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Board of Trustees - December 18, 2010

President France A. Córdova and
Rabindra N. Mukerjea
Board of Trustees
Governance Report: Strategic Plan Progress Report
Saturday, December 18, 2010

Slide 1

  • It's been a good year at Purdue! These pictures are a teaser of some recent highlights.
  • Today my presentation is a little different from other meetings, because I am also co-presenting the featured governance report.

    • First, I will give you an update of recent activities since our last meeting, some of which were featured in the video.

    • Second, I will review some key areas related to the progress of our strategic plan. Then, Rab Mukerjea, executive director for strategic planning and assessment, will illustrate with selected dashboard metrics.

 

Slide 4

  • A "noble" way to begin is with our Nobel Prize winner!

  • I just returned from Stockholm, Sweden, where I was honored to be a guest of Purdue professor, Dr. Ei-ichi Negishi, one of the 2010 Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry.

  • Here you see Nobel laureates during the ceremony (top left); Dr. Negishi with another Nobel Winner in Chemistry, Dr. Akira Suzuki, holding their diplomas (middle right); and Dr. Negishi with Swedish Crown Princess Victoria at the honorary table during the Nobel banquet in the Stockholm Town Hall (bottom left).

    • Dr. Suzuki was also a post-doc under Dr. Herbert Brown and calls Purdue his second home.

Slide 2

  • In November, we had an historic moment on campus, when Neil Armstrong returned to present Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger -- the Hero on the Hudson -- with the Neil Armstrong Medal of Excellence.

  • It was a wonderful event that featured two powerful alumni role models and demonstrated the impact that Purdue has had on great moments in history.

Slide 2

  • Over the Thanksgiving holiday, 50 million viewers saw the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

  • Only 10 bands from 300 applicants are chosen each year. Purdue is the first band in the Big Ten to receive an invitation to perform.

  • Our students' high-kicks rivaled the Rockettes'!

Slide 2

  • During the summer, the Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs was on campus to film a segment with Purdue's forensic entomology team in the College of Agriculture.

  • The episode aired two weeks ago. Our team took the host, Mike Rowe, through crime scene scenarios with dead pigs. They analyzed maggots to determine accurate time-of-death.

  • The show demonstrated Purdue's strength in agricultural and forensic sciences.

Slide 2

  • We have great news from Purdue's Military Family Research Institute (MFRI). The Lilly Endowment has awarded a $6.3 million grant to MFRI.

  • Congratulations to Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, director of MFRI, and everyone at MFRI for all the great work they do for our nation's military families.

  • As you know, MFRI has been recognized as a leader in this area, and Shelley has been invited to the White House as a guest of the First Lady.

Slide 2

  • Drew Brees, one of Purdue's Superbowl-winning quarterbacks, has been named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. And yesterday it was announced that the members of The Associated Press voted him the 2010 Male Athlete of the Year.

  • He was recognized for his achievements both on the field and off. The work of Drew, his wife Brittany, and their Brees Dream Foundation have contributed to the fight against cancer and the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Slide 2

  • Earlier this week, the Big Ten Conference unveiled its new logo for a 12-member league. They also announced the division names for football: Legends and Leaders.

    • Purdue is a member of the "Leaders" division.

    • The Big Ten also announced the creation of 18 trophies, including the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year Award, named for two of Purdue's Superbowl-winning quarterbacks: Bob Griese and Drew Brees.

    • There is also the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year award, named for Pro Football Hall of Famer and Boilermaker Rod Woodson and Jack Tatum from Ohio State.

  • Our faculty, staff, and students are proud of the achievements of these Boilermakers.

Slide 2

  • That's the update. Now, on to the Governance Report on the Strategic Plan.

Slide 2

  • This is a roadmap of my talk today. The sizes of the boxes correspond to the amount of time I will spend on each section.

    • I'll start with some initiatives that are true examples of "new synergies."

    • Next, I'll review some key milestones -- achievements and recognitions ...

    • And of course, we are augmenting our resource base in order to accomplish our goals.

  • Following my remarks, Rab will talk about some selected metrics, our progress, and how we compare with our peers.

Slide 2

  • As you know, the title of our strategic plan is "New Synergies." This document is a representation of our priorities and values. We have three overarching goals: Launching Tomorrow's Leaders, Discovery with Delivery, and Meeting Global Challenges.

  • We have made great progress in each of these areas, and have reached a point where we are seeing the "synergies" in action.

  • Today I'll touch on seven initiatives that have come to fruition in the last year.

Slide 2

  • One example is the new College of Health and Human Sciences, which officially opened this past summer. We also named the inaugural dean of the college, Christine Ladisch.

  • The new college brings together nine existing academic units from three colleges -- Liberal Arts; Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences; and Consumer and Family Sciences -- shown here.

  • The realignment supports our strategic plan. It attracts new students with interest in health and human sciences. And it brings faculty members from diverse areas into close collaboration with each other.

Slide 2

  • Purdue's new West Coast Partnership Center is another example of new synergies.

