IU Indianapolis has been heavily invested in our community since it was founded as IUPUI in 1969. On July 1, 2024, IUPUI transitioned to Indiana University Indianapolis.
Although the Office of Community Engagement has existed in its current form only since 2014, many of our departments and units have been actively involved with community engagement for years.
In the early ’90s, IUPUI created a number of offices to handle various community engagement activities.
The first was the Office of Service Learning in 1993. It was followed by the Office of Community Service in 1994 and the Office of Neighborhood Resources in 1997.
In 2001, the offices combined to become the Center for Service and Learning.
In 2004, the IUPUI Solution Center was created to serve as the front door to the community to assist in the economic development of central Indiana.
The Solution Center focused on connecting the university’s intellectual capital with the pressing demands of business, government, and the nonprofit sector. Drawing on the talent of IUPUI’s faculty and students, the Solution Center facilitated partnerships designed to build human capital, respond to external challenges, and retain the best and brightest baccalaureate-and graduate-degreed professionals in the state.
In 2014, the Solution Center merged with parts of the Community Learning Network and was renamed the Professional Development and Corporate Education initiative in the Office of Community Engagement.
In 2014, the IUPUI Strategic Plan called on the campus to “establish a structure and leadership to coordinate engagement activities more comprehensively and strategically; leverage our significant community and economic engagement activities; support relationships with entreprises related to areas of university research, creative activity, and professional service; and help to build a culture of entrepreneurship at IUPUI.”
The Office of Community Engagement was created as a result. It integrated several offices involved with the community into a comprehensive, campuswide office.
In 2017, Indiana Campus Compact became affiliated with the Office of Community Engagement.
IU Indianapolis is home to dozens of centers and institutes that partner with the community and conduct research intended to improve the quality of life in Indianapolis and the state of Indiana.
