Indiana University Bloomington

Bloomington, IN

F
Score: 45/100
36,571
Undergraduate students
$12,144
Annual tuition
53 / 100
Diversity Index
Large Campus
Large Campus
public
Public University
Urban Campus
Urban Campus
Midwest Region
Description

In 2023, the Indiana Daily Student (IDS), the student-run newspaper of Indiana University in Bloomington, spoke with several disabled students who were not receiving the accommodations that Disability Services had approved for their classes. One student, who is hard of hearing, said that the lack of accommodations from her professors negatively impacted her education and made it frustrating to attend class and more difficult to learn alongside her peers. "It makes me feel like they don’t really care about individual students and it’s more about those without disabilities," said the student.

A student tells Disability GPA, "Disability Services at my university is such a process and a half that I have had much more success privately communicating my needs with my professors individually than going through with their office as a middle man."

Earlier this year, Indiana University caused a scandal throughout academia when it fired tenured computer science professor, Xiaofeng Wang, after the FBI raided his home for alleged espionage. "Terminating his employment via an email was a violation of university policy, which prohibits firing a tenured professor without cause, and requires a 10-day notice and a hearing before a faculty board of review, if requested by the staff member," said Alex Tanford, president of the American Association of University Professors IU Bloomington Chapter. "The faculty is deeply concerned. If the administration can fire a tenured professor without due process and in violation of a policy approved by our trustees, none of us is safe." Wang's firing has reignited concerns over targeting of Asian scholars and a possible revival of the China Initiative, which was initially launched under the first Trump administration. 

Indiana University is ranked 73rd among national universities by U.S. News. It was ranked 73rd last year as well.

Has the university committed to maintaining its DEI programs?

NO

On May 22, 2025, IU Today posted the following statement: "To further ensure compliance with state and federal guidance, the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will sunset, effective today... Finally, the Office of Institutional Equity has transitioned to become the Office of Civil Rights Compliance, which more accurately reflects its work and mission to oversee the university’s compliance with federal civil rights laws."

What types of activities exist on campus for disability inclusion, advocacy, and recreation?

Disability Cultural Center

NO

Adaptive sports programs

YES

Student organizations

YES

Other

NO

Adaptive Sports and Recreation at Indiana University is a club sport, which are "student-run organizations that are open to everyone at Indiana University." The club organizes wheelchair basketball sessions.

The Neurodiversity Coalition at IU "[promotes] a culture of inclusivity for neurodivergent individuals on the university campus and within the greater community."

The number of disability-centered articles published in the campus newspaper last year

2

Does the university use stigmatizing language about mental illness or disability on its website?

YES

The Indiana School Mental Health Initiative's website states, "The overwhelming majority of 21st century school shooters were adolescents that more frequently suffered from mental health issues or limited conflict resolution skills. It is essential to assess and support the mental health needs of students both to prevent school violence and to enable them to cope with trauma in the aftermath of an incident." However, the presence of mental health issues cannot logically be interpreted as the immediate cause of violence. I debunk the fallacy of mental health and violence in greater detail here.

Does the university provide an alternative-to-police mental health crisis response team?

NO

Does the university offer a Disability Studies major?

Disability Studies major

NO

Disability Studies minor or certificate

NO

One or more classes in Disability Studies

YES

IU Bloomington offers a few courses on disability, including HIST-A 398, Disability in the United States; and SPH-Y 225, Disability, Health, and Function.

Recent News
Published on:
2025-04-02

On March 28, the FBI searched two home addresses associated with Wang. The same day, IU also reportedly terminated Wang’s job via an email sent by provost Rahul Shrivastav, which WIRED obtained and was first reported by The Indiana Daily Student. The email also said it was understood that Wang had recently accepted a position with a university in Singapore, a detail also repeated in the statement attributed to Li.

The statement says Wang planned to start at the unnamed Singaporean university on June 1, 2025, and requested a leave of absence from Indiana University in early March. But IU responded by “putting him on administrative leave, removing his IU homepage, and disabling his IU email address,” it claims.

Wang’s new job offer “would be irrelevant in any event because it is for [the] next academic year and would not justify firing him,” Tanford says. Terminating his employment via an email was a violation of university policy, Tanford claims, which prohibits firing a tenured professor without cause, and requires a 10-day notice and a hearing before a faculty board of review, if requested by the staff member. “The faculty is deeply concerned. If the administration can fire a tenured professor without due process and in violation of a policy approved by our trustees, none of us is safe,” he says.

Source:Link

Recent News
Published on:
2021-04-12

“I felt more betrayed by the people who were around and they did not do anything to stop him because they were all white and I was the only Black person,” Aluko said.

The most upsetting part is when this incident happened to me, there were people around walking. No one said anything or tried to talk to me.

Source:Link

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