A meeting of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees convened at 8:56 a.m. on Friday, February 8, 2019, in Room 326 of Stewart Center on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
All committee members were present: JoAnn Brouillette, chair; Vanessa Castagna; Malcolm DeKryger; Daniel Romary; and Professor Natalie Carroll (ex-officio). All other trustees were present: Sonny Beck; Michael Berghoff; Michael Klipsch; Gary Lehman; Thomas Spurgeon; and Don Thompson.
Officers and administrators in attendance were: Mitch Daniels, president; Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity; Bill Sullivan, treasurer and chief financial officer; Jim Almond, senior vice president, assistant treasurer, and assistant secretary; Steve Schultz, general counsel; Janice Indrutz, corporate secretary and senior executive assistant to the Board; Ron Elsenbaumer, chancellor of Purdue University Fort Wayne; and Tom Keon, chancellor of Purdue University Northwest.
I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee voted unanimously to approve the minutes of its last meeting on December 7, 2018.
II. APPROVAL TO NAME THE KRANNERT SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT DEANSHIP
Provost Akridge respectfully requested approval to name the deanship of the Krannert School of Management for Dr. Samuel R. Allen, who, he said, was an exceptional Purdue alumnus and generous donor. He reminded the Committee that Dr. Allen had earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial management from Purdue in 1975, and he summarized Dr. Allen’s subsequent 44-year career with Deere & Company, for which he was now chairman and CEO. He also reminded the Committee that Purdue had awarded Dr. Allen an honorary doctorate degree in 2017.
To continue, Provost Akridge said the Krannert School of Management had been skillfully led by Dean David Hummels since 2015 and, under Dean Hummels’ leadership, the School had earned top ten rankings for a number of its undergraduate, and graduate, and online programs. He also noted that Dean Hummels was a top international trade research economist, and Provost Akridge closed by saying he could not be more pleased to name the deanship under Dean Hummels’ tenure.
Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee voted unanimously to recommend full Board approval to name the deanship, thus ratifying Dr. David L. Hummels as the inaugural Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Krannert School of Management. Supporting documents and a photo were filed with the minutes.
Chairman Berghoff remarked that the deanship being named for Dr. Allen was extra special because Dr. Allen was a classic example of a Purdue leader; his leadership of a classic American company with thousands of employees spoke to his skills, knowledge, and capabilities. President Daniels said Dr. Allen was the “quintessential Boilermaker,” with which Trustee Thompson agreed and added that Dr. Allen was a very understated man and wonderful person. The Committee congratulated Dean Hummels, who acknowledged that Dr. Allen’s was a big name to live up to.
III. APPROVAL TO APPOINT THE TEBBE FAMILY 150TH ANNIVERSARY PROFESSOR IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Provost Akridge informed the Committee that Dr. Charles “Chuck” Krousgrill had been named a 150th Anniversary Professor in January 2018. He described Dr. Krousgrill as a national and international leader in mechanical engineering who had received teaching development grants from the National Science Foundation, among others, and who had earned numerous teaching awards, including the university’s Charles B. Murphy Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching. Provost Akridge said he was pleased to report that the university had received a generous endowment to support Dr. Krousgrill’s professorship and create the Tebbe Family 150th Anniversary Professorship in Mechanical Engineering. Provost Akridge informed the Committee that the donor, Mr. Stanley Tebbe, earned both a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in industrial management at Purdue and spent his career with the Exxon Mobil Corporation. Furthermore, he said, Mr. Tebbe had received two Distinguished Alumni Awards from Purdue.
After sharing the information about Dr. Krousgrill and Mr. Tebbe, Provost Akridge respectfully requested approval to appoint Dr. Krousgrill as the Tebbe Family 150th Anniversary Professor in Mechanical Engineering. Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee voted unanimously to recommend full Board approval of the appointment. Supporting documents and a photo were filed with the minutes.
Trustee Brouillette congratulated Dr. Krousgrill and said this was a very high honor. Chairman Berghoff commented that, when he reviewed Dr. Krousgrill’s vita, he noticed the number of times Dr. Krousgrill had been recognized for his outstanding teaching since 1985. Dr. Frank Dooley, senior vice provost for teaching and learning, shared that Dr. Krousgrill helped shape the IMPACT program as one of the first professors to participate.
IV. FOR PURDUE FORT WAYNE: APPROVAL OF NEW MASTER’S DEGREE IN SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY
On behalf of Chancellor Elsenbaumer, Provost Akridge requested approval of a new master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, within the College of Arts and Sciences, at Purdue Fort Wayne. He indicated that the job outlook for speech language pathologists was very positive, with the State of Indiana predicting a 28% increase in the number of speech language pathologists needed by 2026. He said the proposed program, which he described, would help meet this need and contribute toward meeting PFW’s strategic goal of serving the northeast Indiana workforce.
