Case Study
IUPUI hosts a class called “Planning for a Profitable Business” in a borrowed corner of a public housing complex for formerly homeless veterans on Indianapolis’ Near West Side. The students are current and aspiring entrepreneurs, many of them from this hard-luck neighborhood, which IUPUI is working to improve.” This movement is about more than sending students to fulfill community-service requirements by cleaning up litter or working in soup kitchens at the holidays. It’s about leveraging vast amounts of buying power, political clout and research capacity to do permanent good.” The university wants “a return to a time when higher education saw itself as contributing to the public interest rather than solely training students for careers.” IUPUI also operates a dental clinic for veterans and is helping address a flare-up in the number of cases of HIV in southern Indiana.