• Purdue begins plans for a new $21 million Northwest Athletics Complex. The area, already home to the Schwartz Tennis Center and Varsity Soccer Complex, will be the site for a 1,500-seat baseball stadium. The Purdue Grand Prix track will be relocated there as well. The migration will free up land for other projects nearer the core campus.

• During her inaugural address, President Córdova announces goals that include plans to:
• Establish an institute for public policy and global affairs that could help in the transfer of new knowledge in engineering, physical and life sciences to the public.
• Help undergraduate students during their first two years by creating shared intellectual learning experiences, centralizing services and resources via a student "hub," and promoting and rewarding innovation in teaching.
• Transform all of Purdue's "gateway classes," which contain hundreds of students, into smaller classes that engage students and create exciting venues for learning, especially in the sciences.
• Expand and create opportunities for every student to travel abroad and engage in service-learning and research projects.
• Move toward a core curriculum, which could include creating a "university college" that would serve as a first-year alternative to immediately declaring a major.
• President Córdova launches a $304 million scholarship campaign called Access & Success to raise money for low-income, middle-income and high-achieving students.
• Purdue expands its efforts to help students succeed and increases participation in its freshman orientation, called Boiler Gold Rush, as well as in learning communities and more.
• At Purdue Calumet, the $21.1 million second phase of student housing adds 369 beds in 99 fully furnished units.

• President Córdova is elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• The supercomputer Steele is installed in less than half a day by Purdue staff from across campus as well as a small group from IU; President Córdova was among those who helped install the cluster computer. The computer is ranked in the top 500 internationally.

• Purdue trustees adopt a six-year strategic plan called New Synergies. Its three major goals are:
• Launching tomorrow's leaders by enhancing student success with careers in a dynamic global society, as well as fostering intellectual, professional and personal development for lifelong learning.
• Promoting discovery with delivery by conducting field-defining research with breakthrough outcomes and catalyzing research-based economic development and entrepreneurship.
• Meeting global challenges by enhancing Purdue's presence and impact in addressing humanity's grand challenges.
Among the objectives for fulfilling these priorities are:
• Increasing recruitment of excellent students and providing honors and other accelerated learning programs.
• Developing a plan to ensure increased diversity of the student body.
• Improving student retention and graduation rates.
• Developing University-wide core curriculum.
• Pursuing funding for increased financial aid and scholarships (need and merit).
• Establishing an institute for policy and global affairs.
• Implementing a new campus master plan in concert with campus and local communities.
• The trustees approve planning for the $98 million Student Fitness and Wellness Center renovation and addition.

• Purdue Calumet introduces a formally structured program of experiential learning as a requirement for all baccalaureate degree-seeking students. The program, one of the few nationally tied to graduation requirements, integrates traditional and applied learning in a real-world environment.

• Thomas Friedman, author of "The World is Flat" and "Hot, Flat and Crowded," speaks in Elliott Hall of Music, capping the University's first Green Week.
• With $4 million from the National Science Foundation, Purdue launches the Center for Faculty Success. The center provides a national model program to increase the number and diversity of successful women faculty members in the STEM disciplines -- science, technology, engineering and math. President Córdova is the principal investigator for the five-year ADVANCE grant.
• Purdue dedicates the Martin C. Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering, marking the 10th anniversary of the biomedical engineering program at Purdue, and the Patty Jischke Early Care and Education Center, which serves the children of faculty and staff.

• The Purdue Technology Center of Southeast Indiana is dedicated in New Albany, Ind. It is one of four Purdue Research Park centers around the state and is home to the classrooms, labs and faculty offices for Purdue's College of Technology. It also houses offices for Purdue's Technical Assistance Program and Purdue Extension.
• A $1.75 million matching grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. creates Collegiate Entrepreneurship Opportunities and supports other Purdue programs.
• Purdue dedicates its new Wiley Dining Court. The $19 million, 500-seat facility is south of Wiley Hall.
• The "Unfinished Block P" sculpture is unveiled. Located in Academy Park, north of Stewart Center, the P serves as a reminder that the educational experience is never complete. The sculpture was conceived, built and funded through the efforts of the Iron Key student organization.

• President Córdova makes a two-week overseas trip to expand and build partnerships in India and China. While in India, the president extends the University's partnership with Cummins Inc. and the Cummins College of Engineering for Women. The expanded program sends CCEW undergraduates to Purdue's West Lafayette campus for master's and doctoral studies and fosters linkages around research and development, student and faculty exchange, and a fellowship program. It also supports the mechanical engineering curriculum at the CCEW campus.
• The U.S. Senate confirms President George W. Bush's appointment of President Córdova to the National Science Board, the 24-member governing body of the National Science Foundation.