"Indiana University has lost an irreplaceable and magnificent treasure with the passing of Elinor Ostrom. Throughout her lifetime, Lin has brought distinction to the university through her groundbreaking work, which received the ultimate recognition in 2009 when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

"Beyond her passion for the epochal academic study of the intersections between economics and societal institutions, which she and her husband, Vincent, pursued throughout their remarkable careers at Indiana University, Lin's love for her students and the enduring support she has provided to her colleagues will leave a lasting legacy that stretches well beyond IU. Their generosity to Indiana University was extraordinary as well, with gifts, including Lin's Nobel Prize funds, totaling many millions of dollars.

"We are proud that Lin's life work will continue to be represented through the efforts of those at the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, and I am especially honored to have called Lin a friend and colleague. The entire Indiana University community joins me in offering its deepest sympathies to Lin's husband and outstanding faculty member, Vincent, and to her family."
- Michael A. McRobbie, President of Indiana University

"Lin Ostrom was an exemplary citizen of the Bloomington campus. Along with her husband, Vincent, she was extraordinarily generous with her intellectual gifts, and invited interdisciplinary and innovative collaboration with her colleagues across the campus through the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.

"Beyond her incredible achievements as a scholar, she was also remarkable for her humility, kindness and boundless curiosity. We have been exceptionally fortunate that Lin made her academic home here on this campus. Although she will be deeply missed, we take comfort in knowing that her work on the campus will carry on through the Workshop that now bears her and Vincent's names."
- Lauren Robel, IU Bloomington provost and university executive vice president

"Our dear friend Lin may have left us, but her spirit, and her work, will live on in those of us fortunate to have known her as a colleague and mentor. Now it's our responsibility to carry on her legacy, and that of Vincent."
- Michael McGinnis, director of the Workshop and IU professor of political science

Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Laureate

1933–2012

Indiana University Distinguished Professor Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences, died at 6:40 a.m. Tuesday, June 12, 2012, at IU Health Bloomington Hospital at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer.

She was senior research director of the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Distinguished Professor and Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, and professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Ostrom received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for her groundbreaking research demonstrating that ordinary people are capable of creating rules and institutions that allow for the sustainable and equitable management of shared resources. She shared the prize with Oliver Williamson, a University of California economist.

The recipient of numerous international awards and honorary degrees, Ostrom was selected in April as one of the Time 100 for 2012, Time magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people. In May, the IU Board of Trustees renamed the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis to honor Elinor Ostrom and her husband and colleague, Vincent Ostrom, who founded the center in 1973.

She is survived by her husband and by an international extended family of colleagues, collaborators, staff and friends who worked closely with her during an extraordinary 50-year career.