April 6, 2005

Purdue College of Technology invites community to visit new Greensburg facility

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University's College of Technology has moved its Greensburg operations to the new Greensburg Community Learning Center.

The Learning Center, located at 422 E. Central Ave., will hold an open house from 4-7 p.m. on April 13. The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature facility tours and give attendees the chance to talk to faculty and staff members about Purdue programs offered at the facility.

The open house also will include a welcoming session at 5:30 p.m., laboratory and videoconferencing demonstrations, and information about financial aid, admissions and other student services.

"We moved into the new offices, classrooms and laboratories at the Learning Center in November, and this is our first chance to show the wonderful new facilities to the public," said location director Nancy Wilson Head, an associate professor of computer technology. "These facilities truly belong to the community, and we are eager to show them off and give people more information about the Purdue University programs available locally."

The new facilities replaced the college's offices at the Decatur County Extension Office, which the College of Technology had used since it began offering courses in the Greensburg area in 1999.

The College of Technology occupies approximately 2,000 square feet in the new learning center. The facilities include a student services office, a computer lab, a large classroom and offices for two full-time professors of organizational leadership and supervision who are based in Greensburg.

"This move gives us the opportunity to provide our students with a larger, better-equipped learning environment," Head said. "The support of the Decatur County community had allowed us to outgrow our space at the Extension office. This new space will allow us to expand programs, develop graduates and add to the economic growth of the area."

Purdue's College of Technology's Columbus/SE Indiana location offers bachelor's degrees in computer technology and organizational leadership and supervision; associates degrees in computer technology, organizational leadership and supervision, and mechanical engineering technology; and certificate programs in organizational leadership and supervision and industrial technology.

"The college offers classes in Columbus and Greensburg to more than 250 students, many of them working adults who plan on staying in their communities after receiving their degrees," Head said.

"Purdue has had a successful history in Decatur County, and I look forward to the continued growth of that relationship. The programs offered locally follow the same curriculum requirements of those at the West Lafayette campus, and our students graduate with the same mastery of their fields. We can also work with local businesses and communities to customize programs to address work force development and economic development needs."

This year is the 40th anniversary of the founding of Purdue's College of Technology, the first of its kind in the country. The college comprises eight department, and educates more than 6,000 undergraduate students at eight locations throughout Indiana. In addition to the Columbus/SE Indiana location, the other locations are West Lafayette, Anderson/Muncie, Indianapolis, Kokomo/Lafayette, New Albany, Richmond and South Bend/Elkhart.

Writer: Matt Holsapple, (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu

Sources: Nancy Wilson Head, (812) 348-7211, headn@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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