Ours is one of the most well-tended wooded campuses in America, marked by distinctive limestone buildings updated for contemporary use. Cited by Thomas A. Gaines in his book The Campus as a Work of Art as one of the five most beautiful campuses in the U.S., it includes the Kirkwood Observatory planetarium, the greenhouses of the IU conservatory, and an arboretum. Wooded pathways meander alongside the small Jordan River.
The Indiana Memorial Union is one of the largest student unions in the country, with a hotel and conference facilities, delicious dining, and myriad student activities.
Besides the Herman B Wells full research library, the campus hosts a dozen satellite libraries, the Lilly Library rare books and manuscripts archive, and the archives of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. Scientific labs abound. The College’s annual fall Themester offers undergraduate courses and public events across a common topic, encouraging connections between the arts and sciences.
The Eskenazi Museum of Art includes remarkable works by Picasso, Braque, Davis, Rembrandt, Monet, Pollock, Rivera, as well as stunning ancient and non-Western collections. Both the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design and The Media School are part of the core central campus, located in historic buildings that have been recently redesigned for classroom use. The Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies draws scholars and speakers from around the world.