BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – With more than $2 billion in physical assets and a world-class reputation for academics and innovation, Indiana University (IU) will soon formally leverage its considerable intellectual muscle to grow the state of Indiana.

New IU president Michael McRobbie (himself an overt proponent of all things technology) has announced the appointment of longtime community advocate William B. Stephan to the new post of vice president of engagement.

Mirroring the unqualified success of Purdue University’s model of statewide engagement, IU is expected to extend its already formidable reputation in life sciences development on behalf of the state.

“IU is a tremendous asset to economic development in the state of Indiana,” said McRobbie in announcing Stephan’s new role. “We have a robust capacity for scientific research. We know how to transfer technology from the laboratory to the marketplace. We have a deep pool of talented experts in every aspect of starting and growing business ventures.”

The new position will actually be Stephan’s second tour of duty at IU. His first was the former vice president of university relations and corporate partnerships. In that position, Stephan was instrumental in creating the foundation for the new office of engagement three years ago.

Together with consulting firm Thomas P. Miller & Associates and a consortium of IU faculty and business leaders, Stephan in 2004 led the effort to produce a new plan for supporting Indiana economic development and engagement.

During the interim before the new office of engagement was created, Stephan took an executive post with Clarian Health Partners. Clarian is Indiana’s powerhouse medical and life sciences consortium. It includes Indianapolis-based Methodist Hospital, Indiana University and the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute in Bloomington, Ind.

Clarian works closely with IU medical and academic operations. Stephan’s new role was developed in discussions between McRobbie and Clarian CEO Daniel F. Evans Jr. Both McRobbie and Evans see Stephan’s new role as furthering the economic development and related outcomes for both institutions.

In the past, IU has been known in some sectors as a pure-play academic silo. It has been dubbed the “people’s republic of Bloomington” in previous years for its apparent reluctance to engage in a wholesale manner for the development and promotion of Hoosier assets.

In detailing the duties of the new office, McRobbie confronted this prior issue squarely: “IU has to play a greater role in the economic development of the state,” he declared. “Stephan knows better than just about anyone what Indiana needs to be doing to attract more investment and jobs.”

Citing Stephan’s prior role in public service, McRobbie added: “He is the perfect individual for this assignment.”

Recognizing that Purdue has earned a solid reputation for its research parks and business support, McRobbie says the Hoosier state’s top-two publicly supported institutions should be partners – not rivals – in economic development.

“Our competition with Purdue should be restricted to the football field and the basketball court,” McRobbie said. “Outside of that, we should be working together at every possible opportunity to advance the interests of the state.”

“Stephan has been a tremendous asset to Clarian and in his new role, we believe that he will contribute to the strengthening the alignment of our respective institutions and to hasten growth in the health and life sciences,” said Evans.

Stephan will report directly to McRobbie when he takes up his new duties in a few weeks. He will be based in Indianapolis. According McRobbie, Stephan’s new office of engagement will have oversight of “a wide array of economic development activities on IU’s eight campuses”.

Stephan, a 1984 graduate of the IU School of Law, served as president of the Indianapolis Private Industry Council from 1995 to 1998. He was responsible for work force policy and job-training resources. Before that, he was director of the work force development division in Indianapolis.

Michael Snyder is principal of The MEK Group, a marketing and business development consulting firm that provides communications-driven strategies to increase market share, enhance productivity and build distinctive brand awareness. Snyder can be reached at msnyder@themekgroup.com.
Click here for Snyder’s full biography.

Previous Columns in 2007:
Message From ad:tech Chicago: Ignore Consumer Voice at Your Peril (8/2/2007)
Indiana Gov. Daniels: WestGate to Be ‘Flagship’ of Tech, Engineering (7/26/2007)
Taxpayer Revolt: A Constitutional Convention For Indiana? (7/19/2007)
$100 Million Formula One Rolls Out of Indianapolis, Won’t Return in 2008 (7/12/2007)
State of Indiana’s Defense Business: $4.6 Billion and Growing (7/5/2007)
Purdue Simulation of World Trade Center Impact Could Improve Design, Safety (6/21/2007)
Nobel Prize Winners, Scholars Primed For ‘Premier Conference’ in Indianapolis (6/14/2007)
2012: Repeat of 1859 Solar ‘Super Storm’ Catastrophe? (6/7/2007)
Indianapolis 500: 220 Miles Per Hour on 100 Percent Fuel-Grade Ethanol (5/31/2007)
‘Baby Steps’ For Marcadia Biotech in Indiana Grow Into ‘Giant Leaps’ (5/22/2007)
Indiana Legislature Scores Big With Innovative Patent Tax Credit (5/10/2007)
IEDC to Showcase Hoosier ‘Best, Brightest’ at BIO 2007 in Boston (5/3/2007)
‘Little 500’ Bike Race Sports 21st Century Indiana University RFID (4/26/2007)
Manufacturing Critical For Global Success, Indiana Expert Says (4/19/2007)
First-Ever Indiana Robotic Proton System Nukes Deep Tumors (4/12/2007)
Purdue’s Discovery Park a $350 Million ‘Driver For Change’ (4/5/2007)
Cellulosic Fuels, Ag Tech to Play Key Role in Indiana’s Future (3/30/2007)
With FCC Deadline Looming, Indiana Ponders Telemedicine (3/22/2007)
Realigned TechPoint Set to Energize Indiana IT Growth (3/15/2007)
Indiana General Assembly on Tech: Chaos or Collaboration? (3/9/2007)
Indiana DSI Initiative Sets New Vision of Innovative, Large-Scale Tech Transfer (3/1/2007)
No ‘Corn Dot-Com Bust’ For Indiana Ethanol, Says Ag Secretary Miller (2/15/2007)
Battelle Report: Indiana Biosciences Again Established as National Player (2/8/2007)
Indiana Defense Muscle Grows With West Gate Tech Park Expansion (2/1/2007)
Twenty in 10: President Bush Leaps Future of Hoosier Biofuels Forward (1/25/2007)
Outlook on Indiana-Based Biofuels, World Markets: ‘We’re Ready’ (1/18/2007)
ChaCha in Indiana Attracts Funding From Amazon, Compaq Founders (1/11/2007)
Purdue Ethanol Tech May Render Current Fuel Production ‘Obsolete’ (1/5/2007)
Click for 2006 column archive.
Click for 2005 column archive.

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