Indiana University

Sustaining Hoosier Communities

Website |rural.indiana.edu/impact/shc

Indiana University’s Sustaining Hoosier Communities (SHC), an initiative of the Center for Rural Engagement forges partnerships between local communities and leaders and Indiana University’s faculty, staff, and students to enrich the health, prosperity, and vitality of our region.

Through undergraduate and graduate courses—in disciplines including public health, information systems, public policy, arts administration, folklore, public relations, biology, art and design, social work, and law—IU students and faculty work closely with community partners to generate real, innovative outcomes to the community’s projects.

During the 2017-18 year, 16 faculty members taught over 600 students in 20 courses at Indiana University through which they collaborated with local leaders in Lawrence County to understand and address social, economic, and environmental sustainability challenges and opportunities the community identified. During the 2018-19 year, SHC will collaborate with Orange County, Indiana.

Fun Facts about SHC

Indiana University junior, Sarah Murphy, was particularly excited about her outdoor recreation class last fall, as the class included developing a plan to turn the decommissioned Avoca Fish Hatchery into a sustainable recreation site. The outdoor recreation class was one of 20 courses at Indiana University Bloomington participating in the SHC initiative last year. For Sarah Murphy, the project hit close to home. As a native of Lawrence County, Sarah was excited to use her Indiana University coursework to help her home community. “It’s awesome to be able to work with this project because I’m from here,” she said. “You can see the potential of the site.” Murphy and her fellow students developed a plan that will draw community members to the site for programs that can be sustained economically over time.

Year Program Established | 2016
Country | US
Federal Region of Program | 5

Public or Private Institution | Public
Number of students at institution | 48,500

Highlight Articles/Videos

IU Partners With Lawrence County For New Sustainability Project by Alex Eady
IU kicks off initiative to partner on local projects – Pilot program focuses on enriching vitality of cities by Carol Johnson

Past City Partners

2020-2021 | Washington County • Population: 28,036 (2019)
2019-2020 | Greene County • Population: 32,006 (2018)
2018-2019 | Orange County • Population: 19,489 (2018)
2017-2018 | Lawrence County • Population: 45,495

Contact Info

Jane Rogan
Program Manager
(812) 856-3379
jrogan@indiana.edu