New associate vice provost to focus on trimester initiative

August 13, 2012  


Frank Dooley

Frank Dooley, professor of agricultural economics, has been named associate vice provost of undergraduate academic affairs. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons)
Download Photo

Frank Dooley, professor of agricultural economics, has been named associate vice provost of undergraduate academic affairs effective today (Aug. 13).

The position was created this summer to further implementation of a balanced trimester system. Dooley will retain his academic appointment while acting in his new capacity.

"Dr. Dooley has been working on the trimester initiative since the beginning, and we're excited to have him leading it. He's the right person for the job," says Dale Whittaker, vice provost for undergraduate academic affairs.

In his new role, Dooley will lead campus-wide discussions and inquiries into the wide-ranging effects of switching to trimesters.

He plans to form at least eight task forces to address questions such as the initiative's effect on the University's calendar, on faculty and staff appointments, on Purdue's workplace environment, on the composition of the student body, on student life, on campus space, on Purdue's various missions -- teaching, research, and outreach -- and on community linkages.

"I'm looking forward to maintaining the forward momentum the University has established with the trimester initiative," Dooley says. "This is a very complex initiative that will touch everyone on campus, but I see it as an opportunity for this great University to serve more students and ultimately contribute even more to society."

Under the trimester initiative, the University aims to increase student credit hours during the summer from 40,000 to more than 300,000. Part of Purdue's decadal funding plan, the trimester initiative is designed to enhance students' academic opportunities as well as help them move more quickly toward graduation.

When fully implemented, the initiative could mean $40 million in additional yearly revenue for the University. It also would make better use of classrooms, residence halls and other campus facilities during the summer months.

Whittaker says the University is looking at an eight-year plan, during which it will transition to offering fuller summer academic programs.

Dooley has won nearly 20 awards for outstanding teaching, research and advising.  He served as a provost fellow at Purdue in 2011-12, focusing on the IMPACT (Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation) program. In 2002, he was named a faculty fellow in Purdue's Teaching Academy; his awards include the Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2009 and the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher in 2011.

Faculty-Staff News

More News

Purdue University, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907, (765) 494-4600

© 2014-18 Purdue University | An equal access/equal opportunity university | Integrity Statement | Copyright Complaints | Brand Toolkit | Maintained by Marketing and Media

Trouble with this page? Disability-related accessibility issue? Please contact us at online@purdue.edu so we can help.