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After six months of celebrations, Indiana University (IU) officially marked its bicentennial on Monday – and it saved the best for last, inaugurating Big Red 200, a new AI-focused supercomputer that joins the ranks of the fastest academic supercomputers in the world. 

IU celebrated its bicentennial on Monday with a special Day of Commemoration that included the dedication of the Big Red 200 supercomputer, the first ringing of the Arthur R. Metz Bicentennial Grand Carillon, an unveiling of new murals in Franklin Hall and Wright Quadrangle, a lecture from Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis and more.

Big Red 200 is eight times faster than its predecessor, Big Red 2, which at seven years old is obsolete. It's 8,000 times faster than IU's first supercomputer, which came online in 2001.

inside of a carillon

The new Arthur R. Metz Bicentennial Grand Carillon, housed in a tower stretching more than 127 feet into the sky in the IU Arboretum, will ring for the first time at 11:45 a.m. on Monday as part of the university’s bicentennial celebration.

As IU approaches its 200th birthday, we're taking a look back at the past two centuries.

bicentennial medal

IU’s Bicentennial celebrates individuals and organizations who have positively contributed to the institution throughout its history. Approximately 1,500 crafted Bicentennial Medals themselves have their own significance, honoring those improvements. 

Indiana University officials plan to toast the school’s bicentennial later this month with the dedication of a new supercomputer, the inaugural chiming of a rare collection of bells and a speech by Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis.

Indiana University officials plan to toast the school’s bicentennial later this month with the dedication of a new supercomputer, the inaugural chiming of a rare collection of bells and a speech by Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis.

Indiana University officials plan to toast the school’s bicentennial later this month with the dedication of a new supercomputer, the inaugural chiming of a rare collection of bells and a speech by Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis.

Indiana University has acquired a new artificial intelligence supercomputer that claims the distinction of being the fastest in the state of Indiana and one of the fastest university-owned supercomputers in the United States.

Indiana University East reviews the accomplishments, celebrations and memorable moments of its students, faculty, staff and campus.

In the 1880s, half a century before most American universities started offering study abroad experiences, Indiana University students participating in "summer tramps" could catch a steamer from New York to Germany, tour Berlin, Dresden and Weimar, stop in Nuremberg and Munich on the way to Switzerland, travel by rail to Milan and Genoa, take another steamer to Marseilles, hop on a train to Paris and wrap up the summer with a week in England -- all for $300.

With the anniversary of Indiana University's Bicentennial just around the corner, it makes sense to talk with someone who has expertise on the subject of the history of IU. 

A Big Red Bus made a stop in Evansville Sunday, marking the 200th anniversary of Indiana University and highlighting the school's contributions across its home state.

A part of the celebration was the opening of a brand new exhibit at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science

IU East hosted a ceremony Nov. 5 to dedicate an IU Bicentennial historical marker in John and Patricia Ryan's Rose Walkway in front of Whitewater Hall, IU East's first building on campus.

IU President Michael A. McRobbie shakes hands with Dr. Robert Einterz

Dr. Robert Einterz, executive director of the AMPATH consortium and director of the Indiana University Center for Global Health, and Jeffrey Palmer, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, were recently presented with the highest honor an IU president can bestow.

The Indiana Society of Chicago is set to honor what it calls some of the most consequential Hoosiers in Indiana history. 

Beth South with IUE showcase items

The 200 Festival Collections Showcase aimed to show how IU students, staff and faculty are using technology to enhance preservation, conservation, and use of collections and to develop new collections for public engagement.

Michael McRobbie and Ray Wallace next to Plaque for Lyda Radford

The annual IU Energy Challenge, a competition between campus buildings to save water and electricity, is a time when all Hoosiers are encouraged to take action and see their positive impact. This year's contest is Oct. 14 to Nov. 8.

people waving flags during LGBTQ History Month

This year, the Multicultural Center and LGBTQ+ Center at IUPUI aim to shed light on the various struggles LGBTQ+ people have endured throughout history, empower our campus community to be good advocates and supporters, and provide open spaces for discussion.