    • The center will link Purdue's expertise in engineering and technology with the West Coast's high-tech companies and entrepreneurs.

    • It will help increase investment in the innovations of our faculty.

    • It will enhance recruitment of students from the West Coast, and will engage a larger number of alumni in the area.

  • John Boyle -- a Purdue alumnus and the inaugural director of the center -- several faculty members, senior administrators, and I kicked off the opening of the center this fall along with nearly 300 alumni, technology executives, local officials, and parents of current Purdue students at an event in the heart of Silicon Valley in Mountain View, California.

    • The Center is supported by investment from the state's economic development corporation. Mitch Roob, Indiana's Secretary of Commerce and CEO of the IEDC had this to say, "In the past year alone, multiple California companies ... have been drawn to [Indiana's] pro-business environment, talented work force and sound financial footing."

Slide 2

  • Another new synergy is represented in the Global Policy Research Institute (GPRI), which began operation last summer under director Arden Bement, previously director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). GPRI is a direct result of our strategic plan development, crossing disciplines and countries to link our research expertise with informing public policy.

  • Dr. Bement also teaches an undergraduate seminar on Global Policy Issues, which is providing a one-of-a-kind global experience for our students.

    • We are fostering interdisciplinary interaction among our undergraduates by providing courses built around the pressing issues of our time. Students from diverse disciplines are bringing their unique perspectives to the classroom.

Slide 2

  • New synergies is not only about people and programs, but also about facilities that make connections and collaborations possible.

  • This chart illustrates the main areas for student life (orange triangle), the academic core (turquoise triangle), and primary research core including Discovery Park (purple triangle). Where there is overlap synergies occur.

  • For example, through co-curricular experiences the synergy of learning and personal development is being brought to life in a Student Success Corridor along Third Street (dark orange rectangle).

    • It would provide an area for students to live, participate in recreation, and interact with other students and with faculty.

  • Today I'll talk about just a few buildings that are a part of this vision.

    • The Co-Rec is in the process of getting a major makeover and will soon become the Student Fitness and Wellness Center.

    • The proposed Center for Student Excellence and Leadership, which is the vision of our student leaders, is a facility that would serve as a collaborative hub, a synergistic environment supporting collaboration among programs and student organizations that support student development and leadership. This is hoped to be the one-stop-shop called for in the strategic plan. Its goal is to ensure that students get both curricular and co-curricular support.

  • Another facility dedicated to student success is Bailey Hall, which will be the new home for Purdue Musical Organizations (PMO).

    • It will provide a collaborative, modern, music education space that will allow programs to better accommodate the growing interest in musical opportunities at Purdue.

    • We are grateful to longtime PMO supporters Ralph and Bettye Bailey, the primary donors, and the more than 470 donors who contributed to the project.

  • And we thank the many donors who have supported the Mackey Project, which will have its grand opening on 11-11-11.

  • We also have a vision to continue the success of Discovery Park into the life and health sciences domain. We call this expansion the Life and Health Sciences Quadrangle, which is shown here in the yellow square.

    • This will be a platform for interdisciplinary work among many colleges: science, engineering, agriculture, health and human sciences, and pharmacy. This truly brings to life the new synergies for research and education that we envisioned in our strategic plan.

  • Two facilities in the imminent planning stages are:

    • One, the Health and Human Sciences Research Facility, which will combine our Speech Language Hearing Sciences Department, Medical Education Program (IU School of Medicine), and Clinical Facilities.

      • The goal is to enhance interdisciplinary partnerships in Nursing, Medical Education, Foods and Nutrition, Health and Kinesiology, Psychology, and Speech Language and Hearing Sciences. Both the Psychology and Speech Language programs are highly ranked and have been operating in sub-optimal space.

      • The partnerships in this facility will connect students to their eventual careers and help Indiana residents with services in our clinics, while providing valuable education and training for our students.

    • Two, the Drug Discovery Facility, a state-of-the-art building to facilitate groundbreaking research in biochemistry related to drug discovery for such grand challenges as cancer research.

      • This building is a great example of Discovery with Delivery because research is directly connected to start-ups in the Purdue Technology Park.

      • This new facility will partially replace existing laboratory space in Wetherill Laboratory, an aging facility that has substantial systems limitations.

  • Each of these initiatives demonstrates the overlap between Student Success, Discovery with Delivery, and Global Challenges.

Slide 2

  • The Office of Human Resources and the Office for Diversity and Inclusion create new synergies on campus. Both of these areas were significant initiatives during the development of our strategic plan.

    • In everything we do we want to create a "... learning environment immersed in a rich and dynamic culture of diversity ... ." The outgrowth of this was the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the addition of Christine Taylor, Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer.

    • We also wanted to ensure that we continued to meet the "campus workplace quality of life needs and issues," and we are doing that with the help of Luis Lewin, Vice President for HR.

Slide 2

  • My last example of new synergies is the Office of Marketing and Media, which is positioning Purdue and telling our story.

  • This positioning effort reaches a variety of audiences through all types of media and touches all aspects of campus life. This slide shows an admissions email.

