Welcome!
Welcome to the Indiana University Government Relations and Economic Engagement Report! As our team begins its work in 2022, we want to provide our colleagues, friends and partners across the state with information about the truly amazing work members of the IU community are doing to improve the health and well-being of Hoosiers. We hope this report can be informative, entertaining and useful to you. Our team is available as a resource to everyone, including state and federal policymakers, business leaders, and community and regional partners, interested in how IU can best leverage the university’s talent and resources to make our campuses, state and country a better place.
For this first edition of the 2022 report, we wanted to provide a quick primer on the Indiana General Assembly, which has begun its 2022 legislative session in earnest. Legislators have filed approximately 850 bills, several committees have begun meeting, and both the House and Senate have moved bills through their respective chambers. This year’s legislative session will go through mid-March, tackling a wide variety of issues impacting the Hoosier state.
As the legislative session evolves, this weekly report will provide updates on the happenings at the Statehouse and information on bills the university is tracking.
We hope each of you have a safe, healthy and happy 2022, and we look forward to communicating with all of you soon.
State of the State Address and Legislator Priorities
This past Tuesday, Jan. 11, Gov. Eric Holcomb presented his annual State of the State address. He spoke about the state’s economy, education issues, matters of public health and infrastructure projects. IU President Pamela Whitten attended the address, which was her first as president.
The beginning of the legislative session presents an opportunity to hear about the legislative priorities of our state leaders. Gov. Holcomb introduced his priorities before the session began. His “Next Level Agenda” reflects many of the same topic areas covered in his State of the State address. Each of the four legislative caucuses have also introduced their legislative priorities, which can be reviewed here:
Senate Republicans
Senate Democrats
House Republicans
House Democrats
Statehouse Update
Introduced BillsThe IU State Relations team reviews every bill that is introduced and determines whether and how the bill could impact the university. This Statehouse Update provides a summary of bills that were introduced during the first two weeks of the legislative session and that the team is tracking.
Read House and Senate Bills • January 14, 2022
IU News
IU, Purdue partner with Ascend Indiana to grow state’s economy, increase ‘brain gain’
Indiana's top two public research universities are joining forces to keep more graduates in the state and fill the Hoosier talent pipeline with highly skilled workers. IU and Purdue University have partnered with Ascend Indiana, the talent and workforce initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.Through the Ascend Network, the initiative's online job matching platform, IU and Purdue will be able to more effectively connect students with Indiana career opportunities that match their skill sets and interests, as well as offer increased one-on-one career guidance and job search support.
IU expertise, connections and funding are energizing Bloomington’s innovation and startup culture
Gov. Eric Holcomb appoints Cynthia Lucchese to Indiana University Board of Trustees
Cynthia Lucchese is chief strategy officer for Penske Entertainment and an IU alumna. She will fill a vacancy left following the passing of Trustee Melanie S. Walker. "Cindy Lucchese is a transformative business leader whose experience as an IU alumna and member of the Dean's Council of the Kelley School of Business give her a deep understanding and enthusiasm for Indiana University's core missions," said IU President Pamela Whitten. Read more about 'Gov. Eric Holcomb appoints Cynthia Lucchese to Indiana University Board of Trustees'
IU’s Manufacturing Policy Initiative hosts a series on the future of manufacturing in the U.S.
Shoebox Fund makes two new investments in student-led innovation
Two more student startups have been selected to benefit from the Shoebox Fund, an investment fund that supports student innovation at IU. Established earlier this year through a gift of $60,000 from Donna and John Shoemaker, the Shoebox Fund supports companies to emerge from the Shoebox, the student startup incubator at Shoemaker Innovation Center at the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering in Bloomington. Read more about 'Shoebox Fund makes two new investments in student-led innovation'
IU foreign language expertise playing key role helping to resettle state’s Afghan refugees, integrate them into the Hoosier economy
Luddy CS students part of team that takes home award in Navy's HackTheMachine: Unmanned competition
Two students from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering were part of a team from the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, that recently took home second place in HackTheMachine: Unmanned, a technology challenge designed to accelerate the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Task Force. The team was tasked with hacking the military’s emerging unmanned pilot systems to discover new exploits and create high-end solutions, which will be directly integrated and utilized throughout the Navy. Read more about 'Luddy CS students part of team that takes home award in Navy's HackTheMachine: Unmanned competition'
