The University of Indianapolis, or UIndy, is a university located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Established in 1902, the university offers associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, and has more than 5,400 students. It was formerly known as Indiana Central College and Indiana Central University.
The main campus is located on the south side of Indianapolis at 1400 East Hanna Avenue, just east of Shelby Street. The campus straddles the Carson Heights and University Heights neighborhoods of Indianapolis. UIndy also offers degree programs through partnerships in China, Cyprus and Belize.
The university's colors are crimson and gray. Its athletic teams, known as the Greyhounds, are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in the NCAA Division II.
History
Bird's eye view of UIndy campus - Drone footage of the University of Indianapolis campus.
In the early 20th century William L. Elder, an Indianapolis real estate developer, offered the Church of the United Brethren in Christ eight acres of real estate southeast of downtown Indianapolis to establish a college in exchange for help selling 446 parcels of land around the donated acreage. Indiana Central University was chartered in 1902, but instruction did not start until 1905 when the first building, Good Hall, was completed.
The school opened with eight departments: the College of Liberal Arts, Teachers’ College, Conservatory of Music, School of Oratory, School of Commerce, Bible Institute, School of Arts, and the Academy, in which students completed their preparatory work and earned high school diplomas.
While established as Indiana Central University (ICU), the school was colloquially known as Indiana Central College (ICC) from 1921 to 1975. The North Central Association of Schools and Colleges accredited the university in March 1947. Academic administration was restructured to group programs into colleges and schools, and the institution returned to using the Indiana Central University name from 1976 to 1986. The initials "ICU" can still be seen in brick on the front side of Krannert Memorial Library on campus. In 1986, the university adopted the name University of Indianapolis.
Academics
Schools
The University of Indianapolis offers 82 undergraduate majors leading to either a bachelor's degree (four-year program) or an associate degree (two-year program). Students may also enroll in several pre-professional programs, twenty-seven master's degree programs, and five doctoral degrees. The university is organized into the following schools and colleges:
- School of Education
- Shaheen College of Arts & Sciences
- Krannert School of Physical Therapy
- School for Adult Learning
- School of Business
- School of Nursing
- College of Applied Behavioral Sciences
- School of Occupational Therapy
- R.B. Annis School of Engineering
Centers and institutes
- Center for Aging & Community
- Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning
- Professional Edge Center
- Richard G. Lugar Academy
- Institute for Civic Leadership & Mayoral Archives
- Center for Business Partnerships
- Institute for Leadership & Professional Development
Rankings and recognition
- Ranked in the top tier of Midwest universities by U.S. News & World Report
- Nationally ranked graduate programs in the Krannert School of Physical Therapy, School of Occupational Therapy and School of Nursing
- UIndy is among a select number of universities in the U.S. to receive a Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Fewer than 200 institutions nationwide have received the biennial award that honors schools whose mission and actions support community engagement.
Admissions statistics
For fall 2014, UIndy received 5,313 freshmen applications; 4,486 were admitted (84%) and 830 enrolled. For enrolled freshmen, the middle 50% range of SAT scores were 450 - 550 for critical reading, 460 - 560 for math, and 440 - 540 for writing. The middle 50% range of the ACT scores were 19 - 25 for composite, 19 - 26 for math and 19 - 25 for English.
Student life
Enrollment statistics
The male to female student ratio is comparable to the national average of about 40:60. Over 90% of the students attending the University of Indianapolis come from within the state of Indiana. 57% of undergraduate students are in the 18 to 22 age bracket. The student body is 66.8% White, 9.3% Black and 4% Hispanic.
Media
The Reflector is the University of Indianapolis's student newspaper. The student-run serial publication has 85 years of uninterrupted reporting on campus and today operates online. The first issue was published on November 15, 1922.
WICR (88.7) is an 8,000 watt, Class B public radio station at the University of Indianapolis that broadcasts to listeners in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. It is a campus radio station. The station began broadcasting in 1962 with ten watts of power.
