HLC Self-Study - Indiana University South Bend

INTRODUCTION
When Kenneth L. Perrin (1997–2002) became IU South Bend’s third chancellor, it was clear
from his inaugural remarks that enhancing campus-community interaction would be his top
priority. Several early campus aspirations were advanced during the early Perrin years. The
campus Dr. Wells may have envisioned—buildings surrounding a green meadow—emerged
with the completion of the central pedestrian mall. A faculty priority, the University Center
for Excellence in Teaching, became a reality when Perrin received a grant from IU’s Strategic
Directions Initiative. Funding was at last approved for a long-awaited student activities
center, and construction on that project began. The Chancellor sought and received private
funds for a new art gallery, to be constructed in the building once housing the Associates’
computer. Discussions progressed about that bridge across the river to the parcel of land
the campus had acquired.
However, as IU South Bend approached the millennium, there were new and previously unanticipated
threats on the campus horizon. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education
(ICHE), supported by the state legislature, had proposed a new community college system
which would likely compete for freshman and sophomore students at regional campuses. A
new student majority, traditional age, full-time students, was beginning to outnumber the
old majority of part-time adults. Economic and demographic changes in the region also
presented new challenges to the campus.
While new campus-community partnerships were being forged and facilities were expanding,
concerns were being raised about the administrative structures of the campus, which
also seemed to be under construction, with a number of positions held by interim appointees,
creating a certain degree of instability and miscommunication. Although the campus
had embraced and promoted its new mission statement, translating it into policies and
practices was yet to happen. Thus, despite its history of rising expectations, IU South Bend
clearly had other bridges to cross when the campus prepared for the re-accreditation visit
from the North Central Association Consultant-Evaluator team in 1999.
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS SINCE LAST REACCREDITATION (2000–2007)
Since the last reaccreditation visit in 1999–2000, Indiana University South Bend has witnessed
an impressive number of changes as the campus that was “on the verge of the
future” has exploited the fuller potential of its role as a comprehensive public regional
university. To organize the major events and developments since the last visit, the following
report is organized under the major units of the university, identifying the campus leaders
as well as the major developments that have influenced campus advancement.
Chancellor Kenneth Perrin (2000–02)
The last re-accreditation visit occurred midway through the tenure of Kenneth L. Perrin.
Many of the concerns listed at the conclusion of the previous section were noted by the
Consultant-Evaluators in their team report in 2000. Those concerns, and IU South Bend’s
responses, can be found in Chapter Two.
Chancellor Perrin’s contributions to the campus included a considerable expansion of campus-community
interactions, strengthened support staff morale, and active participation in
the university-wide discussions of the proposed Indiana Community College initiative. IU
South Bend hosted an excellent conference for the university featuring a panel of state and
national political and educational leaders. Many other campus projects came to fruition during
the years the campus was under Perrin’s leadership:
Indiana University South Bend Self-Study Report 2007 1:7