12/21/2018
The making of a bicentennial:
Two centuries ago, pioneer Hoosiers recognized that education was essential to Indiana’s prosperity, and they made a provision for it in the state’s constitution. Indiana Seminary was founded on January 20, 1820. It became Indiana College in 1828 and Indiana University in 1838. An early Trustee noted that when IU welcomed its first students, “a fire was kindled on the altar of learning that has never been extinguished.” Over 200 years, that fire has grown stronger. It has fueled an engine of prosperity for Indiana and the nation, sparked discoveries that solve the world’s problems, and illuminated possibilities of human imagination. The original class of 12 men has become a diverse student community more than 110,000 strong from 139 countries. The single building that comprised our first campus is today a statewide network of IU campuses and a global online learning environment. And with the nation’s third largest alumni body, IU has graduates in every corner of the world.
