KOKOMO, Ind. — Campus, community, and state leaders dedicated Indiana University Kokomo’s new collaborative learning space, Innovation Hall, in a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday (September 10).
Chancellor Mark Canada invited guests to tour the newly opened space, funded in part by a $1.5 million grant from the first round of funding from the Indiana READI program and matching funds from Indiana University. Located in the west wing of the Kelley Student Center, it includes a new multicultural center, a media lab/eSports arena, a technology studio, dedicated space for the KEY Center for Innovation, and a business analytics lab, as well as professional offices and other training and gathering spaces for students.
Canada called the opening of Innovation Hall a turning point for the campus.
“For the last decade, we have been steadily rising as a destination campus, thanks to our new designation as a public liberal arts college, our growth in athletics, and, of course, the KEY, our campus-wide experiential learning initiative,” he said. “Innovation Hall allows us to take our work and our reputation to an even higher level. We have state-of-the-art learning spaces specifically designed for dynamic, hands-on, transformative learning … This is a place where things will be happening, both for our students and for members of the community.”
Guests met staff in the counseling center, career center, and multicultural center, talked to students in the multicultural center resource room, toured the collaborative learning space occupied by the KEY Center for Innovation and data analytics lab, and cheered as Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore faced an eSports athlete in the new eSports competition arena.
“This continues to show not just the importance and the value that IU Kokomo has within the IU family, but the value that it brings to Kokomo, Howard County, and this region,” he said. “It is such an asset and economic development draw for our region. Our first READI initiative showed the importance of this regional draw to help fund this amazing transformation and what it provides not only to the students, but to the region and economic development in our community. This hall and the effect it will have on future generations is phenomenal, and I’m looking forward to all it continues to give.”
Ken Iwama, vice president for regional campuses and online education, said IU Kokomo represents the power of IU’s five regional campuses, noting that together they have about 18,000 students and more than $1 billion in economic impact on the state.
“With the grand opening of Innovation Hall, IU Kokomo is a perfect example of how IU is a driver for regional energy,” he said. “It symbolizes all we do for our communities, for the state, and for IU, and how IU Kokomo in particular will lead us into our future together.”
David Rosenberg, Indiana secretary of commerce, is proud the state continues to invest in itself.
“There’s no better example than this READI initiative,” he said, adding that no other state is doing anything like the program in regard to population growth, talent attraction, and quality of place investments.
Over two rounds of READI grants, the state has invested $1.25 billion, leveraging more than $20 billion in outside capital investment in quality of life assets like parks and trails, housing, entrepreneurship and childcare. He cited North Central Indiana as a leader in the movement, gaining more than $65 million in the two rounds.
“Innovation Hall is a stellar example of what READI is specifically designed to do, bringing together industry, talent, and innovation to improve quality of life and create the place to keep talent here in the Hoosier state,” he said. “Thank you for continuing to move our state forward together.”
IU President Pamela Whitten joined via video to welcome guests, saying Innovation Hall will serve “as a hub of creativity and collaboration.”
She said IU believes in providing environments that nurture talent and turns ideas into reality.
“Innovation Hall, where every corner is filled with potential and possibilities, embodies this spirit,” she said. “All of us at IU are grateful to the state of Indiana for the grant made through the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI, that has helped fund Innovation Hall. This support is a testament to the commitment IU and the state share to prepare students for tomorrow’s challenges.
“As IU Kokomo approaches its 80th anniversary, we celebrate the many ways the campus is paving the way for a brighter future, a future driven by innovation shaped by our students and led by Hoosiers,” she said.
Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.
