Purdue News
Purdue News
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September 13, 2002 Purdue trustees approve state budget requestWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue University Board of Trustees today (Friday, 9/13) approved a 2003-2005 state funding request for all the Purdue campuses. The request seeks a funding increase of slightly more than $9 million in additional operating funds for the West Lafayette campus in 2003-2004. An increase of $5.9 million is requested for the Calumet, North Central and Fort Wayne campuses. The request also contains $5 million each year for a new biomedical engineering initiative at the West Lafayette campus and $800,000 in the first year of the biennium for utilities and upkeep of buildings, funded primarily through gifts, that will open during 2003-2005. The following increases in support for students, staff and supplies are included in the request: • A 2 percent increase for faculty and staff compensation. • A 1 percent increase for supplies and expenses. • A 2 percent increase in student financial aid. "With this budget request, Purdue will be able to continue marking milestones toward its strategic goals," said Purdue President Martin C. Jischke. "But the amount we are seeking also recognizes the state's tough fiscal situation. Purdue is asking only for funds that are critical to continue serving students and the state, and to place an increasing emphasis on programs that will help grow Indiana's economy." The Indiana Commission for Higher Education has approved Purdue's proposal for the biomedical engineering degree. If funded, the initiative will expand Purdue's existing biomedical engineering graduate program and establish a new undergraduate program in the field. "Investing in biomedical engineering at Purdue is a vital way to foster growth in the health care industry, which already accounts for one in nine Indiana jobs," Jischke said. "The education and research that this initiative enables will spawn startup companies and provide existing firms new means to make new and better products." The request for the West Lafayette campus also includes funds to expand the Statewide Technology Program, which works to enhance local economies and the economy statewide. Other items in the budget include additional support for agricultural research, the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service and compensation for its county educators. Slight increases also are being sought for the Technical Assistance Program (TAP), the Purdue North Central nursing program, based in Valparaiso, and the Center for Paralysis Research. At Purdue's Calumet campus, $500,000 of the total $1.1 million request will support an increase in the number of full-time faculty. The increase in faculty instruction is intended to help boost freshman retention rates and overall graduation rates. Purdue is asking the state to provide $4 million for Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Nearly $3 million of this amount is attributed to enrollment growth costs while $600,000 is earmarked for a regional work force and economic development program and for collaborative research with the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center. At Purdue North Central, $200,000 of the $830,000 request is being sought for three new faculty positions to support undergraduate instruction in computer technology and education. Writer: Amy Raley, 494-9573, araley@purdue.edu Sources: Kenneth Burns, executive vice president and treasurer, (765) 494-9705; kpburns@purdue.edu Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708 Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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