Ambassador Randall L. and Deborah Tobias Make Major Gift to “For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign” in Support of IU Athletics
4/27/2017 1:11:00 PM | Varsity Club
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University Vice-President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass announced today a major gift from Ambassador Randall L. Tobias and his wife Deborah Tobias to the "For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign" in support of IU Athletics. In recognition of their significant contribution, the new state-of-the-art nutrition facility and dining space in the new IU Excellence Academy will be named the "Tobias Nutrition Center," and the new courtside hospitality area in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall has been named the "Tobias Champions Locker Room."
As part of the Excellence Academy, the Tobias Nutrition Center will be home to one of the premier nutrition facilities and dining spaces in all of college athletics. The nearly 10,000 square foot space will provide a place to fuel the nearly 650 students who participate in IU's 24 varsity sports. The main dining area will have seating available for 300 people with various table sizes and includes large windows to allow for natural light and magnificent views into Memorial Stadium. Large televisions will be also scattered throughout the area.
Lunch and dinner will be served five days a week with a daily breakfast oasis for students. Service will be in a food station concept with stations including Italian, grill, homestyle, subs and wraps, large salad, fruit and soup bar. Menu items will be prepared fresh on site by dining staff at each of these stations. The breakfast oasis will be a morning fueling station for students with a variety of options to start the day. Two large beverage stations will be installed including a water bottle filling station as new electronic menu boards will display what is available each day.
The Tobias Champions Locker Room is a new premiere hospitality area residing on the court level in the southwest tunnel of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The recently renovated addition to the building is used on basketball game days as a way for the IU Varsity Club to continue building and encouraging support for IU students.
"These new state-of-the-art nutrition and dining facilities -- the most recent addition to our innovative and successful Excellence Academy -- promise to have a major impact on the academic and athletic development of our student athletes, while the new hospitality area will enhance the already thrilling experience of attending events at the newly renovated Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall," IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. "We are deeply grateful to Ambassador Tobias and his wife, Deborah, for their extraordinary support of IU and for their commitment to furthering the university's longstanding tradition of athletic excellence."
"On behalf of everyone affiliated with Indiana University, I want to thank Randy and Deborah Tobias for this magnificent gift to IU Athletics which is only the most recent example of their many generous contributions of time, talent and treasure to Indiana University," Glass said. "On a more personal note I want to express my gratitude to both Randy and Deborah for their counsel, leadership and friendship."
Randall is retired chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company. Prior to his work at Lilly, he was vice chairman of AT&T and chairman and CEO of its subsidiaries, AT&T Communications and AT&T International.
Following his corporate career, Randall was appointed the nation's first United States Global AIDS Coordinator with the rank of Ambassador. Later, he became the first Director of United States Foreign Assistance and Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the rank of Deputy Secretary of State.
Randall has served on the boards of a number of global companies including AT&T and Eli Lilly and Company, as well as ConocoPhillips, Kimberly-Clark, Knight-Ridder, Agilent Technologies and Chemical Bank of New York. He also served as the chairman of the board of the Indianapolis Airport Authority.
"As the TV spots say, 'I wouldn't be where I am today without Indiana University!' It's therefore a real privilege to be able to find ways to give back to IU," Randall said. "We're particularly excited to be a part of both of these projects - projects that support our student athletes off the field as well as recognize and encourage other donors to continue their support."
Ambassador Tobias holds a B.S. from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, an honorary LL.D. from IU and five other honorary degrees. Randall currently serves as a director of the Indiana University Foundation and has served as chairman of the Kelley School's Dean's Advisory Council and as a director of the IU Varsity Club. He was inducted into the Kelley School's Academy of Alumni Fellows and also received the IU Distinguished Alumni Service Award. He is the immediate past chairman of the Indiana University Board of Trustees.
Deborah retired from professional life in 2001, after a successful career ranging from teaching high school English to serving as the Director of European Sales Operations for Juniper Networks. She is currently involved with the Methodist Health Foundation, the Tindley Accelerated Schools, Central Indiana United Way and the Red Cross Tiffany Circle. Beyond that, her primary focus is to be an always-available grandmother to their six grandchildren.
Deborah grew up in the Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis and attended Our Lady of the Lourdes School.
In 2004, the Tobias Family Foundation founded the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence at Indiana University. In 2016 with an initial gift from his wife Deborah to recognize his 75th birthday, together they founded the Tobias Center for International Development at the Indiana University School of Global and International Studies.
The Excellence Academy program is one of the most innovative and effective personal development programs in all of intercollegiate athletics. It focuses on the holistic development of the entire person to provide students an exceptional college experience in addition to athletics that will prepare them for an outstanding life experience after athletics. The Excellence Academy complements IU's world class academic support and athletic performance services to provide comprehensive personal development programs in four major areas to help prepare young men and women for great lives and success after college: leadership and life skills; health and wellness; service learning; and career development. The Excellence Academy helps to teach students how to impact lives, starting with their own, and change the world.
On Friday, the University will conduct the formal groundbreaking on the Excellence Academy building which will provide a home for and thereby enhance the Excellence Academy program. The Excellence Academy is a $53 million, 66,575 square foot facility which will close in the south end zone of Memorial Stadium and create a bold new "front door" to campus for Memorial Stadium and more generally the Athletics campus. The Excellence Academy will open in the summer of 2018.