In recognition of O.P. Jindal Global University’s efforts to forge collaborations with universities across the world, the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Professor C. Raj Kumar was conferred the ‘Bicentennial Medal’ by Indiana University Bloomington in the US.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Several weeks into the start of the 2019-20 academic year — and as we ramp up celebrations and recognitions of the IU Bicentennial — our campuses across the state are already in full swing, setting the stage for what promises to be one of the most exciting, productive and memorable chapters in IU's nearly two-centuries-old history.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass presented Don Fischer with the IU Bicentennial medal Friday night at the IU Athletics Hall of Fame dinner, recognizing Fischer's nearly five decades of contributions to IU Athletics as the play-by-play voice of IU football and men's basketball.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Researchers and historians wanting to know more about civic service and volunteerism in America will soon be able to turn to new archives at IUPUI.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Indiana University Kokomo unveiled a special historical marker at the Seiberling Mansion Monday, in honor of Indiana University’s bicentennial and IU Kokomo’s 75th anniversary.

From a junior college in a rented house, to a four-year college on its own campus, Indiana University Kokomo has grown and changed tremendously since its humble beginnings. 

Music at the Fountain featuring Performing Arts Center Eastern Music Groups, 7 p.m., Downtown Greentown in front of the fountain, bring a lawn chair, free admission.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

The College of Arts and Sciences' 11th annual Themester explores the theme "Remembering and Forgetting," complementing the 2019-20 celebration of Indiana University's 200th anniversary.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Founded in 1820, Indiana University is celebrating its bicentennial this year. Who knew that you could draw a line from a scandal in the university’s early days to the selection of Herman B Wells as the youngest university president in the country?

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Indiana University has officially begun its yearlong celebration of the IU Bicentennial. The state's flagship public university, which will turn 200 on Jan. 20, 2020, marked this historic occasion by announcing that Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has been awarded the university's inaugural Bicentennial Medal.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Indiana University has launched a yearlong celebration of the IU Bicentennial. As part of the festivities, the university has awarded Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb with its inaugural Bicentennial Medal.

Students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and friends of Indiana University and IU South Bend filled two sections of seats at Four Winds Field Monday night to kick-off IU’s Bicentennial year celebration and cheer on Chancellor Susan Elrod on her first official day as leader of the campus.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

IU will celebrate its two-hundredth anniversary Jan. 20, 2020. That means the 2019-20 academic year is the bicentennial year, and festivities start in the fall. 

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Big Red 200 will power advanced machine learning applications using massive data sets and faster scientific calculations in a broad range of fields, including medicine, climate change, addiction and cybersecurity.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Indiana University is building a replica of a giant ground sloth’s skeleton that was once a star attraction in its natural history collection but was removed to make room for students during an enrollment surge following World War II.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Indiana University is building a replica of a giant ground sloth's skeleton that was once a star attraction in its natural history collection but was removed to make room for students during an enrollment surge following World War II.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Historical marker honoring IU Southeast’s first student to be erected on campus during 2019-20, IU’s bicentennial year

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

IU’s 200-year anniversary is fast approaching. For the university, it symbolizes the various accomplishments and contributions from alumni around the world but also addresses points in time where it faltered as an institution.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Mike Dillard left the garage door halfway open to stay cool, but beads of sweat ran down the side of his face while he poured the melted remains of a bell from IU’s Student Building into a ceramic mold.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

Across this state, Paleo-Indian hunter-gathers tracked mastodons armed with knapped chert spears. The Hopewell people adapted highly productive agricultural practices to the rich soil and produced corn and squash. Its first capitol was Corydon. It has 92 counties stretching from the Lake Michigan coast to the banks of the Ohio River. It has the most miles of interstate highway per square mile of any state in the union. Its highest point is Hoosier Hill.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

The Indiana University Office of the Bicentennial has commissioned two new mural projects for the Bloomington campus, to be installed in Wright Quad and Presidents Hall, as part of the Bicentennial Heritage Preservation and Campus Beautification project. Additionally, it is supporting the installation of the first regional campus history mural at IU Kokomo.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

"International education is always at a crossroads, as it should be," Lee Feinstein, founding dean of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, said at the recent opening of the first symposium offered as part of the Indiana University Bicentennial.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

IU Time Warp 2020 is the newest challenge at The Escape Room USA-Indianapolis. Loaded with IU spirit, trivia and memorabilia, this unique Hoosier experience debuted Sept. 28.

