Purdue News

September 13, 1996

Purdue president to tour Kokomo on Sept. 25

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Reporters are welcome to attend the various sites and ask questions of President Steven C. Beering.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue President Steven C. Beering will be in Kokomo on Wednesday, Sept. 25, as part of a statewide tour to increase public awareness of Purdue's role in Indiana's economy.

Beering's tour has a theme of "Purdue Powers the Future." He is making 11 visits around the state through Nov. 14.

One indication of Purdue's connection to the Kokomo area is that 7,139 alumni live and work in Howard County and the adjacent counties of Cass, Miami, Grant, Tipton, Clinton and Carroll, and 2,085 students from those counties are enrolled at Purdue campuses and Statewide Technology sites. Statewide Technology makes Purdue technology-degree programs available at 10 sites around the state.

Purdue reaches 11,164 young people in the Kokomo, Logansport, Peru and Marion area through the Cooperative Extension Service, including 4-H Club membership; special interest groups, such as Mini 4-H and Clover Buds; and school enrichment programs developed and/or taught by Extension educators.

In addition, Purdue's Technical Assistance Program has been involved in 230 projects in north central Indiana since 1986, the program's first year, and Purdue Continuing Education programs in Howard, Miami and Clinton counties attracted 133 participants in 1995-96. The Technical Assistance Program provides technical infrastructure for industrial modernization in Indiana.

Beering will be at these Kokomo sites on Sept. 25:

• Kokomo Animal Hospital, 409 Arnold Court, 2 p.m. to learn about the veterinary practice's relationship with the university. Topics to be discussed include opportunities for continuing education, the practice's use of the Purdue veterinary clinics and the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, and veterinary students' externships with the practice.

• Delco Electronics, 1 Corporate Center, 3 p.m. to discuss with Delco officials the various Purdue employee training and education programs in use at the firm. Delco officials also have been involved with the Indiana Pollution Prevention and Safe Materials Institute located at Purdue. In addition, the School of Technology has an agreement with the Kokomo Schools to achieve a "seamless educational process," which encourages high-school students to start preparing early for college and a career. While at Delco, the Purdue delegation will discuss this program with Kokomo Schools officials and representatives of Delco, which is a major participant in the program.

  CONTACTS: Beering, (317) 494-9708

  Greg Zawisza, University Relations, (317) 494-2086; home, (317) 463-9119; e-mail, greg_zawisza@purdue.edu

  Grady Jones, Purdue News Service, (317) 494-2079; home, (317) 448-9976; e-mail, grady_jones@purdue.edu

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