Trustees ratify named professors, approve academic programs, resolutions

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Feb. 8) ratified a named professorship and a change to another named professorship and also approved cooperative education programs in the College of Engineering and the Krannert School of Management.

Ellen Kossek Download Photo

The board also approved three resolutions of appreciation and ratified two previously announced appointments.

Trustees approved Ellen Kossek as the Basil Sidney Turner Professor of Management and Alan Gray as the Land O'Lakes Chair in Food and Agribusiness. Gray's position, approved by the trustees in October 2012, was previously known as the Agricultural Chair of Excellence in Engagement.

Kossek was appointed professor of management in the Krannert School of Management and the inaugural research director of the Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence in January. She also is president of the Work and Family Researchers Network, an international organization of interdisciplinary work and family researchers.

Before coming to Purdue, she was University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University's School of Human Resources and Labor Relations. She has held visiting and fellowship-supported academic appointments at the University of Michigan, the Center for Creative Leadership, the University of Warwick, U.K., the University of South Australia and Harvard Business School.

Her research is focused on leader and organizational support of positive work-life-family relationships to improve productivity, well-being and reduce stress; organizational adaptation to new ways of working such as flexible work schedules, workload and telework; and managing global workforces, gender and diversity across global cultures and contexts.

Kossek has written a best-selling book, "CEO of Me: Creating a Life That Works in the Flexible Job Age," about flexstyles and worklife patterns. She also has edited or authored eight other books and published dozens of articles on current management challenges.

She earned her bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College, an MBA from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in organizational behavior from Yale University.

The Land O'Lakes' commitment to fund the chair in food and agribusiness was secured through Purdue's Faculty Excellence Challenge Match program. The initiative is designed to endow new professorships through private gifts from $750,000 to $1 million that are matched dollar for dollar.

Trustees also approved a three-session cooperative education program certificate in the Krannert School of Management and three- and five-session cooperative education programs in the College of Engineering's Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering.

P. Christopher Earley, dean of Krannert, said the new cooperative education program is similar to the traditional one except it requires only three work sessions instead of five.

"There are numerous students in Krannert who cannot participate in, or have difficulty participating in, the traditional five-session cooperative education program for various reasons," Earley said. "These students include members of the marching band, student athletes, foreign visa students, freshmen, upperclassmen who change their mind about work experience and students who were uncertain of a career choice as second-semester freshmen. It is extremely important for these students to have the opportunity to gain valuable undergraduate professional practice.

Timothy Sands Download Photo

"And there are several co-op employers and government agencies that are increasingly asking for later-start, three-session cooperative education students. The three-session cooperative education program is planned to fit this need."

The new engineering cooperative program will alternate periods of employment with periods of traditional classroom activity, said John W. Sutherland, the Fehsenfeld Family Head of Environmental and Ecological Engineering.

Victor Lechtenberg Download Photo

"We believe that the practical experience students gain in their profession will prepare them for immediate employment after graduation at a higher level, and with greater value to their employer, than would be possible without the co-op experience," Sutherland said.

Arden Bement Jr. Download Photo

He said co-op or internship experience will make academic work more meaningful to students when they apply principles studied in the classroom to authentic practice. It also will help them learn about opportunities available to them in the profession.

In other business, trustees approved resolutions of appreciation for Timothy D. Sands, Victor L. Lechtenberg and Arden L. Bement Jr. Sands, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, was praised for his service as acting president from July 16 to Jan. 14 when Mitch Daniels became Purdue's 12th president. Lechtenberg was cited for serving as acting executive vice president of academic affairs and provost from July 16 until Jan. 14. Bement is stepping aside as inaugural director of the Global Policy Research Institute and Purdue's chief global affairs officer.

Christine Ladisch Download Photo

Trustees also ratified Christine M. Ladisch as the first dean of the new College of Health and Human Sciences and Steven R. Schultz as Purdue's legal counsel.

Ladisch was named dean on Jan. 9. A professor of consumer science, she served as inaugural dean when the college was launched in 2010. She had served as vice provost for academic affairs since July 2005 and as associate provost since 2001. Prior to those roles in the Office of Provost, she served as associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Consumer and Family Sciences from 1993-1999 and as department head of consumer sciences and retailing from 1999-2001. Ladisch co-chaired the accreditation steering committee that in 2010 helped Purdue earn continued accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Schultz joined Purdue Feb. 1 as the university's first in-house legal counsel. Schultz will advise the president and Board of Trustees on legal matters involving the university and oversee external legal work, review contracts and policies, and provide proactive advice and assistance on operations and programs. He has worked as an attorney with two law firms and as chief legal counsel to Daniels when he was Indiana's governor. Schultz also has served as general counsel for Irwin Financial Corp. and the Southeastern Indiana Health Organization, and as executive director of the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority.

Writer: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Sources: Timothy D. Sands, 765-494-9709, tsands@purdue.edu

Ellen Kossek, 765-494-6852, ekossek@purdue.edu

P. Christopher Earley, 765-494-4366, pcearley@purdue.edu

John W. Sutherland, 765-496-9697, jwsuther@purdue.edu

Christine Ladisch, 765-494-6970, ladischc@purdue.edu