Purdue trustees approve several measures

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Board of Trustees on Friday (Feb. 24) approved several actions, including two named appointments, a theater naming in the new Active Learning Center, renovations in Hampton Hall, two new degrees at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, a Center for Healthy Living contract, resolutions of appreciation, and a posthumous degree at IPFW.

Details of the actions include:

* Donna Fekete was named to the John and Donna Krenicki Directorship of the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, and Paul Griffin was named the St. Vincent Health Chair of Healthcare Engineering as director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering. The Institute for Integrative Neuroscience and Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering are housed in Purdue’s Discovery Park.

Fekete is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. She is a member of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research and held a faculty position at Boston College before joining Purdue in 1997. She received her doctorate in anatomy from Harvard University and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her research involves the study of inner ear development. Fekete has served on the editorial boards of six journals in the fields of neuroscience or developmental biology and has been an invited lecturer more than 60 times at national and international venues.

Griffin, who also is a professor of industrial engineering, came to Purdue Jan. 1 after serving as the Virginia C. and Joseph C. Mello chair and professor in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. Prior to his Georgia Tech appointment, Griffin served six years as the Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo Head of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State.

* The board approved naming of the Lawrence E. and Janet M. Hiler Theater, which will be located in the new Wilmeth Active Learning Center. The naming is in recognition of the Hilers’ longtime support of Purdue and a $1 million gift to support the Wilmeth Active Learning Center, which will serve as a hub for active learning on campus through transformative teaching and learning experiences, research, and innovation. The space being named for the Hilers, which is approximately 4,500 square feet, will be used as a theater and a performing classroom. Lawrence Hiler earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial management from Purdue in 1969 and is chairman of Hiler Industries, Aurora Metal Division.

* Portions of the ground and basement floors of Hampton Hall of Civil Engineering will undergo renovations to provide a new entry compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, construct new teaching laboratories and renovate existing materials laboratories. Old research equipment will be removed to construct the new flexible teaching labs that can be reconfigured to accommodate varying class sizes, while outdated labs will be converted to state-of-the-art areas for construction materials research. The estimated project cost is just over $5 million, of which approximately $4.9 million will come from gifts and the remainder from ADA funds. Construction is slated to start in October and be completed in June 2018.

* Trustees approved two new bachelor’s degree programs at IPFW in actuarial science and in data science and applied statistics. Both programs, which must be approved by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, will be housed in IPFW’s College of Arts and Sciences. The actuarial science degree would focus on theories and applications of financial modeling to promote the academic and professional growth of future actuaries. No institution in northeast Indiana currently offers a degree in actuarial science. The data science and applied statistics degree would place an emphasis on statistical methodology and provide the academic foundation for students seeking careers in those fields. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment opportunities in areas related to both degrees are expected to increase much faster than average.

* The board approved a three-year contract, effective July 1, with One to One Health to act as vendor management for the Center for Healthy Living on the West Lafayette campus. The selection of One to One Health was based on a request for proposals, and finalists were reviewed by a campus committee. In operating the center, the vendor provides access to primary care services; additional health resources, such as health coaching and general wellness promotion; adherence to evidence-based medicine and referrals to specialists and providers; and learning, discovery and outreach opportunities for university faculty, staff and students. The contract has an annual cost of $2.75 million, which represents a yearly savings of more than $255,000 over the current vendor’s budgeted expenses.

* Resolutions of appreciation were approved for friends of the university who have contributed $1 million or more to Purdue. Those honored are Ron and Linda Kraft (College of Veterinary Medicine), Carlyle and Louann Sims (Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Krannert School of Management, John Purdue Club, Center for Cancer Research, Bands & Orchestras, and Purdue Musical Organizations), Nick and Pat Giordano (College of Science), Capt. James and Cheryl McCarthy (School of Nuclear Engineering), and anonymous (College of Agriculture).

* Trustees awarded a posthumous bachelor’s degree to IPFW’s Alyssa M. Bizefski. Deceased students who have earned at least 85 percent of their credit-hour requirements and satisfied most of the requirements for their major may be nominated for the posthumous degree.