Michael A. McRobbie

President of Indiana University and 2007 Alliance Honorary Member

Indiana University

Michael A. McRobbie became Indiana University's 18th president on July 1, 2007. His broad expertise in fostering research partnerships and his collaborative leadership style have enhanced the educational and research missions of the university and strengthened the university's already glorious traditions in the arts.

He joined IU in 1997 as vice president for information technology and chief information officer. In that role, he prepared the IU Information Technology Strategic Plan, an ambitious plan that has served as a model for institutions across the nation. He was also a major contributor to the creation of the School of Informatics, the nation's first university program to combine all aspects of information technology into a single discipline.

In 2003, McRobbie, who also holds professorships in cognitive science, computer science, informatics, and philosophy, was given the additional responsibilities of vice president for research. He was instrumental in securing multimillion dollar grants for life sciences initiatives such as the Indiana Metabolomics and Cytomics Initiative (METACyt) and the Indiana Genomics Initiative at IU (INGEN), as well as for the popular New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities Program. After being named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs for the Bloomington campus in 2006, he pursued priorities for the arts and humanities, the life sciences, and the recruitment and retention of students and faculty.

A native of Australia, he is also committed to the greater internationalization of IU through increasing the number of students participating in study abroad programs and expanding the university's relationships with the world's premier universities. He came to IU from the Institute of Advanced Study at the Australian National University, where he was a professor of information technology and chief executive officer of the Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Computational Systems.

Office: (812) 855-4613; Fax: (812) 855-9586; E-mail: mcrobbie@ovpit.indiana.edu
WWW: http://www.indiana.edu/~pres/biography.shtml