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IU Office of the Bicentennial launches medal design competition

For Immediate Release Jan 22, 2018
The IU Student Building on fire in 1990.
The Student Building on the IU Bloomington campus burns in December 17, 1990.Photo courtesy of IU Archives

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University Office of the Bicentennial opened a competition for the design of the IU Bicentennial Medal on Jan. 20, 2018, the 198th anniversary of the university’s founding.

The competition will welcome designs from IU faculty, staff, students, alumni and the public, and will close on April 18, 2018.

A committee chaired by IU Board of Trustees member MaryEllen Bishop, will review all submitted designs and present finalists to President Michael A. McRobbie in the summer. The winning artist will receive $5,000, and the design will be cast into the obverse side of the medal. The university seal will be featured on the reverse side.

Designs should capture the spirit of IU and honor its 200-year history. The IU Bicentennial Medal honors service in support of IU’s mission as a public university. It will be awarded to individuals and organizations who, through their personal, professional, artistic or philanthropic efforts, have broadened the reach of Indiana University around the world.

“The IU Bicentennial offers us an opportunity to reflect on our first 200 years and what we envision for our university moving forward into its third century of excellence in education, research and creative activity,” McRobbie said. “The new IU Bicentennial Medal is one of the signature ways we will honor the university’s proud history, heritage and character and the extraordinary positive impact that members of the broad university community continue to have here in Indiana and around the world.”

The medals will be forged with bronze salvaged from the old Student Building bells, recovered after the 1990 fire.

“Individuals honored with this award will receive a piece of IU history,” said Kelly Kish, director of the IU Office of the Bicentennial.

Nominations for Bicentennial Medal recipients will open in summer 2018 and close on Jan. 20, 2019. The medals will be awarded during anniversary activities through 2020.

Indiana University was founded on Jan. 20, 1820, making it one of the oldest public universities in the nation. To celebrate its bicentennial, IU has developed a multiyear, multicampus program that will recognize and chronicle IU history, showcase the university’s significant contributions to the world and set a course for the next century. For more information about the bicentennial program, visit https://200.iu.edu.

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IU Newsroom

Nicole Wilkins

Senior Director of Strategic Communications

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