>newground
Indiana University researchers are playing a pivotal role in Indiana's Life Sciences initiative.
If you are looking for an understanding of the productive and long-standing partnership between the Lilly Endowment and Indiana University, shared vision is certainly at the core.
The Lilly Endowment has invested generously in IU over the years. The numbers from two grants made at the end of 2004 are simply extraordinary: In just three weeks, the Lilly Endowment invested nearly $80 million in Indiana University’s strategic priorities.
The first of the Lilly gifts, a $26 million grant, is part of the Endowment’s $100 million state-wide initiative. The plans are to expand intellectual capital—knowledge that has a commercial value—at Indiana’s 37 colleges and universities.
Sara B. Cobb, vice president for education at the Lilly Endowment, talked about Lilly’s objective: “We believe that the creative enthusiasm that bright and open minds bring to classrooms and laboratories and community settings can profoundly advance the schools’ pursuit of excellence.”
The goal is to enhance existing efforts, Cobb said, “to form a critical mass of excellence and innovation, enhancing the reputation of Indiana and improving the quality of life of Indiana citizens in the years ahead.”
See the projected uses of the $26 million grant here.
Lilly’s $53 million gift, the largest grant in IU Bloomington’s history, will fund a new Indiana Metabolomics and Cytomics (METACyt) Initiative in Bloomington, including a broadened life sciences research agenda, retention and attraction of distinguished scientists, and new contributions to the state’s economic development.
Building intellectual capital in Indiana is vital to the future prosperity of the state, Cobb added. This gift will go a long way toward promoting Lilly’s efforts in that area.
In response, President Herbert expressed IU’s gratitude: “We are profoundly grateful to the Lilly Endowment for recognizing the quality of Indiana University’s Life Sciences research as well as making these critical investments in a bold expansion of those efforts.”
>Sandra Bate
Click here to see the announcement of Lilly Endowment’s $53 Million Gift to Indiana University Bloomington.