IU Bicentennial

“She’s the pride of Indiana

Hail to Old IU”

J.T. Giles, “Hail to Old IU”

Even though the pandemic has halted most IU bicentennial events, the Indiana University Foundation published a magazine titled “Imagine: A Better IU, A Better World.” The cover employed the university colors, cream and crimson, and in the middle was a heart and the caption, “This is you.” The table of contents, titled “200 Reasons to Love IU,” was divided into 20 categories, such 16 IU authors (i.e., Theodore Dreiser and Suzanne Collins, author of “The Hunger Games) and 20 IU firsts (including the nation’s first graduate folklore and Gender Studies programs). In a section titled “seven women who built IU” I learned that Juliette Maxwell was a pioneer of women athletics in the early twentieth century; that in 1948 66-year-old Anna Harting Wells visited her bachelor son, IU President Herman B. Wells, stayed 25 years (the rest of her life), and, known as “Mother Wells,” served as IU’s de facto first lady; and that opera star Camilla Williams became in 1977 the first Black professor of voice at IU.

In a section titled “12 Ways IU’s Regional campuses are making a difference in Indiana and beyond,” IU Northwest was mentioned twice, for being designated a Hispanic-serving institution by the Department of Education and for geologist Erin Argyilan and her students solving the “hidden holes" mystery at Indiana Dunes National Park that caused a boy to be buried under 11 feet of sand at Mount Baldy (it was the result of decomposing forest under the sand).

Among the 14 students “poised to change the world” was IU Northwest’s Laila Nawab, a pre-med chemistry major and recent graduate. The brief bio stated: "From a self-proclaimed shy high school student, Nawab grew into a confident leader, serving as president of the Student Government Association and in leadership roles with the Muslim Student Association and Student Activities Board. With the support of the Minority Opportunity for Research grant, this aspiring physician worked on a multidisciplinary research project related to hydroponics. Nawab said, 'This experience has not only increased my interest in science but also reinforces the impact chemistry has on everyday life and how small changes can greatly impact the final results.'" 

Jon Cameron

IUN Chancellor Ken Iwana hosted a “Meet and Greet” in the library courtyard and introduced me to his pleasant wife Joanne.  I enjoyed a turkey wrap lunch before hurrying to my office to attend an OHA zoom session that included a paper by IU’s Jon Cameron (left), service manager of the libraries digital collections, about the IU Bicentennial; oral history project.  As someone who interviewed former IU Northwest students, faculty, and staff, I was somewhat disappointed that the presentations were about technical issues rather than why the project was worthwhile or issues relating to the reliability of the remembrances.  I was impressed at how access to the digitized interviews has greatly    increased (scholars can utilize them long distance) due to modern technology and the use of browsers such as Aviary and Avalon.