INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI continues to strengthen its position as a premier research institution by reinforcing the relationship between research and graduate education in its leadership structure.
The campus is combining the leadership of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the IUPUI Graduate Office under the auspices of the vice chancellor for research and graduate education. This new organizational structure has been in a pilot phase for the past two years, with the goal of building stronger ties between these two vital areas that naturally intersect within higher education.
A campus-wide taskforce, led by professor Philip Goff in the School of Liberal Arts, reviewed this new organizational structure and proposed recommendations to campus administration in January 2020. With the permanent establishment of this new leadership position, IUPUI will continue to emphasize strategic points of integration across the two offices, helping the campus achieve goals and priorities related to excellence in research and graduate education.
With the establishment of this role, Chancellor Nasser H. Paydar has announced that Janice Blum will serve as vice chancellor for research and graduate education at IUPUI. Blum has served as the interim vice chancellor since the pilot program began in 2019.
“As vice chancellor, Dr. Blum will continue to bring extensive institutional knowledge from her work as a faculty member, as well as the administrative expertise she further developed during her leadership as interim vice chancellor for research and graduate education,” Paydar said. “We deeply appreciate her service and the strategic vision she will continue to bring to this important role at IUPUI.”
Blum has served as associate dean of the University Graduate School and associate vice chancellor for graduate education since 2014. She is a professor of microbiology and immunology in the IU School of Medicine and served as co-director of the Center for Immunobiology before her appointment in the University Graduate School. She was also named a Chancellor’s Professor in 2008.
Blum’s leadership in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the IUPUI Graduate Office resulted in stronger and more streamlined operations across the two offices. With the permanent establishment of combined leadership for research and graduate education at IUPUI, Blum will continue developing an integrated strategy that will strengthen IUPUI’s research profile.
“Our efforts to innovate through state-of-the-art graduate training, coupled with our support for new research and discoveries at IUPUI, help fuel economic growth and improve lives around Indiana and the world,” Blum said. “I am delighted to support these endeavors and work with my talented colleagues in the graduate and research offices in Indianapolis and across IU.”
The establishment of this new leadership position and Blum’s appointment are effective July 1.
