Return to Fast Facts links
Download a PDF (pdf of page 5,pdf of page 6,pdf of page 7)of this page (Abobe Acrobat Reader Required).

MISSION

The mission of Purdue University is to serve the citizens of Indiana, the United States, and the world through:

Discovery that expands the realm of knowledge

Learning through dissemination and preservation of knowledge

Engagement through exchange of knowledge

Discovery: Grounded in the most advanced theoretical, empirical, and applied methods, the University’s programs of research, scholarship, and creative endeavor expand the realm of knowledge across a wide range of academic disciplines.

Learning through Dissemination and Preservation: The University promotes and champions learning by providing a variety of instructional settings where students and faculty can share and create new knowledge. It distributes knowledge to an audience of peers and citizens through a great diversity of academic literature and professional activities. In its libraries and other archives, the University serves as the repository and facilitator of access to a rich accumulation of human information, knowledge, and wisdom.

Engagement through Exchange: Through its programs of knowledge exchange and application, the University helps put knowledge to work to create new opportunities that advance our society and solve a variety of technical and social problems.

In all these activities, the University seeks to:

• Prepare its graduates to succeed as leaders, professionals, informed consumers, responsible citizens, and lifelong learners
• Admit to its programs an academically proficient population of students pursuing post-secondary education
  
• Reach out to an expanded audience of learners through residential and distance education utilizing a variety of learning media and technologies
  
• Play a leadership role in Indiana’s economic and social development
  
• Promote human and intellectual diversity by providing equal access and opportunity to representatives of a rich variety of populations and cultures
  
• Contribute to the welfare and advancement of human societies throughout the world

 

VISION

The Next Level: Preeminence
Purdue will be a preeminent university, advancing quality in all areas while leading the world in the basic and applied sciences and engineering and improving society at home and abroad.

Characteristics:

• Programs of discovery, learning, and engagement that draw worldwide attention for their quality, relevance, depth, and scope
• Advancement of human and intellectual diversity to enrich the academic community, and to overcome the barriers separating individuals, populations, and cultures
• Model interdisciplinary and collaborative partnerships in the University community
• Collaboration with public and private enterprise in Indiana, the United States, and abroad as a model for pursuing common objectives
• A faculty and a staff celebrated for their dedication to Purdue’s values and culture, and for their academic and professional distinction
• A superior and diverse student body dedicated to learning, and contributing knowledge and skills toward the prosperity of Indiana, the nation, and the world
• Self-expectations of Purdue’s faculty, staff, administration, and students to pursue excellence individually and collectively while contributing to a common vision for achieving preeminence
• Active role of all disciplines in contributing their disciplinary and interdisciplinary strengths to Purdue’s vision
• An attractive physical environment that stimulates and facilitates intellectual development and scholarly and creative endeavor

PEER INSTITUTIONS

With the vision to be a preeminent world-class university and the world leader in the sciences, engineering, and other technology-intensive areas, Purdue University will compare itself with a set of peer institutions for the purpose of benchmarking to assess Purdue’s competitiveness. For university-level benchmarking, these institutions are selected considering the following characteristics:

• Quality that is regarded as comparable to or greater than that of Purdue
• Carnegie Foundation Research Extensive classification
• Science and technology intensive institution
• Comprehensive institution
• Public institution
• Major land-grant institution
• Flagship campus
• Geographic distribution

The Selected Peer Institutions:

• Cornell University
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Pennsylvania State University-University Park
• Texas A&M University
• University of Arizona
• University of California-Berkeley
• University of California-Davis
• University of Illinois-Urbana
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
• University of Texas-Austin
• University of Wisconsin-Madison

BENCHMARK MEASURES

Input Measures:

• Entering students’ standardized test scores and high school rank percentiles
• Number of National Merit Scholars
• Students-to-faculty ratio
• Undergraduate class size
• Shares of undergraduate class sections and student credit hours taught by faculty
• Graduate enrollment
• Faculty salaries by discipline and rank
• Graduate assistant stipend level by discipline
• Appropriations, tuition, fee revenues per FTE student
• Student financial aid (per student and as a fraction of educational and general [E&G] expenditures; aid to underrepresented students [per student and as fraction of total aid])
• Sponsored funding (total, and NSF data for sciences and engineering) per FTE faculty
• Private giving and endowment value

Output Measures:

• Student retention and graduation rates (years to degree for graduate students)
• Graduates’ career placement and advanced study enrollment
• Number of doctoral degrees granted per year
• Student indebtedness upon graduation
• E&G expenditures per FTE student
• Student credit hours (SCH) per FTE faculty
• Demography of underrepresented populations (faculty, staff, students)
• Research and Development (R&D) expenditures as a share of E&G expenditures
• National Academy/other prestigious memberships
• National ranking of academic programs
• Number of license agreements and patents for technology transfer
• Participation rate of alumni as donors to the
  university

Office of the President (please visit the Strategic Plan Web Site)