Indiana University. University Interests Committee

The University Interests Committee, which had been organized in 1912, moved into action in the 1920s to lobby the state legislature for funds on behalf of Indiana University and to generate interest in the University among civic and community leaders throughout Indiana.

In anticipation of the 1927 appropriations process, the University Interests Committee organized a statewide network of alumni, students, and community leaders to identify key legislators, assess their attitudes toward Indiana University, and press them to be favorable to IU in the allocation of funds. W.A. Alexander, who had headed the Memorial Fund Campaign, played an important role in the work of this committee as did the Memorial Regiment, an organization composed of participants in the Memorial Fund Campaign who had united earlier in 1926 to offer further volunteer service to Indiana University.

From the description of University Interests Committee records, 1926-1929. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 35663512

The University Interests Committee, which had been organized in 1912, moved into action in the 1920s to lobby the state legislature for funds on behalf of Indiana University and to generate interest in the University among civic and community leaders throughout Indiana. Lobbying became necessary at this time because in 1925 the state legislature adopted legislative appropriation as the method to be used in determining funding for public higher education in the state (previous budgets had been based on a percent of the mill tax collected).

In anticipation of the 1927 appropriations process, the University Interests Committee organized a statewide network of alumni, students, and community leaders to identify key legislators, assess their attitudes toward Indiana University, and press them to be favorable to IU in the allocation of funds. W.A. Alexander, who had headed the Memorial Fund Campaign, played an important role in the work of this committee as did the Memorial Regiment, an organization composed of participants in the Memorial Fund Campaign who had united earlier in 1926 to offer further volunteer service to Indiana University.

The University Interests Committee set up the same kind of network for the 1929 legislative session.

A Women's University Interest Committee paralleled and overlapped with the University Interests Committee throughout this period.

From the guide to the University Interests Committee records, 1926-1929, (Indiana University Office of University Archives and Records Management http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives)