Trustees approve new name for Fort Wayne campus

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue University’s Board of Trustees on Friday (April 21) approved a resolution to designate Purdue University Fort Wayne as the new name for the campus that will arise from the planned realignment process. The name change is pending approval of the realignment by the Higher Learning Commission.

In its meeting on the Fort Wayne campus, trustees said the name was selected, in part, based on a survey conducted in February. The survey offered two suggested names (Purdue University Fort Wayne and Purdue University Northeast) and also allowed respondents to propose other options.

According to a resolution, and assuming HLC approval, the new name will officially take effect on the proposed realignment effective date of July 1, 2018. However, the resolution also states that, in the meantime, university officers and employees may use and refer to the name during their work on the realignment transition. The resolution also allows for the campus to be referred to commonly as Purdue Fort Wayne.

“While this name is straightforward, it conveys something that is very important to us,” said Mike Berghoff, Board of Trustees chair and a member of the Fort Wayne campus Community Council who also served on the IPFW Study Working Group. “We want to be clear that this campus will offer students the quality academic experience that is behind the Purdue name while, at the same time, stressing our community partnership and commitment to making a positive impact on Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana.”

The Indiana University Board of Trustees also recently approved the name of Indiana University Fort Wayne for its health science programs. The naming will take effect with the July 1, 2018, realignment.

The respective trustees of Purdue and Indiana universities in December approved a plan of realignment for the governance structure of IPFW, which provides that Purdue will continue to have authority and responsibility for managing and operating the Fort Wayne campus. Each university will focus on its respective academic areas, with IU focusing on a new health sciences initiative and with Purdue taking on responsibility for all other existing academic mission areas while exploring potential new programs to serve the region’s economic priorities. In anticipation of the final effective date of July 1, 2018, both boards are expected to vote on final agreements this summer that will govern the relationship of the two institutions under the realigned structure in Fort Wayne. 

Source: Mike Berghoff, trustees@purdue.edu