Speech
Dr. Susan Sciame-Giesecke
December 6 is a very important date in the history of IU Kokomo. On December 6, 1963, the campus broke ground for the first building on this site – today it is known as the Main building. It is our major classroom facility, almost every student takes at least one class in this building each semester. When the main building opened in 1965 we had 11 full-time faculty – today we have 130, we had 311 students, today 3100. We offered 6 two year certificates as well as courses toward a baccalaureate degree – it wasn’t until 1970 that the campus would see its first graduates in Education and Nursing.
So here we are again on December 6, 2018 breaking ground for the 8th building on this campus – the student event center. The campus is now truly a mature baccalaureate university offering a full complement of degrees to serve our 14 county region.
I am not surprised to see so many people here today – because this is a big deal for us. Our first new building in 20 years. We are most grateful for the extensive renovation of the main building on campus and the library building, but this is a new building that will fill a space need we have because of our growth.
The building is the result of tremendous support from the communities we serve, our donors, and our alumni. Thank you all for being here today to celebrate with us.
It is also the result of the hard work by the IU Kokomo faculty and staff. This institution has continued to grow because of their passion for our mission. When I became the Chancellor of this campus, I shared a quote from Winston Churchhill - “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”
My wealth of institutional knowledge was important as I began my work as Chancellor, but the support, energy, and innovative ideas of the faculty and staff provided the foundation for our tremendous success and growth.
The future is bright for this campus and as we all watch this new building being constructed out our office windows, we will know that a new building is a sign of continued growth and a symbol of the possibilities to come. Thank you.