WIX (UIndy TV) is a student television station. Students produce news and entertainment programming for distribution on campus cable channel 5 and on the Comcast and Bright House Networks in Marion County, Indiana. The University of Indianapolis was named Indiana Association of School Broadcasters TV School of the Year in 2008.
Campus
Smith Mall
The most prominent physical feature of the campus was the central parking lot which was framed by a quadrangle of buildings. In 1998 the University of Indianapolis hired Odle McGuire Shook to re-purpose the 5.2 acres into green space and later named the area Smith Mall. The mall is made up of a circular sunken lawn, a recessed long canal, water gardens and the partial arc of an amphitheater. 80 bald cypresses were planted as part of the project.
Academic buildings
Residential buildings
Athletics facilities
University presidents
- J. T. Roberts, 1905â€"1908
- L. D. Bonebrake, 1909â€"1915
- I. J. Good, 1915â€"1944
- I. Lynd Esch, 1945â€"1970
- Gene E. Sease, 1970â€"1988
- G. Benjamin Lantz, Jr., 1988â€"1998
- Jerry M. Israel, 1998â€"2005
- Beverley J. Pitts, 2005â€"2012
- Robert L. Manuel, 2012â€"
Safety
The University of Indianapolis Police Department is a campus police force which oversees security. UIndy employs a full-time chief and full-time officers, all certified by the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. Officers have full arrest powers and are licensed to carry firearms. They enforce all local and state laws, in addition to university regulations.
Notable alumni
- Jon Ackerson - former member of both houses of the Kentucky State Legislature; lawyer in Louisville, Kentucky
- Craig Bowden '90 â€" current PGA-tour golfer; 8 wins on Nationwide Tour and lower tours
- Brian Barnhart '83 â€" current President of Race Operations of IndyCar
- George Crowe '43 â€" first Indiana "Mr. Basketball"; played nine years in MLB, earning a spot on the National League All-Star team in 1958
- Ray Crowe '38 â€" coached the Crispus Attucks High School basketball team that won Indiana state championships in 1955 and 1956, becoming the first African-American team in the nation to claim a state title.
- Stephane Fortin - former CFL player
- Matt Kohn â€" American football player
- David Logan '05 â€" basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv
- William Raspberry '58 â€" a columnist for The Washington Post and a Pulitzer Prize winner
- Irwin Sparkes and Alphonso Sharland â€" Guitar front man and drummer from popular London rock band The Hoosiers
- Walter Spencer '04 â€" linebacker for the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL, winner of the 2009 Grey Cup.
- Katie Stam â€" 2009 Miss America
- Andrew Werner '09 â€" debuted as an MLB pitcher in 2012, playing for the San Diego Padres. Currently playing in the Oakland Athletics organization.
- David "Big Dave" DeJernett '35 â€" First African-American to lead an integrated team to a state title, in 1930, and then led the integrated ICC Greyhounds to the (mythical) Indiana college conference championship in 1934, finishing ahead of Notre Dame and Purdue with a 16-1 record. Played professional basketball for the historic Chicago Crusaders and New York Renaissance clubs.
Intercollegiate athletics
The University of Indianapolis's athletic teams are known as the Greyhounds and participate in Division II of the NCAA. Most of the teams are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. However, the swimming and diving teams are members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The school's highest finish in the NACDA Director's Cup was 5th in 2011â€"12, 2008â€"09 and 1996â€"97. UIndy also finished 8th in the Director's Cup in 2000â€"01 and in the top 20 from 2002 to 2005.
Spirit
- The sports teams that represent the University of Indianapolis are called the Greyhounds, or just Hounds for short. The mascot is a greyhound named "Ace."
- The university's song, called simply the "U of I Fight Song," was written in 1975 by James M. Stanton, at the time an Indiana Central senior. The lyrics were rewritten when the university changed its name in 1986. In 2006, the cheerleaders changed the "U of I" portions of the song to "UIndy" to reflect the preferred shortened name of the school.
References
Notes
- 1 endowment As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved February 24, 2010.Â