New IUPUI Hall Houses World’s First School of Philanthropy

INDIANAPOLIS — A dedication ceremony for the new, 100,000-square-foot University Hall at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was held on Oct. 8.

The $22.9 million, five-story University Hall serves as a mixed-use building that creates collaboration between students, faculty and staff. Its completion marks an important milestone in the development of the Indianapolis campus. Programs that were once scattered across campus now have one central location, and began relocating to the new facility in July.

The building serves as a new home for the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, one of IUPUI’s newest schools and the world’s first school of philanthropy. The school was inaugurated in 2014 and is dedicated to philanthropy education and research, and to preparing students, philanthropy professionals, donors and volunteers to be leaders in creating positive and lasting change. It is named in honor of the Lilly family’s philanthropic leadership and its support of both the school and of IUPUI.

“Bringing our people and programs together under one roof will provide more room and more opportunities for our growing student body,” said Gene Tempel, founding dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at University Hall’s groundbreaking ceremony. "It will further enhance the synergy and engagement among our faculty, staff and students, and with our colleagues in other [Indiana University] schools who share our commitment to understanding and strengthening philanthropy, nonprofit organizations and voluntary service.”

University Hall also includes necessary expansion space for the Indiana University (IU) School of Social Work and serves as the headquarters for the school’s Masters of Social Work Direct Program. It also houses the IU Foundation, the Alumni Association and IUPUI Office of Alumni Relations as well as various administrative offices.

“These schools embody IU’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, service and engagement,” said university President Michael A. McRobbie at the groundbreaking ceremony. “The work done at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the IU School of Social Work helps to affect positive social change and has an enormous impact on the lives of thousands of people across the state, across the nation and around the world, and this new facility will play a critical role in the future success of these valuable schools.”

Technology is abundant throughout University Hall. It includes an interactive classroom with immersive touch-screen video walls with interactive software to allow users to connect instantly and share and control the display. A collaborative classroom in the new building also offers advanced distance education and videoconference technologies. This interactivity helps encourage collaboration and decision-making amongst students.

"This magnificent structure reflects some of IUPUI’s unique and core strengths and is emblematic of the campus’s enterprising culture, its continued growth and the maturation of the campus as a vibrant hub for activity in downtown Indianapolis," said McRobbie in a statement. "Additionally, the building signifies IUPUI’s commitment to philanthropy and social work students who will become leaders in their respective fields by transforming the student experience through its interactive and collaborative classrooms."

University Hall was built to LEED Silver standards and constructed to achieve energy savings such as water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction and improved indoor environmental air quality.

"University Hall promises to strengthen our campus community, connecting people once spread across campus, offering a venue for academic programming and generating opportunities for serendipitous interactions," said IUPUI Chancellor Nasser H. Paydar in a statement. "University Hall also puts student success center stage — a strategic priority for the entire university. It’s the latest in a series of projects that concentrate people and energy at the core of our campus, the most important elements in generating an intellectual community."