IU 2030 establishes vision to propel the university into the highest tier in higher education
Embarking on its third century of service, Indiana University is launching an interconnected strategic planning process across the university. Driven by an inclusive approach involving students, faculty and staff on all campuses, IU 2030 will create powerful individualized plans for each of IU’s campuses.
IU 2030, a framework for developing seven-year plans, emphasizes three areas of concentration: student success and opportunity, transformative research and creativity, and service to our state and beyond. These interconnected spheres will form the foundation for IU’s future. The framework will guide each campus’s work, allowing all of IU to develop plans that will not only affect the future of the university but also further grow IU’s impact locally in Indiana, nationally and globally.
The focus areas for the strategic planning framework have been part of Whitten’s emphasis since her inauguration in November 2021. As part of each campus’s work to build their plans, they will incorporate new and innovative ways to attract, retain and graduate students; provide students with an extraordinary and affordable education; further innovate through research, discovery, entrepreneurship and creative scholarship; and find additional ways to strengthen and improve the quality of life for all Hoosiers.
Updates to Meridiam Open-Access Fiber-Network Project
The City of Bloomington and Meridiam have activated the operations phase of their high-speed internet access project. Hoosier Networks,, the fiber network utility provider established by Meridiam, announced on September 13 its partnership with GigabitNow as the primary Internet Service Provider under the Hoosier Networks agreement with the City (https://bton.in/0lATD). Hoosier Networks plans to break ground on the $50-million-plus network next month and GigabitNow will deliver fiber-based broadband services to the first residents by the end of January 2023. GigabitNow will offer service of at least 1 Gigabit per second symmetrical speed (equal upload and download) everywhere the Hoosier Network network reaches. The cost-of-service rates with the initial ISP will be competitive locally and regionally. Under the Hoosier Networks agreement with the City, GigabitNow is the exclusive ISP for at least a five-year term. After the exclusive period ends the network will become a full open-access network, open to other ISPs, including local providers, for the lifetime of the network.
Hoosier Networks and the City continue to collaborate on a groundbreaking digital equity program, one of the most innovative broadband public-private collaborations in the country, to help low-income and digitally-disadvantaged households access top-quality internet services. Eligible low-income residents will qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP) to get a symmetrical 250 megabits per second (Mbps) plan at reduced or no cost to them.
15th Annual Buddy Walk, October 2nd
Down Syndrome Family Connection hosts its 15th annual Buddy Walk Sunday, October 2 at Monroe County Fairgrounds, 5700 W Airport Rd, Bloomington. Registration begins at 1:30pm, with the walk at 3pm. There will be food trucks, bounce houses, face painting, and more. Afterward, stick around for a dance party and concert featuring local favorite Don’t Call Me Betty! Details at https://www.ds-stride.org/buddywalkbloomington.
This Week in Hoosier History
1865 – General Ulysses S. Grant, on a victory tour after the Civil War, was greeted with a parade in Indianapolis. Young attorney Benjamin Harrison served as his “mounted escort” and later dined with him at the Bates House Hotel.
Follow us on Facebook
For more local news . . .
Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson here