A feature, not a bug

If ever there was a perfect day to host an outdoor event that brings people together to meet, learn, enjoy and compete, it would have to be this past Saturday, September 26, 2026. It was the day IU Indianapolis Regatta turned 18. Our students, including student organization leaders, faculty, staff, families and friends across our community joined in the celebration of this milestone birthday.

Regatta is a one-of-a-kind event – it is our homecoming, but it is more than just a homecoming. This student-run tradition brings together our campus, our neighbors and our broader IU community (thank you to the students who came from IUB and from our regional campuses).

We often describe our city as a classroom. Ask an IU Indianapolis student, or, for that matter, a faculty or staff member where the campus ends and the city begins, and you’re likely to get a smile rather than an answer. That’s not a bug, it's a feature.

How many campuses, especially urban campuses, have a canal for canoes? And how many urban institutions can say that they have built on the assets in their communities to create a unique homecoming experience? Even better, how many universities can tie their mascots to the activities they host – did you know that Jaguars love water and are exceptional swimmers? Put water, the Jaguar and IU Indianapolis student smarts together and the result is Regatta.

The spirit of excellence that is at the heart of the Regatta (only the best teams make it to the finish line) was also the theme of the celebration for newly promoted faculty – the Promotion and Tenure celebration that Provost Gladden and his team hosted at the same time. Congratulations to all faculty who were promoted and / or tenured this year. We recognize and applaud the hard work that goes into promotions.

Speaking of accolades and celebration, our applause for Professor Gabe Filippelli who was recently awarded the Eunice Newton Foote Medal by the American Geophysical Union. Along with the medal, Gabe will be named an AGU Fellow. As their website notes,
"The Eunice Newton Foote Medal for Earth-Life Science is given annually to an exceptional senior scientist for outstanding creative achievements in research at the intersection of Earth and life sciences that substantially advanced understanding of the past, present, or future of key facets of the Earth system, or of the prospects for life on worlds beyond our own, or of the future of human well-being."

The momentum continues. Awards like this are not a rarity – at IU Indianapolis they are a feature.

Go Jags!

Latha Ramchand
Chancellor