Students in front of Beta House
The School of Informatics is the new kid on the Indiana University Bloomington block. Established in 2000, the school doesn’t have a long history. Nor does it have years of alumni to call upon for support.
But those it does have are accomplishing a lot.
Take, for example, the school’s recent renovation of the Beta House, a former fraternity. The new home won’t be the only building Informatics occupies. Its Computer Science faculty will still largely reside in Lindley Hall, and about half of the Informatics offices are in the renovated former sorority house next to the Beta House.
But Dean Bobby Schnabel says the Beta House, when completed, will reflect the exciting nature of Informatics.
“There’s a lot of promise within the school,” he notes. “We have a lot of exciting things going on with the interdisciplinary nature of our work. And the Beta House will reflect that.”
For instance, the lobby will include a multimedia platform of video screens. So when you enter the communal space, you’ll be presented with the hi-tech work that students there are known for.
The $3 million Beta House renovation also marks a beginning. “We need to build a community of donors, one gift at a time,” Schnabel says. “The Beta House is the start of that community. And it was a great fundraising success.”
And the school is following it with a sponsor-a-brick project, Informatics-style. “We call it the InformatiCS Chip,” says Schnabel. “Donors can sponsor a Chip that will be on display on a wall in the Beta House. All the money goes to student scholarships. The capital CS signifies that Computer Science is part of the Chip as well.”
The Chip will be an alternative to the nearly $750,000 in major gifts that supported the Beta House renovation. Current graduates and their parents will begin a philanthropic relationship with Informatics through the Chip. “And that will be another great way to build our school,” Schnabel adds.
Someday, Schnabel says he’ll ask Informatics alumni to support an aggregated new building. It will be an ambitious project. But the Beta House is a great beginning. And this new kid is just getting started.