The classes were offered at Central High School in downtown South Bend and within a few years enrollment reached 500.

In 1961 the first IU South Bend building was constructed on newly acquired land on the north shore of the St. Joseph River.

During Reck's administration a number of major projects were completed – student housing, a bridge connecting the campus to student housing across the St. Joseph River, the Elkhart Center, remodeling of the administration building, and the $22 million renovation of the Education and Arts Building.

Previously, Allison served as provost and vice president at Governor's State University in Illinois where he was also a professor of English.

Growing over 50 years, the campus now consists of 11 buildings, including River Crossing student housing, the Franklin D. Schurz Library, the Education and Arts Building, and the 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) Student Activities Center (SAC).

The university also owns 26 acres (110,000 m2) on the south bank of the St. Joseph River where student housing is located.

A pedestrian bridge that bears the words "Indiana University South Bend" connects the main campus with the residential halls across the river.

On September 22, 2006, the Indiana University Board of Trustees voted to approve student housing for IU South Bend, to be located across the river.

The housing facilities opened in the fall of 2008, consisting of 400 beds in eight apartment-style units, along with a community building.

Riverside Hall was IU South Bend's fourth building and was completed in 1969 to house the Dental Education program.

Franklin D. Schurz, chairman of the board of Schurz Communications, Inc., a media broadcasting company as well as former editor and publisher of The South Bend Tribune, gave IU South Bend generous donations to complete the construction of the building.

Other monies were provided by rental income from the Associates Building's computer facility and the Indiana state bonding authority.

Purdue School of Technology courses have been offered continuously since the 1933, with two year diplomas being awarded for the first time locally in 1986.

IU South Bend acquired and renovated the former Army Reserve Center adjacent to the campus on Northside Boulevard, with new classrooms and technology laboratories for Purdue University programs.

The Purdue Polytechnic Institute program began to move off the IU South Bend campus in late 2019.

After extended negotiation, IU South Bend purchased the Coca-Cola Bottling Factory on the north end of campus and cleared the space for the construction of Wiekamp Hall as well as its adjacent parking garage.

Housed directly across from the University of Notre Dame campus (not on the IU South Bend campus), this facility offers Indiana University medical students the opportunity to take courses in their field in South Bend.

This marked the first time that IU South Bend students had standalone on-campus housing.

The building also houses classrooms, offices, a 130-seat lecture room, rehearsal and art studios, and the dental clinic.

Nearly all of these electronic resources are accessible from student labs, apartments, offices, and home via the library website.

[7] The Hammes Information Commons on the first floor houses a computer laboratory, as well as equipment for those with disabilities.

The university also publishes the annual Undergraduate Research Journal, New Views on Gender, and an award-winning literary magazine, Analecta.

They are a short walk across the pedestrian bridge from campus classes, the Franklin D. Schurz Library, and Northside Hall.

The housing community center features wireless internet, computer kiosks, a big screen TV, study areas, and laundry facilities.

[citation needed] IU South Bend reported in fall 2013 that it employed 305 full-time faculty, lecturers, and academic administrators.

The Toradze studio has received high praise for their contributions to the piano world, and has developed into a worldwide touring ensemble that has gathered critical acclaim on an international level.

In addition, recent examples of IU South Bend faculty scholarship receiving international recognition include Fred Naffziger's extensive commentary on the BBC, NBC, NPR, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, and USA Today regarding the Catholic Church's bankruptcy crises[22][23] and Ilan Levine's cutting-edge research on astroparticle physics.

[24] Rolf Schimmrigk and Monika Lynker are associated with the discovery of mirror symmetry in string theory.

[25] Biologist Andrew Schnabel's work with pollen in an East African community is supported by a National Science Foundation grant.

[26] Geologist Henry Scott[27] leads a team of scientists responsible for discoveries about the formation of methane gas.