James VanderVeen, associate professor of anthropology and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, lead a dig on the campus of IU South Bend as part of the field study school.

A marked rock with a plaque sits on fresh mulch Oct. 7 in front of Woodburn Hall.

The museum, 307 E. 2nd St., opened the dig to the public in June with a series of Community Volunteer Days. “It started with a grant through the Indiana University Office of the Bicentennial,” Wylie House Museum Director Carey Beam explains.

On April 1, 1947, the second edition of The Southeastern Student was released to students and staff at Indiana University Southeast. The edition, an early ancestor of today’s student newspaper, The Horizon, consisted of school reminders, updates on the employment of alumni and statistics on a recent basketball tournament in Bloomington.

Ernie Pyle

Retired from University Library since 2001, Jim Lockwood had to begin his May 21 visit back to the IUPUI landmark with popping in on former colleagues in the cataloguing department.

Students are getting the opportunity to truly get their hands dirty and learn about the history of campus with an archaeological dig that started this week behind River Crossing campus housing.

Ernie Pyle

Indiana University President Michael McRobbie provided an overview of initiatives and changes to the university during a regular meeting of the Bloomington Rotary Club on Tuesday at the Indiana Memorial Union.

Ernie Pyle

Tens of thousands of pages about people, places and history magically appear at our fingertips, though the content is solely at the mercy of anonymous writers and editors all over the planet. Some subjects worthy of a page don't have one, while others that do may have incomplete and/or inaccurate information.

Indiana University President Michael McRobbie talked about the 1854 fire that destroyed IU's first building in Seminary Square and how Monroe County citizens raised $10,000 to rebuild it.

The Indiana University Bloomington campus is one of America’s most beautiful. The harmony of the limestone buildings and the generous and strategic use of green space make it a destination not just for students and scholars but also for students of architecture and tourists looking for an interesting stop.

The IU Bicentennial campaign is dedicated to making sure a high quality education remains accessible to Hoosiers, and that IU has the resources to support world class faculty and research. IU Foundation President and CEO, Dr. Dan Smith, describes IU Bicentennial campaign priorities.

Ernie Pyle

The Indiana University Office of the Bicentennial has awarded the latest round of Bicentennial Project Grants and Bicentennial Course Development Grants to support activities that commemorate and chronicle IU's cultural and historical identity in ways that will inspire and engage the community.

President McRobbie speaks at a podium during the State of the University address.

Indiana University received $461.8 million in total private individual and institutional philanthropy in fiscal year 2017, the Indiana University Foundation has announced. This includes over $168 million in nongovernmental grants and over $293 million in private philanthropy (i.e. contributions from individuals, businesses and foundations).

President McRobbie speaks at a podium during the State of the University address.

A bit of history stored away in a box. Richard Feingold studied at IU South Bend and later worked there in multimedia and communications. All the while he took photos on campus for 20 years from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.

A photo of a limestone IU trident on a building.

The current women’s basketball team for Indiana University continues to find success as more of the women’s players are finding their place in women’s basketball history.

A photo of a limestone IU trident on a building.

The Indiana University Office of the Bicentennial has awarded the second round of Bicentennial Project Grants and Bicentennial Course Development Grants to support activities that commemorate and chronicle IU's cultural and historical identity in ways that will inspire and engage the community.

A photo of a limestone IU trident on a building.

