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UIndy’s president announces
retirement
University
of Indianapolis President Beverley Pitts announced today that
she will retire at the end of the 2011-12 academic year,
ending seven years at the helm of Indiana’s third-largest
private college.
Pitts
informed the university’s Board of Trustees of her decision
Saturday. This morning, she sent email messages to faculty,
staff and students, calling her tenure at UIndy “one of the
most rewarding experiences of my life,” but saying, “The
timing is right for new leadership.” She looks forward to
devoting more time to travel and writing.
The
university recently wrapped up a successful six-year strategic
plan that expanded experiences, programs and facilities for
students while extending UIndy’s impact in the community,
noted Board Chair Robert Wingerter.
“Dr. Pitts
has done an outstanding job,” he said. “She has joined a line
of strong presidents who have moved the university forward in
academic standing and reputation.”
As UIndy’s
eighth president, Pitts has emphasized managed growth in
enrollment and a focus on retention through more robust
first-year experiences and early intervention strategies. To
enhance the residential experience for students, the
university has expanded Schwitzer Student Center, erected an
athletics and recreation facility, and opened a new residence
hall. Ground will be broken this fall on a seventh residence
hall.
Pitts has implemented promotion and
tenure incentives and elevated faculty salaries. Building on
groundwork laid by her predecessors, she has extended linkages
between the university and the city, and maintained the
university’s physical presence in historic Fountain Square.
Her decision to adopt “UIndy” as the university’s official
nickname, discarding “U of I,” reinforced the institution’s
connection and commitment to its hometown while setting it
apart from other
schools with similar initials.
The
university is partnering with the Indianapolis 2012 Super Bowl
Host Committee to provide a pregame practice site for the
National Football Conference championship team next year, and
recently announced a $7.5 million campaign to establish an
Institute for Civic Leadership & Mayoral Archives, building on
the papers and documents of four former Indianapolis mayors
that
are in the university’s possession.
On an
international scale, the university just announced a second
partnership in China. And, in its own neighborhood, UIndy
funded landscaping enhancements for the city’s Hanna Avenue
reconstruction, cofounded the Gateway Community Alliance, and
recently established a Homestead Program to provide $5,000
incentives for employees to purchase homes in the areas
surrounding campus.
“Dr. Pitts
truly has taken this institution to a new level, and the board
hopes to find a ninth president who will be able to build on
that momentum,” Wingerter said. A national search will begin
immediately.
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This
information was provided by the University of Indianapolis
media
relations office.
Phone: (317) 788-3298
news.uindy.edu/news
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