IU2030 – The Pillars Overlap

Strategic plans are valuable for many reasons. They remind us of our mission, keep us on track, and provide objective markers of progress. Like any multi-year plan, an annual refresh of IU2030 is a worthwhile exercise.

This note, focused on the three pillars of IU2030, is one of more to come.

The three pillars of our plan – Student Success, Research Performance, Service to the State – are not different (perhaps should not be different) from that of other urban, research universities. The work we do is about the creation of knowledge (Research), which is shared with learners/students in ways that transform their lives (Student Success), and with the community in ways that it serves the common good (Service to the State).

At first glance, the pillars appear to be independent, yet their overlap is where we create transformational impact.

Our current model of successful learning (Student Success) maps into strong retention, and graduation rates, and from there into career outcomes. We need the learner/student to complete the course work and graduate.

At the same time, while the success of a student/learner starts with the learning and credentials they acquire in college, it is sustained only when learning becomes a life-long activity. This is particularly salient in today’s fast-changing world as the half-life of knowledge keeps decreasing. We know that the threat of AI seems particularly relevant for entry-level jobs – at the same time, if not today, this threat will spread over time to the employed professional whose skills may become obsolete. History teaches us that if it is not AI, it will be something else that requires us to upskill and learn new skills. Fortunately, we are in an industry where learning, and more importantly, learning how to learn is at the core of what we do – this is the durable skill that research teaches us. Research teaches us to be curious, and convert curiosity into discovery, and then into learning. Perhaps more so than at any other time in our lives, lifelong learning is not just a cliché but is core to the notion of student success. Student success is not independent of research excellence.

At the same time, what makes us different from an institution that is focused only on knowledge creation (think tanks, for instance) is that we also share our knowledge with learners or students. Our third pillar is about using our knowledge to serve our learners, which includes students and the community. As distinct from any other institution in society, public universities, through the knowledge they create, must serve the common good. Plasma screens, the internet, mRNA vaccines, and even light beer, whipped cream, the McRib patty, many of the conveniences we take for granted, originated via research on a university campus. So, the third pillar of Service to the State comes to life when the learner (Student Success) uses their learning (Research) to serve others (Service to the State). IU2030 has three pillars – it is in their overlap that our strategy begins to change lives.

As always, I welcome your ideas.

Go Jags!

Latha Ramchand
Chancellor