Paul H. O'Neill Naming Ceremony

The School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) has been renamed the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs in recognition of O’Neill’s distinguished career in both the private and public sectors and his generous gift to support programming within the school. This naming extends to both the IU Bloomington and IUPUI campus schools.

Founded in 1972, SPEA is a world leader in public and environmental affairs and was the first school to combine public policy, management, and administration with environmental studies. With more than 90 full-time and 100 part-time faculty members, SPEA provides international scope, influential research, and focused opportunities for students to pair a comprehensive foundation of knowledge with hands-on experience in the field.

Paul O’Neill earned his Master of Public Administration degree from IU in 1966. He has had distinguished careers in national government, industry, and the nonprofit sector. In addition to serving as the U.S. secretary of the treasury, he spent 13 years as the chair and chief executive officer of the international aluminum corporation Alcoa. O’Neill has also been a longtime advocate of improving the quality of the nation’s healthcare systems. He co-founded the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative to drive dramatic quality improvement in healthcare. The nonprofit’s work resulted in a significant reduction in hospital-acquired infection and has become a national model for improving patient care and reducing medical costs.