Daviess County is approximately 40 miles southwest of the IU Bloomington campus. It is part of the regional home to NSA Crane, the third largest naval installation in the world, and WestGate@Crane Technology Park. Daviess County is home to the state’s second-largest Haitian population, the seventh-largest Amish settlement in the nation, and a growing Hispanic community. Agricultural and industrial businesses such as Perdue Farms Inc., Grain Processing Corp., Olon Industries, M&C Tech, and Boyd and Sons Machinery employ local residents.
With a population of 33,381, Daviess County communities include Washington, Odon, Elnora, Montgomery, Plainville, Cannelburg, Alfordsville, and Raglesville.
As the sixth community to partner with Sustaining Hoosier Communities, residents and local organizations joined IU staff and faculty on projects ranging from supporting childcare needs to placemaking and tourism.
27projects
550IU students, faculty, and staff
Daviess County and IU Sustaining Hoosier Communities celebrate year of partnership
The public celebrated a year of collaboration between Daviess County and Sustaining Hoosier Communities that led to 27 community-identified projects.
The Sustaining Hoosier Communities program has been a real asset to Daviess County. The student projects have brought fresh ideas, energy, and practical solutions to local needs. It’s been inspiring to see our community and these students working together to make a lasting, positive impact.
Cindy Barber, Purdue Extension-Daviess County extension director and community development educator
Projects
As the workforce grows around Crane Naval Base and the Westgate Technology Park, the region would like to better understand the caregiving needs of families. Southern Indiana Development Corporation, Westgate Technology Park, and Crane Naval Base are partnering with the Center for Rural Engagement to solicit survey responses that will better inform future childcare capacity strategies and plans for the region.
Community Partners
Southern Indiana Development Commission
Westgate@Crane
Regional Opportunity Initiatives
IU Partners
Colleen Rose, Caleb Pittman, and Kyla Cox Deckard IU Center for Rural Engagement
As Daviess County seeks to expand their childcare capacity, they are working with Deb Getz's Leadership Theory & Practice in Youth Development course to develop a strategy to launch a community childcare coalition.
Community Partner
Daviess County YMCA
IU Instructor
Deb Getz, School of Public Health
Project Course
SPH-F 330 Leadership Theory and Practice in Youth Development, spring 2025
The City of Washington is interested in developing a new city seal. Guided by faculty from the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, graphic design students will team up with the city to produce renderings of a new city seal. seal.
Community Partner
City of Washington
IU Instructor
Francois Gagnier, Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
Project Course
SOAD-S 450/550 Professional Practice, fall 2024
To enhance the city's image and provide useful information to both residents and visitors, the city will partner with the IU Rural Placemaking Studio to work with comprehensive and graphic design students to design and fabricate new welcome signage. This signage will serve as one of several gateways to the community and reflect an updated aesthetic that matches the town’s progress and creative innovation.
Community Partner
Discover Downtown Washington
IU Instructors
Beth Huffman and Jon Racek, Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
IU Partner
Rural Placemaking Studio, fall 2024
In partnership with the Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program, this project will mobilize IU history students to collect stories of Washington Indiana’s Black history, through audio and video recordings, and identify and celebrate historic African American sites in the community through the collection of historic images.
Community Partner
Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program
IU Instructor
Lessie Jo Frazier, College of Arts + Sciences
Project Courses and Programs
AMST-A 201 Feeding America, AMST-A 358 Hoosier Heartland, Rural Scholars Program, fall 2024 and spring 2025
As part of the revitalization of downtown Washington, IN, Discover Downtown Washington would like to explore opportunities for developmentally appropriate installations that would attract children and families to the historic Meredith Park Plaza.
Community Partner
Discover Downtown Washington
IU Instructor
Elizabeth Mooradian, School of Public Health
Project Courses
SPH-K 450 and SPH-K 507 Physical Activity and Health Throughout Childhood, spring 2025
Public libraries are critical gathering places in our rural communities. As such, libraries in Daviess County are exploring the opportunity to offer lifelong learning classes and presentations to community members in Daviess County libraries through IU’s Discovery Café program.
Events include "Mental Health and Wellbeing during the Holidays" and "Reimagining Opera" at the Oden Winkelpleck Public Library. "What is AI?" will be offered at the Washington Carnegie Public Library.
Community Partners
Odon Winkelpleck Public Library
Washington Carnegie Public Library
IU Partner
Discovery Café, fall 2024 and spring 2025
Cross-dock and transload facilities play a crucial role in streamlining logistics and transportation of goods across networks. Daviess County has built a transload facility on four sidetracks near its shell building. To plan for the ownership and management of the operation, the Daviess County Economic Development Foundation is working with students from the Kelley School of Business to develop a business plan and associated business and finance systems.
Community Partner
Daviess County Economic Development Corporation
IU Instructors
Chris Cook and Brett Levitt, Kelley School of Business
Project Course
BUS-A 569 Field Consulting, fall 2024
Development along interstate exits is a specialized enterprise. Daviess County seeks to understand what kinds of commercial ventures or other development would benefit the area.
To realize maximum development value, students from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Kelley School of Business will work to develop a land use and feasibility report along with a one-page prospectus.
