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Education Bulletin 
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School of Education
Graduate Program
2001 - 2003
Academic Bulletin

Office of Graduate Studies 
W. W. Wright Education Building 
201 North Rose Avenue 
Bloomington, IN 47405-1006 
(812) 856-8504    Fax (812) 856-8505 
Contact Office of Graduate Studies 
 

The School of Education

History of the School
The Bloomington Campus
The Indianapolis Campus
Mission and Objectives
Alumni Association

History of the School
Nearly 150 years ago, in 1852, the Indiana General Assembly took the initial step in the development of the School of Education by providing for the establishment at Indiana University of “a Normal Department for instruction in the theory and practice of teaching.” Discontinued in 1870, the Normal Department was reinstated in 1886 as the Department of Pedagogy, later renamed the Department of Education. This department was part of what is now the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1908, following the enactm ent of a law that required formal training for public school teachers, the Department of Education became the School of Education. At this time, there were four faculty members and 189 students. In May 1923 the School of Education became autonomous from t he College of Arts and Sciences. In 1925 the first B.S. in education was granted, in 1929 the first M.S., and in 1932 the first Ed.D. The Ph.D. with a major in education has been awarded through the University Graduate School since 1924.

In 1951 the School of Education moved into a three-story limestone building on the corner of Third Street and Jordan Avenue on the Bloomington campus. This building also housed the education laboratory school (grades K-12). The School of Education grew ra pidly, and eventually the laboratory school was moved to a new facility at the corner of Tenth Street and Highway 46 Bypass. In 1979 the education building was named the W. W. Wright Education Building, in honor of Wendell W. Wright, the second dean of th e School of Education (1946-1959) and a university vice president.

Education classes have been taught in Indianapolis since 1914, when the Extension Division of Indiana University was established. As the Indianapolis campus grew and course offerings became more numerous, the Extension Division was renamed the Division of Regional Campuses. In 1969 it was possible to earn a bachelor’s degree in education through what had become known as the Indianapolis campus of Indiana University. The following year the branch campuses of Indiana University and Purdue University at Indi anapolis were unified in the establishment of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). At this time, the education program was located at the 38th Street campus.

In 1972 the IUPUI Division of Education was formally established, with faculty offices and classrooms in the Marrott Building on North Meridian Street. Three years later, in 1975, the Indianapolis and Bloomington units merged into a single School of Educa tion. In 1982 the school at Indianapolis moved into a new building on the main IUPUI campus, the Education/Social Work Building, at 902 W. New York Street.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Indiana University School of Education grew to become one of the largest schools of education in the United States. The Bloomington campus alone had more than 200 education faculty members. In some years, over 200 doctoral degr ees and 1,200 master’s degrees were awarded. In recent years the school has generated from five to seven million dollars of grant money annually for research, training, and development projects.

The Smith Center for Research in Education on the Bloomington campus was dedicated on June 26, 1975, to foster research and development in diverse educational areas. Occupying what was formerly the high school building of the university laboratory school, the center for many years housed several academic departments and many externally funded research, training and development projects. The center was named for Dr. Henry Lester Smith, who in his 30 years as dean of the School of Education (1916-1946) earn ed an international reputation for his leadership in the field and his strong commitment to research in education. It was largely through his efforts that the School of Education came to exist as a separate school in 1923.

In 1992 the School of Education in Bloomington moved into a new W. W. Wright Education Building, at 201 N. Rose Avenue. This modern facility offers the latest in technological facilities for instruction, training, and research. All academic programs are n ow housed in this building, with externally funded research, training, and development projects remaining in the Smith Research Center.

The Center for Research on Learning and Technology, located in the Wright Education Building, is a state-of-the-art facility for research and development in the application of technology to instruction. The CRLT has as its mission to promote and support a community of scholars dedicated to research and professional development on the design, use, and implementation of technology to improve learning. These issues are examined in three primary domains: 1) teacher professional development, 2) interactive dis tributed learning environments, and 3) classroom uses of technology. In fulfilling its role, the center also conducts workshops, creates educational products, trains educational leaders, develops effective management practices and facilitates educational partnerships among schools, universities, businesses and industries, and private and public organizations.

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The Bloomington Campus
Indiana University Bloomington is a residential campus of some 32,000 students. Woods and streams interlacing the 1,800-acre campus make it one of the most picturesque in the country. The university features a wide array of superior cultural offerings, in cluding nearly 1,000 concerts and performances each year from the world-renowned Indiana University School of Music.

Set in the rolling, wooded hills of southern Indiana, the city of Bloomington has been ranked by the New York Times as one of the “Big 10 of College Towns.” Students enjoy Bloomington’s excellent recreational facilities and the excitement generated by Ind iana University’s top-ranked athletic teams. Within an hour’s drive from Bloomington are several national forests, state parks, and lakes. Indianapolis, the state capital, is 50 miles away; Louisville and Cincinnati are both about 100 miles from Bloomingt on.

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The Indianapolis Campus
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis is an urban commuter campus located near the heart of downtown Indianapolis. The beautiful, modern campus offers many cultural and intellectual opportunities and is home to the nationally acclaimed Indiana University School of Medicine.

Home of the Indianapolis 500 automobile race, Indianapolis is fast becoming a national center for amateur and professional athletics. The city also hosts the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Repertory Theater, the Fine Arts Museum, fascin ating historical attractions, an excellent zoo, and the world’s largest children’s museum.


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Mission and Objectives of the School of Education
The Indiana University School of Education pursues four major missions:

  • To prepare professional personnel who are able to stimulate, plan, manage, and evaluate educational change.
  • To produce basic knowledge about education necessary and sufficie nt to support educational change.
  • To develop products, practices, and procedures aimed at promoting and facilitating change in education.
  • To establish and maintain synergistic relationships between the School of Education and its clients that enable all parties to respond positively to the need for educational change.
To fulfill its mission, the school strives to achieve the following objectives:
  • To promote and execute disciplined inquiry in all sectors of education.
  • To provide service to the state of Indiana, the nation, and the world in developing the finest possible school systems.
  • To prepare elementary and secondary teachers in all subject areas and in special education.
  • To prepare administrators and supervisors for the publi c schools of Indiana.
  • To prepare faculty members and administrators for colleges and universities throughout the world.
  • To prepare administrators, supervisors, and coordinators of special programs.
  • To prepare counselors, school psychologists, and reading specialists.
  • To prepare researchers and evaluators in the field of education.
  • To prepare educators and trainers in the use of technology for educational programs in schools, business, industry, and government.
The School of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and is a member of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

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School of Education Alumni Association
The School of Education Alumni Association was founded in 1951 “to further the educational, professional, and social interests of the School of Education and the alumni, individually and collectively.” The association sponsors alumni receptions at state a nd national conventions. Chalkboard, the magazine of the School of Education Alumni Association, is distributed to all alumni.

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Last updated: 28 June 2001
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