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 Fulton |
One of the most inspiring experiences of my tenure as chancellor has been unfolding over the past year in New Castle. On May 21, IU President Myles Brand will preside over the dedication of the new IU East Henry County Center, which will serve as the Henry County home of Indiana University East and Purdue University Programs. This act will culminate in one community's effort to provide for its burgeoning need for higher education.
We were contacted by a group of Henry County leaders in 1994 who asked to meet with us to discuss offering courses in New Castle. These conversations led to a survey of the community and the first courses offered successfully at Chrysler High School in 1995. Encouraged by solid enrollments, our newly established advisory board began a search for a place where courses could be offered during the day as well as after school. Soon the conversation focused on the possibility of building.
It was then that a remarkable coalition formed. Inspired by a challenge gift from two IU alums and given reality by a gift of a beautiful parcel of land next to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the Henry County Foundation engineered a successful fund-raising campaign with a goal of $650,000. Convinced that the goal would be achieved, the foundation contracted for the construction and equipping of the facility. So ground breaking and campaign kick-off occurred simultaneously in August 1998; campaign completion and building occupancy occurred simultaneously in March 1999.
The two alums at the heart of this story are Danny and Patty Danielson. These two have provided decades of service to the university--Danny as a member of the Trustees of IU and the IU Foundation Board, Patty in service to her sorority. And their services in numerous community business, religious, social and athletic organizations are legendary.
It was their challenge gift which inspired the successful fund-raising campaign for the center in New Castle. In the effort to establish the facility, they have combined their two loves. In the IU East Henry County Center, Indiana University and its partners will be providing the educational opportunities so crucial to the future well-being of New Castle and Henry County.
So this is the story of one community's college. It combines strong leadership, corporate citizenship, community support, the involvement of a great university and inspiration provided by the love of two people for both the university and community.
What is more remarkable, however, is that this story has been lived before. IU East exists because of a similar combination that occurred in Richmond in 1969-70. That's the story of another community's college.
I have no doubt it has occurred in still other Indiana communities. This is a pattern which is characteristic of Indiana; indeed, characteristic of an authentic Indiana community college. I am proud to have been a part of two of them.
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