Established in 1971 by the Indiana University Board of Trustees, IU East enrolls over 4,000 students on its five-building, 174-acre campus and in online classes.

In 1967, the arrangement was expanded to include Purdue and Ball State Universities and the extension became the Eastern Indiana Center of Earlham College.

After raising more than $1 million, members of the community college organization, with the consent of the four educational institutions involved in the center, asked Indiana University to establish a regional campus in Richmond and to assume responsibility for the operation.

IU East offers degree programs off-campus at the Ivy Tech Community College in Lawrenceburg Riverfront Campus.

Recent chancellors include David Fulton, Nassar Paydar, Larry Richards (interim), Kathryn Girten, and Dennis Rome (current).

IU East's campus lies on 174 acres (0.70 km2)[9] (0.704 km²) of land on the northern edge of Richmond, Indiana, near Interstate 70.

IU East has five academic buildings, Springwood, Whitewater, Tom Raper, Hayes Halls and the Student Events and Activities Center, with more planned over coming years.