Ashley Smith hoped the hard work she put into her portrait of Carrie Parker Taylor, Indiana University’s first black female student, was evident. The applause from the crowd should have confirmed as much, but Taylor’s oldest granddaughter made sure Smith knew what she thought. “I like it,” said Carolyn Outlaw. “That has granny’s smile."

A close up of a bronze IU seal.

IU’s Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President has launched a new series titled “IU 2020” to celebrate IU’s bicentennial. The project will follow 12 current freshmen on their four-year journey at IU as they strive to find their place on campus and grow as individuals. 

A close up of a bronze IU seal.

It’s a new semester, a new year, and the library is continuing its mission to collect oral histories from IU East alumni and retired faculty for the IU Bicentennial and IU East archives! We are a few years away from celebrating 200 years of IU history, as well as IU East’s 50th anniversary, but it is never too early to start preserving and collecting all the unique and interesting stories from so many different members of the IU family.

A close up of a bronze IU seal.

Please join the IU Libraries and the Office of the Bicentennial in remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Thursday, January 19 from 2:00 pm to 6:30 pm for a screening of several civil rights documentaries. These rare documentaries were made during and just after Dr. King’s life, offering a historical lens into how he was viewed and understood by a contemporary audience.

A black and white drawing of a tiger.

A Kokomo native’s artwork is on display at Indiana University Kokomo until early next month. A collection of Misch Kohn’s prints will be on display at IUK until Dec. 10 in celebration of his 100th birthday. Kohn passed away in 2003. Kohn was born in Kokomo in 1916. He attended Kokomo High School and earned a scholarship to the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis.

A black and white drawing of a tiger.

From humble beginnings in Kokomo, Misch Kohn built a career as a pioneer in printmaking, with his work exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide. Now, he will inspire a new generation of artists, as the IU Kokomo Art Gallery hosts Misch Kohn: Beyond the Tradition.

A blonde woman wearing a red Indiana University cheerleader uniform raises a red pom pom

To kick off a spirited weekend of homecoming activity, the IU Bloomington Homecoming parade will take a new route this year, running north from the Indiana Memorial Union on the newly renovated Woodlawn Avenue to 17th Street. IU President Michael A. McRobbie will formally dedicate the new route at the beginning of the parade.

A black and white image of a young black man.

In 2007, IU President Michael McRobbie brought together a group of historians, archivists and librarians to discuss plans to document history for the bicentennial. Today, more than 400 oral histories have been recorded.

A close up of a bronze IU seal.

IU Bicentennial archivist Kristin Leaman-Morris joins Michael Glab on today’s Big Talk to discuss her role in collecting recordings of faculty, alumni, and support staff members talking about life on campus, including both everyday descriptions and extraordinary stories and personalities.

The limestone clock tower of the Student Building on the IU Bloomington campus against a blue sky.

A new website and a series of campus open houses will spread the word and engage faculty, staff, students and alumni in the Indiana University Bicentennial celebration, which is underway and will continue through the university's bicentennial year of 2020.

The limestone clock tower of the Student Building on the IU Bloomington campus against a blue sky.

A new website and a series of campus open houses will spread the word and engage faculty, staff, students and alumni in the Indiana University Bicentennial celebration, which is underway and will continue through the university's bicentennial year of 2020.

President Michael A. McRobbie stands with his hands in the air behind a podium.

Indiana University President Michael McRobbie officially announced the launch of four programs that are part of IU’s bicentennial celebration during his state of the university address Wednesday afternoon in Indianapolis.

A woman stands next to a display of papers on a table.

Plans for celebrating the Indiana University Bicentennial are well underway, especially with the incoming Class of 2020 arriving this fall. Many Signature Projects have been designed for IU’s Bicentennial, one of which is the Bicentennial Oral History Project.

A close up of a bronze IU seal.

IU President Michael A. McRobbie has announced the creation of a Bicentennial Steering Committee to plan and organize activities celebrating the 200-year anniversary of the university’s founding, and the appointment of the first University Historian.