (photo courtesy Indiana University)

Indiana University is celebrating its second annual "IU Day" with three major gifts to the school. The gifts will benefit several areas of the university, including the Lilly Library, Eskenazi Museum of Art and the IU Athletics Excellence Academy at Memorial Stadium.

IU alumni Robert and Sandra Borns have donated $1 million to support the university’s Jewish Studies Program, which is already named in their honor. The university says half of the gift will support the Borns Family Scholarships with the other half offering unrestricted support to the program at large.

"Bob and Sandra’s giving has made us a world-class program," said Mark Roseman, director of the Borns Jewish Studies Program. "Between their student support, faculty support and unrestricted support, they’ve made the program competitive at an international level. Their generosity makes it possible for us to be a center of scholarship and learning in Jewish history, culture and thought, and of Jewish cultural events that can rival any campus in the world. Bob and Sandra’s giving hasn’t just been supportive; it’s been utterly transformative."

The family of Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay has also made an undisclosed gift to the university to support the IU Athletics Excellence Academy, which is currently under construction. As a result of the gift, the university says a space within the academy will be known as the Irsay Family Wellness Clinic.

The gift was headed by Jim Irsay’s daughter, Kalen, an IU alumna and member of the IU Varsity Club Board. IU says the clinic will include exam rooms, x-ray machines, procedure rooms and physician offices, among other amenities. The university is set to break ground on the IU Athletics Excellence Academy later this month.

A third undisclosed gift from Arnold "Bud" and Maxine Tanis, along with their daughter Elizabeth, will support several parts of the university.

One part of the gift will establish a support fund for the general operation, conservation and maintenance needs of the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art. Another will create a curator position in the Lilly Library, including funding for research, exhibitions and other costs "related to the pursuit and conservation of museum-quality acquisitions."

The gift will also establish a scholarship, fellowship and faculty chair within the College of Arts and Sciences. 

All three gifts will count toward the $2.5 billion campaign, For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign.