McRobbie Lays Out Vision in State of The University Address

(Image of Michael McRobbie courtesy of Indiana University.)

In addition to unveiling the $50 million Responding to the Addictions Crisis initiative, part of the Grand Challenges research program, Indiana University President Michael McRobbie used his 11th State of the University address to discuss future initiatives in Bloomington and beyond. He called for faculty, students and staff to launch a university-wide review of programs on each campus that support teaching and learning.

During his presentation Tuesday at IUPUI, McRobbie said:

Undergraduate teaching is at the heart of great public universities. It is the reason that most students attend the university, and it is the most immediate way in which we fulfill our missions of creating opportunity, of building the foundations for personally and professionally rewarding lives, and of educating an active, informed and productive citizenry. Teaching is not a burden or distraction; it is — together with research and engagement — what we do as an institution of higher learning. Excellent teaching doesn’t just happen. It can be taught, learned, modeled, practiced, improved and updated. It must be valued and nourished. We must translate IU’s educational commitment, investment and research into pervasive teaching excellence. All IU students should graduate feeling that consistently excellent instruction was at the heart of their college experience.

Other efforts McRobbie introduced include:

• Reviewing academic programs at each school to determine effectiveness and make sure first-generation and at-risk students have what they need to complete degrees.
• Turning IU’s learning research into improved instructional practices
• Creating a new "Master Teacher" designation
• Evaluating current teaching awards to make sure they are "appropriately relevant, selective and recognized."
• Establishment small, "prototyping" to support new teaching and learning techniques by full-time faculty.
• Developing new, well-defined and rigorous pathways for tenure and promotion focused on teaching excellence.
• Developing a plan to "house, maintain, utilize and curate" the estimated 30 million individual objects that make up IU’s material objects collections.
• Exploring the feasibility of a Museum of Indiana University on the Bloomington campus.

You can connect to more, including video of the presentation by clicking here.