For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign is taking place on all IU-administered campuses including IU Bloomington, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast. The campaign will conclude in December 2019 to coincide with IU's bicentennial year celebration in 2020. To learn more about the campaign, its impact, and how to participate, please visit forall.iu.edu.
As part of the Excellence Academy, the Tobias Nutrition Center will be home to one of the premier nutrition facilities and dining spaces in all of college athletics. The nearly 10,000 square foot space will provide a place to fuel the nearly 650 students who participate in IU's 24 varsity sports. The main dining area will have seating available for 300 people with various table sizes and includes large windows to allow for natural light and magnificent views into Memorial Stadium. Large televisions will be also scattered throughout the area.
Lunch and dinner will be served five days a week with a daily breakfast oasis for students. Service will be in a food station concept with stations including Italian, grill, homestyle, subs and wraps, large salad, fruit and soup bar. Menu items will be prepared fresh on site by dining staff at each of these stations. The breakfast oasis will be a morning fueling station for students with a variety of options to start the day. Two large beverage stations will be installed including a water bottle filling station as new electronic menu boards will display what is available each day.
The Tobias Champions Locker Room is a new premiere hospitality area residing on the court level in the southwest tunnel of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The recently renovated addition to the building is used on basketball game days as a way for the IU Varsity Club to continue building and encouraging support for IU students.
"These new state-of-the-art nutrition and dining facilities -- the most recent addition to our innovative and successful Excellence Academy -- promise to have a major impact on the academic and athletic development of our student athletes, while the new hospitality area will enhance the already thrilling experience of attending events at the newly renovated Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall," IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. "We are deeply grateful to Ambassador Tobias and his wife, Deborah, for their extraordinary support of IU and for their commitment to furthering the university's longstanding tradition of athletic excellence."
"On behalf of everyone affiliated with Indiana University, I want to thank Randy and Deborah Tobias for this magnificent gift to IU Athletics which is only the most recent example of their many generous contributions of time, talent and treasure to Indiana University," Glass said. "On a more personal note I want to express my gratitude to both Randy and Deborah for their counsel, leadership and friendship."
Randall is retired chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company. Prior to his work at Lilly, he was vice chairman of AT&T and chairman and CEO of its subsidiaries, AT&T Communications and AT&T International.
Following his corporate career, Randall was appointed the nation's first United States Global AIDS Coordinator with the rank of Ambassador. Later, he became the first Director of United States Foreign Assistance and Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the rank of Deputy Secretary of State.
Randall has served on the boards of a number of global companies including AT&T and Eli Lilly and Company, as well as ConocoPhillips, Kimberly-Clark, Knight-Ridder, Agilent Technologies and Chemical Bank of New York. He also served as the chairman of the board of the Indianapolis Airport Authority.
"As the TV spots say, 'I wouldn't be where I am today without Indiana University!' It's therefore a real privilege to be able to find ways to give back to IU," Randall said. "We're particularly excited to be a part of both of these projects - projects that support our student athletes off the field as well as recognize and encourage other donors to continue their support."
Ambassador Tobias holds a B.S. from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, an honorary LL.D. from IU and five other honorary degrees. Randall currently serves as a director of the Indiana University Foundation and has served as chairman of the Kelley School's Dean's Advisory Council and as a director of the IU Varsity Club. He was inducted into the Kelley School's Academy of Alumni Fellows and also received the IU Distinguished Alumni Service Award. He is the immediate past chairman of the Indiana University Board of Trustees.
Deborah retired from professional life in 2001, after a successful career ranging from teaching high school English to serving as the Director of European Sales Operations for Juniper Networks. She is currently involved with the Methodist Health Foundation, the Tindley Accelerated Schools, Central Indiana United Way and the Red Cross Tiffany Circle. Beyond that, her primary focus is to be an always-available grandmother to their six grandchildren.
Deborah grew up in the Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis and attended Our Lady of the Lourdes School.
In 2004, the Tobias Family Foundation founded the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence at Indiana University. In 2016 with an initial gift from his wife Deborah to recognize his 75th birthday, together they founded the Tobias Center for International Development at the Indiana University School of Global and International Studies.
The Excellence Academy program is one of the most innovative and effective personal development programs in all of intercollegiate athletics. It focuses on the holistic development of the entire person to provide students an exceptional college experience in addition to athletics that will prepare them for an outstanding life experience after athletics. The Excellence Academy complements IU's world class academic support and athletic performance services to provide comprehensive personal development programs in four major areas to help prepare young men and women for great lives and success after college: leadership and life skills; health and wellness; service learning; and career development. The Excellence Academy helps to teach students how to impact lives, starting with their own, and change the world.
On Friday, the University will conduct the formal groundbreaking on the Excellence Academy building which will provide a home for and thereby enhance the Excellence Academy program. The Excellence Academy is a $53 million, 66,575 square foot facility which will close in the south end zone of Memorial Stadium and create a bold new "front door" to campus for Memorial Stadium and more generally the Athletics campus. The Excellence Academy will open in the summer of 2018.
For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign is taking place on all IU-administered campuses including IU Bloomington, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast. The campaign will conclude in December 2019 to coincide with IU's bicentennial year celebration in 2020. To learn more about the campaign, its impact, and how to participate, please visit forall.iu.edu.
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