Indiana State University
Indiana State University is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctoral/Professional Universities".
History
Indiana State University was established by the Indiana General Assembly on December 20, 1865, as the Indiana State Normal School in Terre Haute. Its location in Terre Haute was secured by a donation of $73,000 by Chauncey Rose.As the State Normal School, its core mission was to educate elementary and high school teachers.
The school awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1908 and the first master's degrees in 1928. In 1929, the Indiana State Normal School was renamed as the Indiana State Teachers College, and in 1961, it was renamed Indiana State College due to an expanding mission. In 1965, the Indiana General Assembly renamed the college as Indiana State University in recognition of increasing student population and expansion of degrees offered.
A seminary building was constructed and later used for Vigo Collegiate Institute. After several years the school closed and the property sold to be part of a public institution of education. It is now part of the Indiana State University campus.
Campus
The Indiana State University main campus is located on the north side of Terre Haute's downtown business district and covers more than in the heart of the city. The main campus comprises over 60 brick and limestone buildings, halls and laboratories. Efforts to beautify the campus continue: a section of Seventh Street that runs by the university has been converted into a boulevard with flower beds and antique light posts; the old power plant was razed in 2002 and replaced with a modern facility; Stalker Hall reopened in fall 2005 after a complete renovation; Normal Hall, a Neo-Classic building erected in 1909, originally served as the library, was newly renovated in 2015. In 2009, the university dedicated a more than Student Recreation Center, financed via private funding and student fees, and the Bayh College of Education was relocated to the newly renovated, historic University Hall. The Scott College of Business has relocated to the renovated former Terre Haute Federal Building, a classic Art Deco building built in 1933. In fall 2019, the Fine Arts Building was rededicated after a $15 million renovation begun in the summer of 2018. In 2020, The Hulman Center athletic arena was renovated at a cost of $50 million. In February 2023, Dreiser Hall was rededicated after an $18 million renovation. Beginning in 2024, the Technology Annex building was demolished and rebuilt as part of a $66 million modernization and expansion effort, which was the largest capital project funded by the State of Indiana in University history.The Indiana State University field campus is an outdoor teaching, learning, and research area designed to accommodate educational programs and services. The field campus is located on approximately east of Terre Haute near Brazil, Indiana, and includes eight man-made lakes.
Fairbanks Hall
Fairbanks Hall serves not only as an academic space for learning but also as a performance and fine arts venue. The Bare-Montgomery Gallery located inside provides students with the opportunity to exhibit their work or to curate exhibitions of student work.Fairbanks Hall serves as both a working art studio as well as gallery space for the art department of Indiana State University. Originally built as a Terre Haute public library in 1903–06; it is an outstanding example of Beaux-Arts architecture and constructed entirely from Indiana Limestone.
In 1903, Fairbanks offered to construct a new public library on a site the city would provide; it was to be named in honor of his mother Emeline Fairbanks. Terre Haute acquired a parcel of land at Seventh and Eagle Streets by May 5, 1903, and the groundbreaking took place on March 15, 1904. On August 10, 1904, the cornerstone was placed. A time capsule containing the history of the building, as well as a list of city and university officials, photographs of the namesake Fairbanks family, a copy of the program for the ceremony, copies of the city's newspapers and a 1904 Terre Haute city directory.
The informal opening and dedication of the completed building took place on April 29, 1906. On Saturday, August 11, 1906, a formal ceremony to open the building to the public was held, the following Monday, the Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library opened to the general public.
In 1978, Indiana State University took ownership and following its renovation, it was named Fairbanks Hall in honor of the prominent Terre Haute businessman and philanthropist, responsible for its original construction, Mr. Crawford Fairbanks.
Normal Hall
Originally built as the library in 1909, Normal Hall is the last remaining structure from Indiana State's Normal School era. Normal Hall served as the university library until Cunningham Memorial Library was built in 1974 and named in honor of Indiana State's first Librarian, Arthur Cunningham. On the centennial of Normal Hall's construction, it was announced that it would be fully remodeled and will become a student academic honors center. The 2014–15 renovation was approximately $16 million; the original grand staircase and a stained-glass dome featuring images of at least 24 educators and philosophers were restored and the building now meets ADA requirements.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
Center for Student Success (CFSS)
The Center for Student Success, housed within Normal Hall, provides tutoring, supplemental instruction, mentoring, advising, classroom instruction, counseling, and academic success workshops.The center also provides specialized support programs including the 21st Century Scholar Corps Program, First-Generation Program, Summer Career Exploration Program, Students in Transition Program, and Student Support Services Program which includes assistance to persons with disabilities and special needs, and first-generation, low-income students.
University Hall
The Indiana State Teachers College Laboratory School was a PWA-funded project, built on land donated to the university by the City of Terre Haute. The initial wing of the building was completed in July 1935. The Sycamore Theater and a gymnasium were completed in 1937 through funding provided by an additional PWA grant. Terre Haute-native Gilbert Brown Wilson added several murals to the interior. The laboratory school operated as a unit of the Vigo County School Corporation. In 2008–09, it was renovated at a cost of $29.8 million and became the new home of the Bayh College of Education.The Bayh College of Education houses:
- Administrative Placement
- Audiology Clinic
- College of Education
- Blumberg Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Special Education
- Department of Communication Disorders and Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology
- Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technology
- Educational Assessment, Research, and Evaluation
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Department of Elementary, Early, and Special Education
- Indiana Principal Leadership Institute
- Instructional and Information Technology
- ISU Educational Development Council
- Teacher Licensure
- Porter School Psychology Center
- Professional Development Schools Partnership
- Rowe Center for Communicative Disorders
Federal Hall
The current building was funded as a Public Works Administration project under the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt; following the razing of the first federal court house.
The three-story PWA Moderne post office was completed in 1934 to the designs of Terre Hautebased architects Miller & Yeager for the cost of around $450,000. Completed on December 1, 1934, the building opened to the public in 1935. It originally was home to the post office, the Social Security Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the federal court. The federal courtroom features a mural by Frederick Webb Ross titled "The Signing of the Magna Carta."
In 2007, the General Services Administration turned over the facility to Indiana State; after a $30-million dollar, multi-year renovation; the building became the new home of the Indiana State University Scott College of Business. The first classes were held during the Fall 2012 semester.
Academics
Students
For fall 2023, minority student enrollment was 2,359, which represents 29.22% of total enrollment. The top three international student countries are India, Nigeria, and Ghana. Vigo and Marion County are the two largest counties that enrolled students originate from and approximately 57% of enrolled students originate from the state of Indiana.Indiana State was the first public university in Indiana to require incoming freshmen to have a laptop. ISU first awarded laptop scholarships to incoming freshmen with high school GPAs of 3.0 or higher, giving students the option of choosing either a laptop or an iPad. The university now awards a laptop computer to those students who are admitted and are Pell-eligible as determined by the FAFSA.
Colleges
ISU offers more than 100 programs in the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Business, Education, Technology, and Health and Human Services. The College of Graduate and Professional Studies offers programs that lead to doctoral and master's degrees. Students can also pursue certificates in a concentrated area of study, enroll in professional development courses, and fulfill continuing education requirements. ISU also offers 20 bachelor's degrees, 22 master's degrees, and 7 doctoral degrees—in addition to many professional certifications—available through Indiana State Online.Indiana State University is organized into six academic colleges:
- Bayh College of Education
- Donald W. Scott College of Business
- College of Graduate and Professional Studies
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Bailey College of Engineering and Technology
- College of Health and Human Services