Parents & Families E-Newsletter - March 2011
Dear Parents and Families,
Students and faculty have returned from Spring Break and campus is once again filled with the buzz of activity.
In the coming weeks, our students are looking forward to Spring Fest and Grand Prix, the Purdue Center for Cancer Research 5K Challenge, the Black & Gold spring football scrimmage, and commencement – it all happens very quickly this time of year!
I was happy to see so many of your sons and daughters at a recent student forum, during which we discussed our goals for education and our budget challenges. Provost Tim Sands and Treasurer Al Diaz joined me to answer questions and present information to the group. Students who attended brought many good ideas and asked important questions. I am constantly inspired by our students’ aspirations for Purdue and their desire to be knowledgeable and effective. I appreciate their input and their desire to maintain the quality of a Purdue degree.
Thank you for keeping in touch with your student’s experience tough this newsletter. This issue covers many important topics, including resources for you and your students and additional information about spring events.
I hope we will see many of you on campus as we finish up this exciting academic year.
Sincerely,
France A. Córdova
President
Student Life
Five Students make history
In celebration of Women's History Month, Purdue highlighted five students who are history makers:
- Emilia Czyszczon of Chicago, Ill., a sophomore studying biological History maker
- Kandace Kiefer of Decatur, Ind., a junior studying atmospheric science
- Megan Maloney of Grand Rapids, Mich., a senior studying nuclear engineering
- Jamie Steiner of Berne, Ind., a senior studying quantitative agricultural economics
- Ashley Vanosdol of Columbus, Ind., a graduate student studying human resources management
Read their stories on the Five Students Who website.
Student artist makes a difference for Japan
Purdue instills a sense of social responsibility in its students tough coursework, service learning projects and volunteerism. And sometimes students use their own creativity and initiative to make the difference. ... Watching the unfolding disaster in Japan, senior graphic design major Zac Neulieb has channeled his emotions and talent into the creation of a fundraising message poster for the American Red Cross relief fund.
Krannert students win international business competition
A team of four Purdue students from the Krannert School of Management won first place at Rubicon 2011, an international case competition for business students. The business plan competition involved 24 teams and took place earlier this month in Iserlohn, Germany. The topic of this year's competition was the future of mobility. The Krannert team, called the "ChangeMakers," survived four rounds of competition to take home the top prize. Team members are:
- Karan Ahuja, a senior majoring iin electrical engineering and management
- Philip Lu, who earned his bachelor's degree from Krannert and will complete his MBA in May
- Thomas Trachtman, who will complete the combined bachelor's degree and MBA program in May
- Matt Barlett, who will complete the combined bachelor's degree and MBA program in May 2012
Video highlights Purdue students and campus life
Gain a glimpse at what Purdue students have been up to this past year by viewing this brief, two-minute student life video.
Purdue announced academic honors for fall 2010
About 14,200 Purdue students earned academic honors for the fall 2010 semester. To earn honors, students must have had at least a 3.5 semester or cumulative grade point average on a four-point scale. Purdue News Service offers media and interested families a method to look up names of students honored tough a database-driven web page. Notification of the Purdue honors and graduation lists via e-mail is provided to newspapers with an expressed interest in carrying them. If a local newspaper is not publishing student names, Purdue families may contact the outlet to request placement and let them know that media notification is available from Purdue by sending an e-mail to purduenews@purdue.edu.
Featured Boiler Byte: Student anglers compete at the national level
A new Boiler Byte highlights the recent successes of the Purdue Bass Club. In spring 2010, four Purdue students won two separate regional competitions to advance to the next round of a national fishing tournament. Tee qualifying teams from the Purdue Bass Club won their respective tournaments and earned a combined total of $30,000. The teams from the Purdue Bass Club then competed in the National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championship in November on Monroe Reservoir placing sixth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.
Incoming students get summer reading assignment
A book about the history and ethics surrounding one of the most influential medical discoveries — HeLa cells — has been selected for Purdue's campus-wide reading program to help new students connect at the University. Rebecca Skloot's "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" will be given to each first-year and transfer student who enters the University next fall as part of the 2011-12 Common Reading Program. More Top Purdue's graduate programs ranked among best by U.S.News Purdue programs in engineering, education and business were ranked among the best in the country in U.S.News & World Report's graduate school rankings released Tuesday (March 15).
Purdue's graduate programs ranked among best by U.S. News & World Report
Purdue programs in engineering, education and business were ranked among the best in the country in U.S.News & World Report's graduate school rankings released Tuesday (March 15).
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Resources
Dean of Students office is first responder for students' emergency needs
More than 30 Purdue students were displaced when a fire swept tough their apartment complex in mid-November. The Office of the Dean of Students was a key resource for these students and for many other students who face similar and other crisis situations each year. Among the student support services provided by the office is emergency loans.
Tough the generosity of Purdue alumni and contributors, a fund has been established in the Dean of Students office that provides all currently registered Purdue students access to an interest-free, 30-day loan of $400 for school-related emergency needs. Last year, nearly 1,500 loans totaling more than $485,000 were disbursed to Purdue students. “In addition to the emergency loans, the students displaced by the fire were offered discounted rates on housing, food, and donations from the local community, “ said Danita Brown, dean of students.
“It may not always be monetary assistance that is needed so we try to figure out what resources will help the students given their personal situation,” Brown said. “Our office also partners with other campus departments and community agencies so we can help these students make the right connections for assistance.”
Purdue Parents Fund assists with study space for HSSE Library
Students have another space to study thanks to a recent donation by the Purdue Parents Fund. The fourth floor of the Humanities, Social Sciences and Education Library (HSSE) acquired new furniture installed by the Jasper Seating Co. of southern Indiana. The comfortable seating arrangement offers a relaxed and inviting study space. Contributions to the Purdue Parents Fund support the safety, health and wellness of all students. Tough the Parents Fund, Purdue Libraries also has been able to offer information literacy classes and has provided coffee and refreshments during final exams week. Learn more about the Purdue Parents Fund.
Students seek leads for fall employment
Many students are making plans for fall semester employment before leaving campus for the summer break. Purdue's Student Employment Services area within the Division of Financial Aid is a central hub for students seeking employment and provides a wide variety of free services that bring eligible student employees together with on- and off-campus community employers.
The Purdue Student Employment Services area offers two separate work programs:
- The Federal Work-Study (FWS) program, a federally funded financial aid program, designed to help students meet educational costs tough the use of part-time employment. FWS is a form of financial aid that is awarded to students in their financial aid award package based on demonstrated need and satisfactory academic progress.
- The Job Location and Development (JLD) program locates employers and helps develop off-campus employment opportunities for students during and between periods of actual enrollment. Student eligibility is not based on the financial need or academic standing requirements of FWS.
Several campus departments offer information online to students about employment opportunities:
- Purdue Memorial Union
- Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP)
- Housing and Food Services
- Division of Recreational Sports
AlcoholEdu program scheduled to launch this fall
Incoming students and students living in University housing will be asked to complete an online alcohol education course called AlcoholEdu before their arrival on campus. The program complements existing alcohol prevention initiatives on campus and is designed for all students, including non-drinkers. AlcoholEdu helps students practice safe decision making and change risky behavior, and it promotes a healthy educational community. More than one-third of college freshmen are exposed annually to the AlcoholEdu program at college and universities across the nation.
New university calendar system provides users with many new features
Purdue University's new online calendar promises to better meet the needs and expectations of website visitors and the campus community. The calendar, which debuted March 21 at www.purdue.edu/calendar, is social network-friendly and provides users with options to add university events to their personal calendar, to share them with friends and to subscribe to calendar categories for automatic notification by e-mail and text.
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