The 2019-20 academic year is a significant milestone for Indiana University, which celebrates its 200^th anniversary on January 20, 2020.

As the university’s bicentennial website declares, “To mark this momentous occasion, the IU Office of the Bicentennial will engage faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the general public with exciting programs that will celebrate, chronicle, and explore IU’s history and inspire the next 100 years at Indiana University.”

All campuses are celebrating with their own unique programs and events.

Around IU Northwest, new celebratory banners around campus mark the occasion and hint at the many activities to come. Here is a rundown of how IU Northwest is contributing:

Bicentennial Professor William Allegrezza

Twenty-five faculty members representing various disciplines across all of IU’s campuses have been selected as Bicentennial Professors. Among them is IU Northwest’s William Allegrezza, professor of English.

Each of the bicentennial professors will ideally give five public presentations throughout next year, with the goal of sparking timely discussions in Indiana communities, highlighting the fascinating research that takes place at IU, and strengthening IU’s connections and forging new ones in its role as a public university. Through his contributions, Allegrezza hopes to highlight the creative activities happening in Indiana and spark an interest in literary pursuits.

Allegrezza gave the first of his presentations in August and plans are currently being finalized for a visit to Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting. Stay informed of Allegrezza’s future engagements, as well as those from other IU Bicentennial Professors, at 200.iu.edu/signature-projects/professorships.

Dedication of Historical Marker, Tamarack Hall: Sept. 26

Tamarack Hall, IU Northwest’s first building, will be commemorated on Thursday, Sept. 26 with a formal dedication of a historical marker, to be placed in the greenspace area near where Tamarack Hall once stood west of the Moraine Student Center.

The marker will tell the story of how in 1955, the City of Gary obtained land for the site of a new IU campus, the Gary Extension Center. Construction began in 1957 and the building, then named “Gary Main,” opened in 1959. The Indiana limestone structure housed all the campus facilities, including classrooms, science laboratories, administration and faculty offices, the library, bookstore, lounges and its signature feature, the 600-seat auditorium.

A Celebration of Faculty Research Conference: Sept. 27

Proposals are currently being sought from faculty members to participate in a Celebration of Faculty Research, a four-day research conference from September 26-29.

Time Capsule Dedication: Apr. 24, 2020

In April, the community will participate in an event in which a time capsule will be filled and placed on campus. A committee has been collecting ideas for items to include that will be proposed to the IU Board of Trustees. 

Historical Marker to be dedicated at IU Northwest: May 18, 2020

May 18, 2020 marks the 61^st anniversary of the opening of the IU Northwest campus. To commemorate this milestone, a state marker for the IU Northwest campus will be dedicated on this day. The event is part of the State Historical Marker Program sponsored by the Indiana Historical Bureau.

Shades of Crimson and Cream                                            

Mark McPhail, professor of communication, is writing a book on the history of diversity at IU Northwest.

Beyond Boundaries: Indiana Academies Symposium: April 3, 4, 2020

Scheduled for April 3-4, the Indiana Academies Symposium, chaired by Professor of Economics Surekha Rao, is an opportunity to celebrate and support Indiana’s broad intellectual capital. The symposium, taking place at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, will draw on IU’s 200 years of leadership in higher education and research by bringing the state’s academic associations together.

The event will offer a platform to share and promote cross-disciplinary research, discussion and collaboration, as well as facilitate annual meetings for the participating organizations and offer programming with sessions and speakers that focus on cross-disciplinary topics.

Bicentennial Minutes

In the coming year, watch for short videos of people sharing their experiences with IU. Every campus will be covered, so watch for IU Northwest folks talking about their love of their campus and their region.  

Traveling RV

Over the next academic year, a traveling interactive exhibit in a recreational vehicle will go to all 92 counties in the state to share IU’s contributions to the state over the last two centuries.

The RV can be reserved by submitting a request at 200.iu.edu. Though unconfirmed, IU Northwest officials are hoping the “big red bus” featuring IU memorabilia from every campus, will make an appearance on Homecoming day in early November.

RedHawk Review Digitization

About 50 years of the RedHawk Review, the student-run newspaper, which is no longer in circulation, are currently becoming digital thanks to the Office of the Bicentennial.

Celebration in progress

While the bicentennial is officially observed during the 2019-20 academic year, much has already been done in preparation. Here is what IU Northwest has already done to kick off the celebration:

• The Indiana Blacks in Philanthropy Conference took place in November of 2018. This statewide conference served to explore best practices in philanthropy.
• In September of 2018, IU Northwest celebrated 10 years of partnership with the South Shore Dance Alliance by hosting a 10^th Anniversary Concert Performance.
• In March of 2019, IU Northwest hosted a Bicentennial 2020 Education Conference, which explored best practices and partnerships to develop the pipeline of education within the region.
• In April of 2019, the Center for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE) hosted an event to celebrate the vast array of community engagement activities that take place each year between campus and community partners.
• The Calumet Region Archives, with help from Professor of Marketing Subir Bandyopadhyay, and a student intern, Danielle Roeske, produced a digital scrapbook of IU Northwest History, coming soon to the IU Northwest History page.