Purdue Statehouse Update
Purdue Statehouse Update
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The Indiana House Ways and Means Committee has approved a budget plan that includes higher education funding recommnedations that are significantly higher than what was proposed in earlier versions of the state budget. While the Ways and Means budget is far short of our original proposals, and it remains a long way from recommendations by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, the plan is a considerable improvement over two earlier proposals. There are still major concerns to address. But we are hopeful the General Assembly will yet support several Purdue University initiatives not included in the current plan, which passed with strong bi-partisan support. Here are a few highlights of the new version, approved 24-1 by the Ways and Means Committee and sent to the full House for consideration: • It provides an increase of 3 percent for personnel compensation. • It provides a 2 percent increase for supplies and expenses. • It includes $2.7 million in new money during the second year of the biennium to establish an undergraduate program in Biomedical Engineering on the West Lafayette campus. • It includes $800,000 for new programs on the Fort Wayne, Calumet and North Central campuses. • It restores one half of the $12.4 million, non-recurring, annual technology funding. • It recommends bonding for construction of a new Computer Science Building, for a new chiller plant and planning money for the proposed new engineering building and expansion of the mechanical engineering facility – all on the West Lafayette • Capital funds are also recommended for renovation of the LSF Building at Purdue North Central. Noticeably missing from the budget are remaining funds needed to complete the Visual and Performing Arts Building on the West Lafayette campus; initiatives in computational sciences, genomics and biotechnology; and money to address an inequity of funding for the Fort Wayne and North Central campuses. We also remain concerned about faculty salaries and meeting intense competition from other universities and the private sector – especially for top people in the high-demand fields. Thanks to all of you who contacted legislators on behalf of funding for higher education. Your voices have been heard. We ask that you extend your thanks to members of the House and continue contact with Senators who will soon take up this budget plan. We have come a long way. And while we still have far to go, the trend is in the right direction. Update of Other Issues House Bill 1424, as mentioned last week in Update would establish the Indiana Economic Development Partnership. If established, the three major components of this legislation would draw upon higher education talent to assist with economic development throughout Indiana. The centerpiece of the proposal would establish a fund for one-time grants to be matched by local communities for the establishment of high tech incubator facilities. Designed to assist the development of high tech industry in Indiana, these facilities would be modeled after the very successful incubator located in the Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette. This proposal also calls for the expansion of Purdue’s Technical Assistance program to additional locations throughout the state. These additional sites would be located with Purdue Statewide Technology locations, Purdue University regional campuses, with Indiana State University in Terre Haute, and the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. The third element of the program calls for ten economic development specialists to be located throughout the state to provide additional assistance to the rural communities of Indiana. These people would employ the resources of Purdue and other universities to provide assistance to the many small towns and rural counties who do not employ large economic development staffs of their own. This bill, authored by Representative Pat Bauer of South Bend, was heard in the Public Policy committee of the House of Representatives on February 14 and was reported out of the committee with a unanimous vote. The next step in the process for this bill is for it to be heard on the floor of the House and then hopefully passed to the Senate for their action. The high tech incubator at the Purdue Research Park, in West Lafayette that is being used as a model in this legislation has achieved positive results. Earlier this month the small businesses in this incubator hosted a High Tech Job Fair that attracted nearly 500 people looking for full-time positions or internships. Officials for the businesses were all very excited with the response. It was exactly what they were looking for and they have been able to set up further interviews with individuals who attended the Job Fair. One company reported it has set up four interviews, another six. About 75 percent of the people who attended the Job Fair were Purdue students looking for opportunities in Indiana. The remaining 25 percent were from both inside and outside the State of Indiana – many of them alumni of Purdue. What this shows is that encouraging high technology business in the Indiana will help us retain our university graduates in this state. We can even bring some graduates back home from other states. All of this will slow or end the "brain drain" that has been a problem in Indiana during recent years as technology graduates from our universities find employment outside the state. There are a total of 90 companies in the Purdue Research Park. Of those, 36 high technology companies are located in the incubator facility and have experienced tremendous growth during the past several years. One company began with two employees in 1993 and today it has more than 50. In all, the 36 high technology companies started since 1993 employ about 1,500 people and 75 percent of them have at least a bachelor’s degree. One company alone has 14 employees who have a Ph.D. These are the kind of high paying positions Purdue can help Indiana create and attract on a larger scale if our model is followed in other parts of the state. We can help produce high paying jobs held by people who will be active in the life of their communities and this state. We can help to keep our best graduates in Indiana. With the great success of the first High Tech Job Fair, more are planned for the future. |
