Noblitt inducted into Indiana Academy
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The co-founder of a major Indiana medical device manufacturer and chair of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Board of Trustees has been inducted into the Indiana Academy, the school announced Wednesday. Niles Noblitt, who launched Biomet Inc. in Warsaw – now Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZBH) – is being recognized for “his lifetime of achievement and contributions to Indiana and Rose-Hulman.”
The Indiana Academy aims to promote the advancement of Indiana through its support of Independent Colleges of Indiana Inc. and its member institutions.
Rose-Hulman says those inducted into the academy “have demonstrated exceptional leadership in philanthropy, business, public service, advancement of the sciences, the arts, literature, culture, and scholarship in connection with Indiana’s independent non-profit colleges and universities.”
Noblitt co-founded Biomet in 1973 and served as the company’s chairman from 1986 until his retirement in 2007, when he sold the company to a private equity consortium for nearly $11 billion. The company was acquired by Zimmer in 2015 for $14 billion.
Rose-Hulman says Noblitt and his wife, Nancy, have provided philanthropic support to the institute over the years that led to the creation of the Noblitt Scholars program and growth of the school’s Oakley Observatory.
As chair of the board of trustees, a role he was elected to in 2018, Rose-Hulman says Noblitt has helped lead the institute through the completion of a $250 million fundraising campaign and navigate the pandemic.
“Niles has a strong commitment to Rose-Hulman and its students, faculty, and staff. That resiliency has never been more important to the Institute than the past two years,” Rose-Hulman President Robert Coons said in written remarks. “At the same time, Niles has helped campus leadership set a course on short- and long-term strategic plans to keep Rose-Hulman on the leading edge of an ever-changing higher education landscape. That leadership and support has been appreciated by me and the rest of the campus community.”
The other inductees to the Indiana Academy include Dr. Wade Clapp, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine; Lake City Bank President and CEO David Findlay, and Central Indiana Corporate Partnership President and CEO David Johnson.