IU selects NEA leader as winter graduation speaker
Editor's note: This story from The Bloomington Herald-Times is being published here as a courtesy for readers of IU in the News.
By MJ Slaby
Jane Chu, the chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be the winter commencement speaker at Indiana University.
The fall semester wraps up with the last day of finals on December 19, and commencement for both undergraduates and graduate students is 10 a.m. Dec. 20 at Assembly Hall.
This will be the only graduation for the 2014-15 academic year at Assembly Hall. Due to upcoming renovations, the spring ceremonies will move to Memorial Stadium for undergraduates and Mellencamp Pavilion for graduate students.
Chu is an IU alumna who earned her doctorate from the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis. She was nominated by President Barack Obama to lead the NEA in February and the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination in June.
Before that, she led the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri for eight years as the president and CEO. In that time, a $414 million center was built to house several performing arts organizations in Kansas City.
"As one of the nation's top arts leaders, Jane Chu performs a critical role in ensuring the continued support of artistic excellence, creativity and innovation nationwide and helping all of us understand the value and meaning the arts have in our everyday lives," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie in an IU press release Tuesday announcing Chu as the speaker.
Commencement is open to the public and doesn’t require tickets. Parking is also free. Doors open at 8 a.m. and the procession begins at 9 a.m.