Indiana Rocks!

One of many limestone towers at Indiana University in Bloomington

Massive yet graceful limestone structures lined the boulevard to our right as we made our way to the admissions office at Indiana University. “Majestic” is a good word to begin describing the beautiful Bloomington campus, but only a beginning. “Rock solid” is another, and as it happens, this university is not only built of limestone but also on a bed of it. 

Spanning some 2,000 acres and having evolved over two centuries, the IU flagship today is home to almost 40,000 undergraduates, who are pursuing any combination of more than 200 majors. Indiana is one of the most popular choices among our students when deciding where to apply, in no small measure because of the elite Kelley School of Business.

That Bloomington is considered one of America’s best college towns certainly is a factor, too. Then there’s that Hoosier spirit: everybody was buzzing about the football team's 55-10 win over Maryland a few days earlier, bringing its record to 7-0. The team remained undefeated, finishing the season at a historic 13-0 overall, 9-0 in Big Ten play, ultimately winning the conference championship and its first-ever #1 ranking.  

We entered via the southwest, historic part of campus known as Old Crescent, which dates back to the school’s founding in the early 1800s. It’s all gothic, wooded, and relatively quiet. It’s pretty much everything one might hope to find on an archetypal college campus. It’s just the first of the five or six “neighborhoods” that make IU less overwhelming than three square miles of world-class academia has any right to be. 

As we headed north, we found the science and engineering buildings and the Kelley School. Toward the center is the Arboretum District, featuring open spaces, the Eskenazi Museum of Art, and two libraries. Then there’s the Riverwalk District, the Athletics Corridor, and the East and South Residential neighborhoods, essentially 'hoods within a 'hood. The dorms in the northwest are where freshmen cluster and can find their peeps. 

So, in other words, Indiana takes what could be an oppressive environment and breaks it down into a series of navigable pathways. When we met up with one of our former students, she said the “neighborhood” vibe made all the difference for her at IU, a kind of enzyme of assimilation. Another attraction was the ability to mix and match majors and minors across all 12 schools at Indiana, which she was exploring. She also said she loved the sculpture of a giant brain outside the psychology department, especially when it was illuminated at night. 

We had already heard the phrase “mix and match” at least a few times during the information session. Rafael, a senior admissions director, shared that 63% of undergrads double-majored. When he said that an accelerated Master's degree in some majors could be earned in five years, we thought we heard the packed room of prospective students and their parents shift in their seats. 

When he told us about the opportunity, for example, to cut your own path by combining studies in the Center for Underwater Science, which offers instruction in underwater science diving, with courses in anthropology, archeology, and marine science, we could almost feel the room change. Students are free to pitch any ideas they may have for combining and recombining fields of study. How cool is that?

Rafael did advise that if it’s the Kelley School of Business you want, you should apply for direct admission, where previously an acceptance was likely if you met certain GPA and other requirements, but now involves a more holistic review.  It is possible to be accepted post-admission, but it is by no means a sure thing. It is also an option to pursue business studies outside of Kelley in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Hodge Hall, the building in which Kelley is primarily located, bursts with the energy of thousands of budding entrepreneurs. Many of them were dressed up in dark business suits, although we were told it was because they were having their pictures taken. They looked like an impressive bunch, the future of American enterprise without a doubt. 

For all of its forward-leaning intensity, IU also cherishes its traditions, perhaps none more than the chimes that emanate from its Bell Tower, which dates back to 1942 and is intended to link the school’s 19th-century origins to its present and its future.

Short bell sequences ring between classes, much like a clock tower at an older European university. On certain occasions, the bells might play “Indiana, Our Indiana,” or the national anthem. In many ways, they are meant to create a sense of belonging while on campus, and an indelible memory beyond that.

We left Indiana University as we found it, past those imposing yet inviting limestone towers, now to our left. Limestone, as you probably already know, is formed from marine life and carries with it the history of ancient seas. The Great Pyramid of Giza and medieval cathedrals were built of limestone.

You might say limestone is essential to modern civilization, and it is deeply intertwined with Earth’s climate and history. As foundations go, it’s pretty solid, metaphorically and otherwise. 

It is the kind of stone that builds.