Trustee Romary questioned if Indiana University had a similar program at its Fort Wayne campus, the answer to which was no. Trustee DeKryger remarked that his daughter was a speech language pathologist and expressed his excitement about this new program. Trustee Brouillette shared that she saw the value in the program given that a family member had benefitted from such services. Chancellor Elsenbaumer commented that the program was very important for the region and, in response to a question from Trustee Castagna, he discussed how the program would be marketed. Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee voted unanimously to recommend full Board approval of the master’s degree program in Speech Language Pathology. Supporting documents were filed with the minutes.
V. APPROVALS FOR INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
A. PURDUE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE: APPROVAL OF M.S. IN COMPUTATIONAL DATA SCIENCE
Trustee Brouillette recognized the attendance of Dr. Simon Rhodes, dean of the Purdue School of Science at IUPUI, and Dr. Shiaofen Fang, chair of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences. With the Committee having read the proposal prior to the meeting, she called for a motion, which was duly made and seconded, to approve a new master’s program in Computational Data Science at IUPUI. Provost Akridge informed the Committee that the program would prepare students to enter the workforce in what was a rapidly advancing field, and he noted its interdisciplinary domain.
Dean Rhodes thanked the Board of Trustees, President Daniels, and Provost Akridge for considering the proposal and expressed his belief that it was an important degree because it was foundational, not applied, and would give students the skills to be successful. In response to a question from President Daniels, Dean Rhodes acknowledged that the process of bringing forth this proposal had been a positive experience.
In response to questions from Chairman Berghoff, Dean Rhodes confirmed that the program curriculum would be created by using existing graduate courses offered by two departments, and he outlined the other programs students would have sought without this option. Dean Rhodes also confirmed for Trustee Romary that there would be no budget implications given the courses were already offered. Following discussion, the Committee voted unanimously to recommend full Board approval of the new program. Supporting documents were filed with the minutes.
B. PURDUE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY: APPROVAL TO CHANGE THE
TITLES OF TWO DEGREES
On behalf of the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI, Provost Akridge respectfully requested that the titles of the degree programs currently referred to as an M.S. in Interdisciplinary Engineering and an M.S.E. in Interdisciplinary Engineering be changed to remove the term “interdisciplinary.” He explained that the School intended to develop new majors in engineering and the term “interdisciplinary” would confuse prospective students when the new majors were launched. Trustee Brouillette acknowledged Dr. Paul Salama, associate dean for graduate programs at IUPUI, who was in attendance. Dr. Salama thanked the Board of Trustees for considering the title changes. He said the School’s Industrial Advisory Board had agreed that the term “interdisciplinary” was confusing and not attractive to prospective students, and he said the title changes would allow the School to expand its portfolio of majors and diversify programs. Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Committee voted unanimously to recommend full Board approval of the title changes. Supporting documents were filed with the minutes.
VI. REPORT OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE
Prior to Professor Carroll’s report, Trustee Brouillette thanked her for initiating the reception held the previous evening to allow the Trustees and University Senate leaders to meet each other. She said it was a positive experience and everyone looked forward to working together in the future. Professor Carroll then reported that the Senate had met once since the Committee last met, with only one document having been brought to the Senate for discussion – a parental leave policy for students. She then illustrated results of the latest COACHE survey specifically with regard to questions about faculty leadership. She expressed her disappointment in the results and said they would be sent to the subcommittees for their consideration in generating suggestions for improvement. President Daniels shared his prediction that, when the next COACHE survey was completed in three years, the results would show marked improvement because of the support for and confidence in the type of leadership Professor Carroll had demonstrated as chair of the University Senate. Professor Carroll also stated that the results for questions related to communication had motivated the University Senate to implement a newsletter to improve communication with the faculty, which, she said, had been positively received. Trustee Thompson reacted positively to the newsletter and thanked Professor Carroll for arranging the reception, saying it was long overdue. A copy of Professor Carroll’s report presentation was filed with the minutes.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Berghoff remarked that the Committee meeting had been especially meaningful and explained why, including the opportunity to see the leaders from IUPUI. He said he was pleased to learn at the recent celebration of IUPUI’s 50th anniversary that 92% of IUPUI graduates remain in Indiana, with 68% remaining in Indianapolis.
By consent, the meeting adjourned at 9:25 a.m.