IUPUI is Indiana's premier urban research university. The campus enrolls more than 30,000 students in 21 schools and academic units.
Tradition : In the Community
IUPUI is well known for its commitment to the community. One aspect of this commitment is civic engagement, or the involvement of the community in the campus' teaching, research and creative activities. Another way IUPUI is involved is by serving the community and by volunteering, hosting major community events, and more.
Some ways IUPUI is involved in the community each year:
United Way Day of Caring
IUPUI students assist with yard work during the 2004 Day of Caring
IUPUI's commitment to public service becomes especially tangible each fall during the United Way Day of Caring service event. Hundreds of IUPUI students, faculty and staff join work crews that perform routine maintenance, yard work, sorting, packing, painting and other tasks that community service agencies rarely have time—or manpower—to do.
The event is part of the launch each fall of the United Way campaign on campus. It supports United Way agencies such as the Julian Center or the Wheeler Mission, or to join the crews combining volunteerism with research at the Lilly Arbor Project, run by IUPUI's Center for Earth and Environmental Science.
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
Participants form a pink ribbon on University Library Lawn during the event
As a health-oriented campus, IUPUI has been a long-standing participant of the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Hundreds of campus faculty, staff and students join IUPUI teams to run or walk in the April event, which raises funds for and public awareness of the battle against breast cancer.
Indianapolis Mini-Marathon
IUPUI also serves as a host of the largest walking/running event in the city, the Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. The event, already sold out for 2006 with 35,000 entries, is part of the annual "month of May" celebration of the Indianapolis 500.
Evening of the Arts
The spirit of service, giving and community spirit manifests itself in many ways at IUPUI, including the IU School of Medicine's annual "Evening of the Arts." The event, first held in April 1992, features medical school faculty and staff displaying their musical, artistic and dramatic skills in a fund-raiser for medical supplies and diagnostic equipment. Those supplies and equipment in turn are used by medical students—under faculty supervision—to provide health-care services to the city's homeless.
» Evening of the Arts photo gallery
Jam the Jaguars Bus
Collection boxes appear across campus prior to Thanksgiving
IUPUI's spirit of giving and community service — always infectious — always peaks in the Thanksgiving season during the annual "Jam the Jaguars Bus" food drive. Schools, centers and other campus groups gather canned food donations to support such civic organizations as Christamore House, Damien Center and Gleaners Food Bank and area churches to feed the city's hungry. The contributions stock Jaguars buses, which deliver to the centers and churches for final distribution.
Spring/Fall House Calls
The School of Medicine's annual Spring House Calls program is the largest service project offered by the Office of Medical Service Learning. Up to 150 medical students gather each spring or fall to provide yard service and/or exterior home maintenance for homeowners of limited means in two inner-city neighborhoods.
Indy Jazz Fest
Jazz Fest features the top names in jazz each year.
The campus has become a traditional part of the annual Indy Jazz Fest, a summer ritual for music fans who want to honor the historic role that Indianapolis played in the growth and development of America's own music genre. IUPUI's Library Lawn has often hosted one of the stages; in other years, the event has been based primarily in neighboring Military Park, with IUPUI offering its grounds for support services and manpower.
