Rural Indiana Faculty Tour

Tuesday, August 11, 2026, 8:00 AM – Thursday, August 13, 2026, 5:30 PM

Explore rural Indiana with the IU Faculty Tour

Join us August 11–13, 2026, for the Rural Indiana Faculty Tour—an immersive, three‑day, 250‑mile journey through southern Indiana designed to strengthen IU Bloomington’s engagement with rural communities.

Hosted by the Center for Rural Engagement and sponsored by the Office of the Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor, this experience directly advances the IUB 2030 strategic plan, offering faculty the opportunity to build collaborative partnerships, expand community‑engaged research and teaching, and gain firsthand insight into the assets, challenges, and innovations shaping rural Indiana.

Through conversations with local leaders, site visits, and shared learning, participants will broaden their networks and deepen their understanding of how IU can meaningfully contribute to the state’s future. Tour attendees are encouraged to remain involved afterward through quarterly gatherings and mentoring opportunities.

What to expect

  • A pre‑tour reception and orientation on Wednesday, August 5, 4:30–6:00 p.m.
  • Three full days of travel via charter bus
  • Walking tours, community presentations, and networking opportunities
  • Two nights of hotel lodging and meals provided
  • A post-tour reception on Tuesday, September 1, 4:30–6:00 p.m.

Eligibility

All IU Bloomington faculty are welcome to apply. Priority will be given to early career, tenure-track and tenured faculty with broad representation of the IU Bloomington schools.

Incentives

Participants who attend the tour will be eligible for the following incentives from the Center for Rural Engagement. A short application process will be used to determine the grantees.

Experiential learning, transformative scholarship, and service to the state are core strategic areas of the IUB 2030 strategic plan. Tour attendees are eligible for one of three instructional developmental grants for the first-time design of undergraduate and graduate courses that integrate community-engaged learning with a rural Indiana Community. Each grant recipient receives $2,000 to plan a course.

Tour participants will be eligible for one of two consultations with the center's Data and Metrics Specialist, Caleb Pittman, to help with rural projects. Awardees will create a plan and timeline with Caleb for up to 20 hours of his time for services such as:

  • Data collection: Gathering and summarizing demographic data, economic indicators, public health statistics, and other publicly available information to support research projects or grant applications.
  • Survey research: Designing surveys, managing and distributing participant incentives, conducting survey distribution, analyzing data, and summarizing and presenting results.
  • Qualitative data collection: Writing interview and focus group guides, managing and distributing participant incentives, scheduling and implementing interviews or focus groups, and analyzing and summarizing qualitative findings.
  • Data visualization: Developing interactive or static dashboards, maps, charts, graphs, and other visualizations for project metrics, economic/demographic statistics, or other data using tools like Tableau and Excel.
During the tour, Dr. Jon Macy, Professor and Assistant Dean for Academic Programs in the School of Public Health–Bloomington, will lead a session on effectively documenting community-engaged work in tenure and promotion materials. He will also offer post-tour one-on-one consultations, including a review of personal statements. We also invite faculty to participate in the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs fall promotion and tenure workshop on community-engaged research, and to consult with VPFAA about promotion and tenure processes.
Faculty members who attend the tour will receive a letter of recognition from the provost.

Tour Highlights

Day 1 | August 11, 2025

The tour begins in Orange County, where faculty will engage with local partners on housing initiatives, redevelopment projects, community health, and food‑systems work, with additional afternoon activities still being finalized. The day concludes at the French Lick Resort with an evening program featuring community and industry speakers and networking opportunities. 

Day 2 | August 12, 2025

Day two starts with a tour of Fischer Farms and a lunch hosted by the Fischer family, followed by an afternoon in Dubois County featuring speakers from community organizations, a tour of the Monastery Immaculate Conception, and time to explore local spaces. The day ends in Jasper with dinner and conversations with area leaders at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center and an optional social gathering.

Day 3 | August 13, 2025

The final day includes a morning visit to Odon to see the historic Abraham Lincoln statue, sculpted by Ira A. Correll, followed by a drive enriched with regional context about southern Indiana’s forest, industry, and heritage sites. The tour concludes in Brown County with lunch and community presentations focused on health, quality of life, and local collaboration before returning to Bloomington.

Ready to join us on the road?

Submit your application