BLOOMINGTON — In an effort to translate academic research into real-world regional impact, twenty-five Indiana University Bloomington faculty members have been selected to participate in the 2026 Rural Indiana Faculty Tour.
The immersive, three-day chartered bus journey will take place from August 11–13, 2026. Hosted by the IU Center for Rural Engagement (CRE) with joint support from the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, the excursion will cover more than 250 miles across four southern Indiana counties: Orange, Dubois, Daviess, and Brown.
The initiative directly advances the university’s “IUB 2030” strategic plan, aiming to dismantle the traditional “town and gown” barrier by establishing collaborative partnerships and community-engaged scholarship with rural Hoosier towns.
The 250-Mile Tour Itinerary
- Day 1 (Aug. 11) — Orange County: Stops in Paoli to analyze local housing, food-systems, and downtown redevelopment initiatives, concluding with an industry networking program at the French Lick Resort.
- Day 2 (Aug. 12) — Dubois County: An agricultural tour and lunch at Fischer Farms in St. Anthony, presentations from local community organizations, a history tour of Ferdinand’s Monastery Immaculate Conception, and a civic dinner at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center in Jasper.
- Day 3 (Aug. 13) — Daviess & Brown Counties: A morning viewing of Odon’s historic Abraham Lincoln statue, followed by regional forestry discussions, and concluding in Nashville with community presentations from Brown County leaders—IU’s official 2026–27 Sustaining Hoosier Communities partner.
University documentation reveals that the tour functions as much more than a sightseeing trip; it is an incubator for concrete academic restructuring. To ensure the three-day journey yields long-term results, the Center for Rural Engagement provides structural incentives to the selected faculty upon their return.
Participants become eligible for $2,000 instructional development grants specifically designed to fund the first-time creation of undergraduate and graduate courses that directly weave rural Indiana communities into student coursework. Furthermore, faculty gain access to targeted data and metrics consultations with regional specialists to build out static data dashboards, surveys, and qualitative maps for local community groups.
The tour also aims to solve a long-standing academic hurdle: how to value local civic engagement in a professor’s professional trajectory. During the trip, Dr. Jon Macy, an Assistant Dean in the School of Public Health, will lead a dedicated session detailing how faculty can successfully document their community-engaged field work to fulfill strict university tenure and promotion benchmarks.
The 2026 Selected Faculty Cohort
The chosen participants span a wide array of multidisciplinary fields, from public health and informatics to art history and business economics:
- Mariella I. Arredondo (Indiana Institute on Disability and Community)
- Brandon Barker (Folklore and Ethnomusicology)
- Melody Barnett Deusner (Art History)
- Purnima Bose (English / IU India Gateway)
- Guangqing Chi (Geography)
- Ivaldo da Silva (Applied Health Science)
- Leiha Edmonds (Geography)
- Bonnie Ernst (Criminology and Criminal Justice)
- Yuerong Hu (Information and Library Science)
- Brandon Howell (Health & Wellness Design)
- Megan Janke (Health & Wellness Design)
- Olga Kalentzidou (Geography)
- Cici Ling (Informatics)
- Rebecca Lassell (Health & Wellness Design)
- Benjamin Motz (Psychological and Brain Sciences)
- Rebecca Mueller (Prevention Insights)
- Drew Pickett (Health & Wellness Design)
- Philip Powell (Kelley School of Business / Indiana Business Research Center)
- Shelby Rader (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences)
- Michael Ross (School of Social Work)
- Katie Silvester (English)
- James Henry Smith (IU Libraries)
- Susanne Schwibs (The Media School)
- Esi Thompson Tani-Eshon (The Media School)
- Xavier Warnes (Kelley School of Business)
According to Kyla Cox Deckard, Executive Director of the Center for Rural Engagement, the Rural Indiana Faculty Tour provides a meaningful opportunity for IU Bloomington faculty to learn from rural residents and develop connections to inform their research, community-engaged teaching, and service. Participants will join a multidisciplinary network of faculty and community partners focused on strengthening rural Indiana’s vitality.
