Bridging the Visibility Gap

In 1867, women were admitted as students to Indiana University. Today, they constitute the majority of the body of living alumni worldwide.  Despite their majority status, women, as well as members of minority populations, are significantly under-recognized for their many contributions as students, staff, faculty, and alumnae to the excellence and character of Indiana University, through such mechanisms as named scholarships and professorships, statues, portraits, markers, and other physical artifacts. Many students and alumnae have provided testimonials about how meaningful it is that IU values women's contributions and that efforts are being made to ensure recognition across all campuses of Indiana University.

In 2020, Indiana University will celebrate its bicentennial, and this occasion provides a unique opportunity to close the visibility gap in how these contributions are recognized. The Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council was instrumental in starting a project called “Bridging the Visibility Gap”, an ongoing effort to discover IU’s own hidden figures, women and others who have been unsung pioneers in their disciplines and careers, who have quietly transformed the lives of countless students, or who have achieved national and international recognition for their work but haven’t been as heralded at their home institution.  Through archival research, personal interviews, and investigations beyond IU, we are discovering thousands of women whose stories need to be told, in order to honor them and to expand the ranks of the kinds of role models that we hold up as exemplars of the Hoosier spirit.

Current funding available through the Office of the Bicentennial for such projects will cease after the academic year 2019-20. The Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council, in support of the University’s mission and to encourage others to give to Indiana University, has created an endowed fund for the purpose of establishing the IU Women's Philanthropy Visibility Fund. This will ensure that certain of these recognition projects can continue in perpetuity as worthy individuals are proposed.

Please consider supporting this initiative with a gift today. Gifts of any size will ultimately support things such as plaques, portraits and statues which range in price from $10,000 to $100,000.

Commitments made will be matched 1:1 with a generous challenge gift made by IU alumna and Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council member Julie Christopher. Your gift this IU Day can have double the impact!