Lara Kriegel

Director

• lkriegel@iu.edu

I joined the faculty at Indiana University in 2010, after teaching for a decade at Florida International University, Miami's public urban research university.  The opportunity to fill an interdisciplinary position as a Professor of History and English in Indiana University's celebrated Victorian Studies Program drew me to Bloomington.  In my years at IU, I've enjoyed publishing scholarship on nineteenth and twentieth-century Britain, most notably my recet book, The Crimean War and its Afterlife: Making Modern Britain (2022).   I'm now embarking on a study of what I call the nineteenth century's unnatural disasters, including floods, explosions, and accidents.   While at IU, I have had the privilege of bringing my research passions to classrooms in the History and English Departments, and even in the Liberal Arts Management Program.  I teach at all levels, from the introductory undergraduate class to the graduate research seminar.  Victorian Studies and Modern Britain are the cornerstones of my teaching, but my classroom commitments have extended to explore other subjects in history and literature, among them, childhood, diaries, entrepreneurship, food, gender, and warfare.   While Victorian Studies is one Crown Jewel of Indiana University, the Collins Living-Learning Center is certainly another.  One of my most meaningful experiences at IU over the past fifteen plus years has been serving as the LLC's Director.  The students and staff who make up the community are truly the best.  I began my first tour of duty as LLC Director in July 2020, deep in the pandemic, and concluded my initial term at the end of June 2024 in our transformed buildings.  After a year away, I am thrilled to return as Director for 2025-2027.   At Collins, I work closely with students in shaping the LLC's academic mission. As advisor to the fabulous Board of Educational Programming, I oversee the student-run seminar selection process, and I collaborate with the editors of The Pipe and the Barrow. I also work side by side with our amazing staff to shape the direction of the LLC and to advocate for its status in the College and the University.  I believe that Collins showcases the best of Indiana University, and I'm honored to play a part in its past, present, and future.  

Yara Clüver

Associate Director

• ycluver@iu.edu
• (812) 855-7354

I wear many hats at Collins Living-Learning Center, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the LLC. My background is in the arts, specifically photography and bookmaking. I got my MFA in fine art photography from IU in 1997 – hence the darkroom that we keep alive and running as part of our arts facilities! I work closely with our student-run Arts Council where residents can experience myriad art forms from the visual, to the performing, to the literary.  I have years of experience in student affairs, having been at Collins for close to 30 years and enjoy interacting with our residents and helping them integrate their living experience to their curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular plans and career paths.As a faculty member at Collins LLC, I teach a variety of courses for the community, including “Discovering the Artist's Book” (a hands-on studio course) and “Food Photography” (which combines practice with history and theory through the lenses of the commercial, the social, and as a fine art). Each spring, through a “Peer Instructor Workshop,” I prepare our “Residential Learning Workshop” instructors to teach Q199 to our incoming students each fall (our gateway to Collins and IU course).

I’m here to help students feel at home here and flourish through new pathways they discover. I can help with questions about academics at Collins Living-Learning Center, student groups and programming, and I’m a good source of information about the campus and local arts community.

I exhibit my work and gives talks on art nationally and internationally. I grew up in three continents in a multicultural home and in addition to English, speak German and Portuguese fluently. So please feel free to chat with me in any of these languages. I am always eager to hear about your experiences and backgrounds too. I want you to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance at Collins Living-Learning Center.

Leigh Suggs

Assistant Director

Pronouns: she/her

• leidavis@iu.edu
• (812) 856-3025
• Collins-Edmondson CB08

Assistant Director Leigh Suggs handles admissions and housing for the LLC, alumni relations, oversees Collins LLC budgets and program development, and works with several student groups in the LLC and Collins Student Government (Board of Programmers, Cheshire Café, Philanthropy and Action Council, E-Force). Leigh spent all four of her years in undergrad living at Collins and worked as the Collins Student Services Assistant for the 14 years that followed that, so she can answer a variety of weird Collins questions and has a long-standing connection to several classes of Collins alumni.

Leigh graduated from IU with a B.A. in History in 2008 and a Master’s degree in Information and Library Science in 2015. In her free time, she plays board games and tabletop rpgs, dances salsa, and dips her toes into various craft projects.

Heather Holmes

Student Services Coordinator

• CLLC@iu.edu
• 812-855-9815
• Duty Office (C102)

Student Services Coordinator (SSC) Heather Holmes staffs the public office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. In addition to giving tours and assisting seminar instructors, she's available to answer questions about the LLC, help Collinsites sign up for field trips and ticket reimbursement programs (Collins often subsidizes tickets to campus and community events for residents), and check out media equipment (such as still and video cameras), games, and books. She also helps manage the official Collins Facebook and Instagram pages to showcase all the great events and moments made here. Heather can help you plan and implement programming within Collins. Just stop by the Duty Office in on the first floor of Edmondson Hall. 

Tanjimul Alam

Co-Director of SustainCollins and Sustainability Manager at the Office of Sustainability

• alamt@iu.edu
• (812) 855-3749

Tanjimul, a Sustainability Manager at the IU Office of Sustainability and staff member on the SustainCollins leadership team, co-directs SustainCollins alongside his counterpart Jack. Working closely with the student leadership crew, Tanjimul helps connect students to campus sustainability programming and experiences throughout the academic year. He also works to directly evaluate, pursue, and coordinate campus environmental impact projects alongside colleagues across the university. You can find him most days at the IU Sustainability office at the E-House, found between the main quad and Hillcrest. Tanjimul received an O’Neill BSPA in Sustainability in 2018 and he loves watching the skies (clouds, stars, aviation, and more!) in his free time.