Community Partner
Daviess County Economic Development Corporation
IU Instructors
Mitch Berg, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Keith Dayton and Doug McCoy, Kelley School of Business
Project Courses and Programs
SPEA-L 622 Local Economic Development; IU Center for Real Estate Studies, fall 2024
To offer an inclusive resource guide to newcomers to the area, the City of Washington will work with public relations students to create a digital welcome packet. This packet will be available in multiple languages and feature relocation and community resource information.
Community Partner
City of Washington
IU Instructor
Matt Guschwan, The Media School
Project Course
MSCH-R 349 Public Relations Writing, fall 2024
Washington, Indiana, would like to document its rich and diverse history by highlighting local people and places of significance.
To reach this goal, the city will work with IU students to seek funding sources to support the creation of a downtown history trail. The IU Rural Placemaking Studio will design renderings for information placards featuring historical descriptors. History students will draft content for the informational placards.
The city will also work with IU students to develop web pages that link to information about each trail stop.
Community Partner
Discover Downtown Washington
IU Instructors
Laura Littlepage, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Beth Huffman and Jon Racek, Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
Lessie Frazier, College of Arts + Sciences
Katie Siek, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
Project Courses and Programs
SPEA-V 481 Grant Writing; AMST-A Hoosier Heartland; INFO-I 370 Methods for HCC; Rural Placemaking Studio; Rural Scholars Program, fall 2024 and spring 2025
Comprehensive design students from the IU Rural Placemaking Studio will collaborate with the Discover Downtown Washington design committee to create an interactive photo-op station at the new "Welcome to Washington" mural on Main Street. The station will encourage visitors to interact with the mural and explore the historic downtown area. The city also will work with IU students to seek funding sources to support the creation of the photo-op station.
Community Partners
Daviess County Economic Development Corporation
Discover Downtown Washington design committee
IU Instructors
Beth Huffman and Jon Racek, Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
Laura Littlepage, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Project Courses and Programs
SPEA-V 481 Grant Writing; Rural Placemaking Studio; Rural Scholars Program, fall 2024
Bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure have been discussed at various levels in multiple geographic parts of Daviess County. Some emerging initiatives, including a cycling corridor to the new downtown Commons, would benefit from additional research and recommendations. This project will partner with students in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs to create a benefit analysis of enhancing cycling access in the area.
Community Partners
Discover Downtown Washington
City of Washington
Southern Indiana Development Commission (SIDC)
IU Instructor
Scott Burgins, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Project Course
SPEA-L 563 Planning and Community Development, spring 2025
The community is seeking analytical insight into daycare issues in Daviess County and strategies to garner support for increasing childcare options and the childcare workforce. They hope to use this information to help the county develop local programs and incentives, establish more accredited daycares, and encourage more people to rejoin the workforce.
During the fall 2024 semester, IU students created a report on local, state, and federal policy that relates to childcare support and workforce capacity and includes recommendations for Daviess County and other partners.
During the spring 2025 semester, IU students will create a report that can be used to solicit local, state, and federal support for childcare, as well as information related to the establishment of childcare microfacilities.
Community Partners
Daviess County Economic Development Corporation
Daviess County Community Foundation
IU Instructors
Kyla Cox Deckard, Political and Civic Engagement Program
Deborah Getz, School of Public Health
Project Courses
PACE-C250 Leadership and Public Policy; SPH-F180 Intro to Child and Youth Work, fall 2024 and spring 2025
Rural libraries are the heart of small-town communities. Public health students interviewed public librarians in Daviess County and researched telehealth models to produce a practice brief for librarians summarizing key themes and recommendations for application in rural library settings. Students also presented at a local assisted living facility about grief and end-of-life planning.
Community Partner
Odon Winkelpleck Public Library
IU Instructor
Priscilla Barnes, School of Public Health
Project Courses
SPH-B 492 Research in Public Health Education, spring 2025
The City of Washington and Discover Downtown Washington would like to learn what improvements can be made to their websites so that they are accessible for all.
Students in the IU Serve IT clinic will conduct a comprehensive accessibility review of their websites and offer recommendations for improving user accessibility.
Community Partners
City of Washington
Discover Downtown Washington
IU Partners
Una Thacker, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
Liam Quinn, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
Laurie Burns McRobbie Serve IT Clinic
Project Courses
INFO-I 389 Serve IT Internship in Informatics; INFO-I 489 Serve IT Capstone Internship Informatics; CSCI-Y 390 Undergraduate Independent Study, fall 2024
David Wild's Data Science in Practice course will collaborate with Washington Community Schools to examine the impact of demographic change and constituent priorities on future school funding priorities.
Community Partner
Washington Community Schools
IU Partners
David Wild, Kyle Stirling, and Jason Gumaer, School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
Project Course
DSCI-D 592 Data Science in Practice, spring 2025
With Daviess County’s rich culture, the Washington Carnegie Public Library would like to engage immigrant communities with meaningful support and engage neighbors in cultural education and foreign language conversation skills.
