College of Ed goes Bayh

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) never attended ISU. But his family’s roots run deep with the university and Terre Haute.

Bayh represented his family on campus Friday for the dedication of University Hall as the Bayh College of Education, formerly just the College of Education. The ISU Board of Trustees approved the name change last fall.

“I’m touched to be here today,” Bayh said during the dedication ceremony in the building’s theater. In attendance were some members of the ISU Board of Trustees, General Assembly members and other dignitaries.

The Bayh connection with ISU goes back four generations, beginning with Evan Bayh’s great grandmother, Mary Katherine Ward. Ward attended what was then Indiana State Normal School in the 1800s. Birch Evans Bayh, Evan Bayh’s grandfather, was the school’s first athletic director.

Evan Bayh’s father Birch, a U.S. senator from 1963-1981, and his mother, Marvella, attended Indiana State Teachers College in the ’50s.

The current senator, who is retiring at the end of his second term this year, emphasized the importance of schools in helping Americans make informed decisions about political issues.

“It comes back to the quality of education,” he said.

Sen. Bayh said creating the 21st Century Scholars Program while he was Indiana governor was his greatest political achievement. The program provides eligible low-income middle school students a full ride scholarship to participating four-year state colleges or universities. Recipients must agree to be good citizens and avoid drugs or alcohol.

ISU has the most 21st Century scholars of any other institution in the state, with 658 currently enrolled.

Harmony Linder, a sophomore special education major, told the crowd she was inspired to become a teacher while helping at a day care center when she was younger.

“I am able to help fulfill my dream of becoming an elementary and special education teacher all because of the 21st Century Scholars Program,” Linder said.

Brad Balch, dean of the Bayh College of Education, trustees president Ron Carpenter and ISU President Daniel J. Bradley also spoke at the ceremony. Bradley read a declaration formalizing the dedication.

“ISU is honored that the Bayh family has allowed us to use their name,” Bradley said following the ceremony. “The association between the Bayh family and the ISU College of Education has always been of significant benefit to both, and I feel that the formal connection through the naming will be very helpful and be a constant reminder of the dedication of the Bayhs to the people of Indiana and their education.”

As the ceremony concluded, an emotional Bayh was presented with a posthumous honorary degree for his mother, who died of cancer in 1979. Birch and Evan Bayh have received the same honor.

“This would mean the world to my mother,” Bayh said. “This means the world to me.”

The senator’s visit also included a speech addressing education in the 21st century. He called quality education a moral obligation and said educators’ top priorities should be investment in research and development and reviewing how students are trained to think.

Bayh also recommended a revision of the academic calendar to help global competition.

Bayh said the current U.S. system was implemented when children spent their summers helping on the family farm. Under Indiana law, the K-12 academic year is 180 days. Bayh said K-12 students in China spend 40 additional days in school than Americans.