Purdue News

December 12, 2000 Lilly gives $1.3 million to help keep high-tech graduates in state WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Lilly Endowment Inc. is taking a step to counter Indiana's "brain drain," in which college graduates in high-tech fields take jobs outside the state. Purdue University President Martin C. Jischke announced today (Tuesday 12/12) the endowment will provide a $1.3 million grant over 18 months designed to help retain technology graduates within Indiana. "Companies, and even other states from throughout the country, are using very aggressive tactics to attract Purdue graduates," Jischke said. "It is not uncommon for full-page ads to appear in our student newspaper, urging our students to relocate to a particular area where their skills will be rewarded. "We want to let these students know they don't have to leave Indiana to have rewarding careers in high-technology fields. We want them to stay here and contribute to the economy and growth and high quality of life here." The Retaining Technology Talent initiative, supported by the Lilly Endowment grant, is a collaboration among Purdue, the Indiana Information Technology Association and other universities within Indiana. The initiative's objectives are: • Increasing awareness among students of the quantity and quality of technology-related employment opportunities in the state. • Increasing the capacity of certain Indiana colleges and universities to inform students of the broad array of technology-related career options available to them in-state, and facilitating interaction between students and Indiana technology companies. • Increasing the Indiana technology community's understanding of the many opportunities to connect with Indiana's college and university students. "INITA approached us about spearheading this great opportunity for universities and colleges within Indiana," said Tim Luzader, director of Purdue's Center for Career Opportunities. "There is no question we need to find better ways to promote Indiana businesses to our graduates." Luzader said students are not always aware of in-state employment opportunities. "The goal is for these funds to help high-tech Indiana businesses gain a presence on our campuses," he said. "Career fairs promoting in-state businesses, multi-day campus events focusing on technology, site visits to targeted companies are all ways we hope to connect students with businesses. "The more informed networking opportunities we can provide these young men and women who are making life-changing decisions, the better off they will be." Purdue will administer the grant but is partnering with Indiana University, Ball State University, IUPUI and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to plan the implementation. Other colleges and universities are invited to join the program. "It is time for Indiana's talent to remain in Indiana," INITA President Donna Gastevich, said. "We are committed to cultivating the relationships between high-tech companies and our graduates and are very pleased the Lilly Endowment sees this opportunity as the high priority we know it is." Sara B. Cobb, Lilly Endowment vice president for education, said this grant fulfills the endowment's efforts to address educational attainment levels and programs to attract and keep high-quality jobs in Indiana. "The endowment is impressed with Purdue, other institutions of higher learning and INITA for addressing this issue," Cobb said. "We are pleased this initiative will complement the Brain Gain initiative of the University of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce to increase the quality and availability of internships in the state. The two initiatives together should make a strategic difference in efforts to retain more of our highly educated college graduates in Indiana." Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 be three members of the Lilly family through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Co. INITA is a trade organization representing nearly 350 information technology companies. Sources: Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708 Tim Luzader, (765) 494-3981, tluzader@purdue.edu Writer: Jenny Pratt, (765) 494-2079, jmpratt@purdue.edu Other sources: Donna Gastevich, (317) 274-6482, dg@inita.org Sara B. Cobb, (317) 924-5471 To the Purdue News and Photos Page