Purdue trustees honor North Central Chancellor James B. Dworkin

James B. Dworkin  Download Photo

HAMMOND, Ind. — James B. Dworkin, a longtime member of the Purdue community and chancellor of the North Central campus for more than 16 years, was honored Friday (April 8) by the university’s Board of Trustees.

Meeting on the Calumet campus, trustees surprised Dworkin with a resolution of appreciation and by authorizing the naming of the James B. Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex on the North Central campus. Dworkin will remain as North Central’s chancellor through June 30, then will take a one-year sabbatical before returning to the West Lafayette campus as a full professor in Krannert School of Management, where he began his Purdue career in 1976.

“There are few people as admired, accomplished and trusted as Jim,” said Purdue President Mitch Daniels. “We are not only fortunate to have this opportunity to honor his past accomplishments, but also to celebrate the fact that he will continue his service to Purdue for years to come.”

Dworkin came to Purdue University North Central in 2000 from the Krannert School of Management, where he served as a faculty member, director of the Master of Science in Human Resource Management program, an associate dean for 10 years and as acting dean in July 1999. He and Thomas Keon, the chancellor-designate of Purdue Northwest, were instrumental in spearheading the process that will unify the Calumet and North Central campuses into what will be the state’s fifth-largest university.

“It a great opportunity to be able to name this facility in Jim’s honor, as he was instrumental in raising $3.7 million in gift funds that made its construction possible,” said Michael Berghoff, chair of the Board of Trustees. “It’s also a fitting tribute that his name will live on at the North Central campus for his legacy of service to the campus and community and for his dedication in helping build Purdue Northwest to ensure its impact well into the future.”

Scheduled for completion in May, the James B. Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex is an 86,000-square-foot facility that will foster the creation and enhancement of programs and activities to transform the student experience and facilitate the engagement and development of the regional community.

As chancellor, Dworkin’s initiatives have included such projects as improving campus transportation resources so students from surrounding communities could safely and more easily travel to and from campus, and prioritizing student affordability and success through efforts such as a college-readiness program in area high schools and a tuition discount program for students who enroll in a minimum number of credit hours each semester. He also developed the Chancellor’s Leadership Seminar in 2003 to help mentor students interested in community leadership and service-learning, and has taught the seminar each fall since its establishment.

In 2004 he played an instrumental role in the formation of LaPorte County’s first Economic Development Alliance and has remained active with local economic development initiatives. In addition to numerous honors for his service to north central Indiana, in 2014 the Purdue Alumni Association recognized him with the Special Boilermaker Award for his commitment to creating opportunities for student access and success, his strong belief in community service, and his work to improve the lives of residents of LaPorte and Porter counties. He also was named a state Sagamore of the Wabash in 2013.

Dworkin has a bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s and doctoral degrees in industrial relations. He is a professor of organizational behavior and human resource management, with teaching interests centering on collective bargaining, negotiations and dispute resolution. His current research includes unionism in professional sports, why doctors join unions and arbitration acceptability.

He is the author of two books, “Owners Versus Players: Baseball and Collective Bargaining” (Boston: Auburn House Publishing Company, 1981) and “Reflections on the Transformation in Industrial Relations” (Scarecrow Press, 1989) and numerous articles. He also impacted young learners as the author of a children’s book, “The Dog and the Dolphin,” published in 2014; a second children’s book is set to be published this summer.

He has been a consultant to the assistant secretary for policy, evaluation and research at the U.S. Department of Labor; Employer and Employee Education Services, University of Minnesota; and various publishing companies. Dworkin is a member of the Industrial Relations Research Association, Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution and the American Arbitration Association. He serves as an arbitrator, mediator and fact-finder in a variety of labor-management disputes in the private and public sectors. 

Sources: Mitch Daniels, president@purdue.edu

Michael Berghoff, trustees@purdue.edu

James B. Dworkin, jdworkin@pnc.edu