The library is partnering with the IU Center for Caribbean and Latin American Studies to host an international night on January 27, 2025, from 6 to 8 p.m. IU centers, including African Studies, the Inner Asian and Uralic Resource Center, the Center for the Study of Global Change, and the Center for the Study of the Middle East, will host activities and more for residents.
Community Partner
Washington Carnegie Public Library
IU Instructor
Sonia Manriquez, Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies
IU Partner
IU Center for Caribbean and Latin American Studies, fall 2024 and spring 2025
Glendale Fish & Wildlife Area provides quality outdoor recreational opportunities while maintaining 8,060 acres of land and more than 1,400 acres of lakes and impoundments.
Students completing a capstone in the Outdoor Recreation, Parks, & Human Ecology program will create communications pieces to educate visitors about the impact of invasives on the area and engage in invasives removal on the property.
Community Partner
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Glendale Fish and Wildlife Area
IU Instructor
Brian Forist, School of Public Health
Project Course
SPH-O 413 Applications in Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Human Ecology
Montgomery's Main Street is a vital hub for the town, home to thriving businesses, the fire station, and the post office. The town wants a strategic plan to guide the street's future beautification.
To achieve this goal, in the fall 2024 semester, comprehensive design students created renderings of various elements to enhance the street's beauty, including bump outs, murals, and more.
During the spring 2025 semester, comprehensive design students will create renderings of a pocket park in the downtown area.
Community Partner
Town of Montgomery
IU Instructors
Beth Huffman and Kara Rasure, Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
Project Courses and Programs
SOAD-C 280 Introduction to Comprehensive Design Studio, Rural Scholars Program, fall 2024 and spring 2025
The Town of Odon seeks funding to implement plans to install two new pickleball courts.
The Town of Odon seeks funding to implement plans to install two new pickleball courts. Students will advance this goal by identifying funding sources and preparing grant applications for the pickleball courts.
Community Partners
Town of Odon
Odon Town Council
Frank Roberts Youth League
Odon Lions Club
Odon Park
IU Instructor
Laura Littlepage, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Project Courses and Programs
SPEA-V 481 Grant Writing, Rural Scholars Program, fall 2024 and spring 2025
Discover Downtown Washington and Washington Community Schools will work with graduate students in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs to create human resource handbooks to support their growing organizations.
Community Partners
Discover Downtown Washington
Washington Community Schools
IU Instructor
Laura Littlepage, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Project Courses
SPEA-N 522 and SPEA-V 454 Human Resource Management in Nonprofit Organizations, spring 2025
Washington has a thriving immigrant population. The community partner would like to establish a resource center connected to the county health department that would serve the needs of neighbors who are new to the community.
Students from the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs will develop a strategic plan to implement and sustain the center.
Community Partners
Purdue Extension-Daviess County
Daviess County Health Department
IU Instructor
Laura Littlepage, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Project Course
SPEA-V 551 SPEA Connect Week, spring 2025
The Town of Montgomery was seeking funding to repair and improve its sidewalks, with the goal of enhancing its downtown area.
The town partnered with the Indiana Resilience Funding Hub to identify and apply for funding opportunities.
Community Partner
Town of Montgomery
IU Partner
Indiana Resilience Funding Hub, fall 2024
The Town of Elnora would like to enhance the interior of its town hall and the greenspace surrounding it.
Led by faculty from the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, students will collaborate with the town to create a strategic design plan for Elnora Town Hall.
Community Partners
Town of Elnora
Elnora Town Council
IU Instructor
R. Spencer Steenblik, Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
Project Course
SOAD-C 381 Topical Issues in Collaborative Design, fall 2024
Washington, Indiana's Main Street has undergone a revitalization in recent years. There are available rental properties ready to optimize for economic growth. The community would benefit from recommendations and strategies to amplify and promote these opportunities.
Community Partner
Daviess County Economic Development Corporation
IU Instructors
Doug McCoy and Keith Dayton, Kelley School of Business
IU Partner
IU Center for Real Estate Studies, spring 2025
To link visitors with attractions and important local sites, the City of Washington will install locally inspired roadside signage to guide and intrigue visits to different amenities and attractions.
The City of Washington partnered with students from the IU Rural Placemaking Studio to form an overall plan, which included graphic designs and concepts, as well as fabrication-ready renderings of roadside signage unique to Washington, Indiana.
Community Partners
Discover Downtown Washington
Daviess County Economic Development Corporation
IU Instructors
Beth Huffman and Jon Racek, Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
IU Partners
Rural Placemaking Studio, Rural Scholars Program, fall 2024
Project spotlights
City of Washington works to enhance bicycle, pedestrian safety through IU collaboration
Graduate students from the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs worked with local leaders to explore practical solutions for boosting safety for local travelers, whether they’re on foot, behind the wheel, or pedaling.
Sustaining Hoosier Communities teams up with Indiana DNR to combat invasive plant species in Daviess County
The goal of this partnership was twofold: educate the public about the harm invasive plants cause and engage students in active removal efforts to help restore ecological balance.
Town of Elnora envisions new possibilities with IU design program
What began as a simple proposal to beautify their town hall with greenspace soon grew into 30 different architectural designs across the map of Elnora.
