Building a regional culture

By Ruth Person, Chancellor of IU Kokomo

When that statement was made, I felt like I was back playing “tag” as a child, where someone says “Tag, you’re IT!” and I’m sure Purdue Director Mike O’Hair felt the same way!

Serving an 11-county area of any state is a daunting prospect, particularly where extensive connections between and among communities are not self-evident and a sense of regionalism is not as apparent as it is in some other parts of the country. Just recently, I have been reading Calthorne and Fulton’s The Regional City (Island Press, 2001) in order to develop a better understanding of how to build a regional culture. The authors stress that the emergence of regionalism is clearly upon us in the United States. They highlight the fact that the newly emerging regional structure in this country is a “layering of networks: networks of communities, networks of open space, networks of economic systems, and networks of cultures.” Further, they emphasize that the health of a new region “depends on the interconnectedness of these networks, the sophistication of the interfaces and the vitality of the elements. The region’s common ground can be built from its open space systems and its cultural diversity, from its physical history and its economic character.”

A regional, comprehensive public university can serve as a critical force in connecting the disparate elements of a geographic area into a true region for several reasons. First, the university is a neutral entity that receives public support, encompasses all school corporations, political jurisdictions and economic entities, and espouses no particular religious, political, social or economic philosophy, and, thus, can serve as a common ground for discussion of community and regional issues. Second, a wealth of talent in the form of faculty, staff and administrators is available to study and analyze these issues. Third, facilities are available to provide educational and cultural support to a wide range of constituents. Fourth and most critical, the university can serve as a focal point for the education of citizens of the region who come together to study, and at the same time, to learn more about one another.

In all of these ways, our campus at IU Kokomo has served and will continue to serve as an important symbol of connectivity in the region—a bridge between past, present and future that will help us grow and prosper in north central Indiana and become a truly identifiable region in the state. IU Kokomo will continue to serve as a primary source for the education of future generations of north central Indiana residents who seek to earn an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree. Moreover, it will continue to serve as a place for lifelong learning—or retraining for new careers, for learning for enjoyment’s sake, for workforce development—and will also continue to serve as a source of cultural and intellectual activity for the community as part of their educational mission.

In these endeavors, we are joined by our higher education partner, the Purdue University School of Technology at Kokomo, to further the education of the citizens of our region. Together, we can create a truly connected region that encompasses all of north central Indiana by serving as a bridge between and among all of our citizens and communities. We are fortunate to have many other partners in the region with whom we cooperate as well. All of our students who engage in “field experience”—student teaching, nursing clinical practice, business or other internships—are supported by organizations that are our partners in applied education—schools, hospitals and businesses alike. The campus serves as the host for the region’s 21st Century Scholars Program as well as for the Howard County Partners in Education office. We sponsor the county science fair and engage in cooperative ventures with cultural organizations. The Kokomo Howard County Economic Development Corporation is serving as an increasingly visible partner as we move further into economic development efforts. All of the corporations (as well as individuals) who provide us with financial support are also our important partners.

In short, we could not be what we are and what we aspire to be without partners. Together, we are all working toward the same end—making sure the citizens of north central Indiana have access to the higher education they need and deserve.