READI grant-funded facility is home to career center, e-sports

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Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore madly mashed buttons on his controller as his on-screen avatar, King K. Rool, fought for his life, leaping and punching in desperation. It was all for nought. King K. Rool did not survive the Super Smash Bros. battle.

With a chuckle and a smile, Moore waited for the game to set up a second round. He was participating in a presentation from Indiana University Kokomo’s e-Sports team, which is housed in the college’s new Innovation Hall. It turns out the mayor was much more adept at helping to cut the ribbon at the unveiling of IUK’s newest educational feature.

Innovation Hall was made possible by an investment from the State of Indiana’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant program, and leaders from Indianapolis, Kokomo, and the Indiana University administration gathered on Sept. 10 to recognize this latest economic development effort.

“This Innovation Hall continues to show not just the importance and the value that IUK has within the Indiana University family, but the value that it brings, not only to Kokomo and Howard County, but to this region,” said Moore.

The mayor also noted that the IU Kokomo campus, once known as a continuing education hub with a significant adult population, now thrives as a traditional four-year campus with a younger student body. That shift makes the addition of an e-Sports program a natural extension of the college’s mission to educate the next generation of business and community leaders.

“It's now the cool place to be,” said Moore.

Innovation Hall contains a variety of services, educational spaces, and of course an e-Sports competition area. That last feature may be new to many. Over the past decade, competitive video gaming has taken hold as a sport, generating millions in revenue annually. And many high schools and colleges have adopted the concept as part of their athletic offerings.

While that might be the most visible feature of Innovation Hall, it also contains a career center, an accessible educational services office, a business analytics lab, and a student support center. In all, it is an asset that IU Kokomo Chancellor Mark Canada feels will lead the university to prominence in the region.

“This is what's so exciting to me to be chancellor here,’ said Canada. “This is a moment people will look back on years from now. You are standing here at a time when IU Kokomo is turning a corner to become even higher in terms of the profile we have in this region of Indiana.

“Experiential learning is at the heart of what we do, and we're very proud of that, and this space is really going to lend to that. Also, what we've done in terms of athletics, what we do in terms of our micro-credentials, what we do in terms of our in-person learning, and our facilities, we are a rising campus.”

Canada went on to state that Innovation Hall is just the beginning of a transformation IU Kokomo will undergo to remain relevant to the needs of students and society.

“We are a campus on the move, and this is a moment you can look back on to realize this is one of those steps as we continue to rise as the destination campus,” said Canada. “What's next? Where can we go next? How much higher can we rise? Innovation Hall is one of those steps in the process.”

The official opening of Innovation Hall also attracted Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg. As the person overseeing the READI grant program, he was overjoyed to witness the handiwork wrought by the state’s investment. He explained how READI investments over the past two years have positioned the state as an innovator.

“Indiana is really having a moment, not only on the national but the international scale,” said Rosenberg. “When you look at the committed capital investment that the state has had since the beginning of 2022, that number tops over $80 billion.

“We're looking at creating high paying careers, not just jobs. We've had four consecutive record years of record-breaking growth in the state, both from companies reinvesting in the state and growing, but also new attractions coming into the area. But what I'm most proud of is that the state continues to invest in itself. There's no better example of that than this READI initiative.”

Rosenberg explained that READI is responsible for a $1 billion in growth, talent attraction, and quality-of-place initiatives across the state. The program was so ambitious that it attracted the investment of $250 million from the Lilly Endowment to work in conjunction with state efforts to reduce community blight, encourage redevelopment, and promote arts and culture.

Together, these two grant programs are responsible for attracting $20 billion in outside, private-sector investment, Rosenberg claimed. READI’s Region Five, encompassing Kokomo and Howard County along with surrounding communities, received $65 million in investment over two rounds of grants.