  • Purdue's new positioning is being featured in many industry publications because if its unique approach. Our positioning was built on research and input, and differentiates Purdue from other institutions with our unique brand.

Slide 2

  • Now, let me discuss some key achievements in each of our strategic plan goals, many of which are associated with more than one goal. That's the synergy!

  • I'll also talk about the national and international recognition that we've received for these accomplishments.

  • First, Launching Tomorrow's Leaders. We are seeing great gains in Student Success. At Purdue we know that success is the result of involvement in research, a diverse campus, a rich out-of-classroom experience, world-class faculty teachers, and community engagement.

    • We have established several goals in this area and we are making great progress.

  • Last month, Provost Sands' governance report detailed what we are doing for student success. Those activities have resulted in better-prepared students and increased retention, which leads to more students crossing the finish line.

  • Success can be viewed as a life cycle that starts with sound K-12 preparation, which is a prerequisite for admissions. We are helping with this through:

    • Teaching quality science and math teachers for Indiana through our Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows;

    • Developing Pathway to Purdue for under-prepared students to start at Ivy Tech and co-enroll at Purdue; and

    • Enhancing the requirement for high school mathematics. It will take effect for the fall 2011 incoming class, and requires students to have completed four years of high school math.

  • The academic profile of incoming students continues to rise:

    • The average SAT scores for fall 2010 is 20 points higher than class that entered fall 2008.

    • GPA and number of students in the top 10% of their class continues to increase.

  • Purdue announced in September 2010 that student retention is at all-time high at 89%.

    • More than 81% of first-year students participate in Boiler Gold Rush. Participants had a 4.4% greater rate of retention than those who did not participate.

    • Learning Communities are helping more Purdue students reach the goal of graduation. The six-year graduation rate for students who participated in 2004-05 is 74%, compared to 68.4% for other students who started that same year.

    • Other retention measures that make the large classroom environment more meaningful are Ideas to Innovation lab (I2I) in Engineering, Signals and Hotseat. As you know, we've had national attention and great success with these programs.

  • Our retention success will be reflected in improved graduation rates a few years from now.

Slide 2

  • In February, you'll hear the governance report for Discovery with Delivery.

  • We've made a lot of progress with the help of large grants secured by our faculty. Sponsored programs/research awards reached record of nearly $440 million for a 30% increase over previous year. Total annual expenditures for research reached nearly $575 million.

    • In part, these awards are a result of our ability to provide increased research infrastructure support. We must work hard to keep up our investments in this area.

Slide 2

  • One of the reasons that faculty come to Purdue is premier facilities. The Niswonger Aviation Technology building and the Hall of Discovery and Learning Research are two new facilities that enable innovative collaboration to take place.

  • We are continuing to enhance the research infrastructure through state-of-the-art facilities, which also provide an opportunity to educate students.

Slide 2

  • We have expanded international connections through faculty research and student programs. We have more than 300 study abroad programs in 50 countries, offering our students a global experience. Our faculty are conducting research on every continent.

Slide 2

  • This slide shows a small sample of the research programs that we have around the world. Purdue researchers are working with colleagues globally to solve great challenges and help save lives.

  • Professors Steven Wereley and Eric Calais are two examples of crisis response with expertise.

    • Professor Steven Wereley provided his expertise on the BP oil spill in the Gulf. He was appointed to the National Incident Command's Flow Rate Technical Group and appeared before Congress.

    • Professor Eric Calais was named science adviser for the United Nations Development Program's Disaster Risk Reduction program in Haiti based on his expertise about the earthquake in Haiti.

  • Professors Joan Fulton and Gebisa Ejeta are two examples of lifelong work aimed at addressing major global challenges.

    • Professor Joan Fulton has explored the importance of alternative extension programming for technology transfer and adoption of improved technologies in West Africa. She is currently examining the factors that contribute to successful entrepreneurship for women selling street food in West Africa and other developing countries.

    • I'm sure you are all familiar with the work Gebisa Ejeta has done in sub-Saharan Africa with sorghum research, which earned him a World Food Prize.

  • Professor Mohan Dutta from communications, has studied health communication issues in India, and has planned a cross-country study looking at food insecurity in India, Singapore, Bangladesh, and the U.S.

  • We also have partnerships and agreements with leading institutions across the globe. Earlier this year, I visited Tsinghua University in China, setting the stage for significant research collaborations in clean energy, earthquake mitigation, climate and human health.

Slide 2

  • In his governance report last month, Provost Sands discussed how regional and statewide campuses increase access to Purdue.

    • Regional campuses and Statewide Technology are the primary locations for a Purdue education for many Indiana students. They represent 47% of total system-wide enrollment.

    • To increase degree attainment in Indiana, the regional campuses are the key, as nearly all the recent growth in enrollment at Purdue has been at the regional campuses.

    • Another important part of the mission of these campuses is to serve non-traditional students.

Slide 2

  • These accomplishments are not going unnoticed.

  • For example, we were recently recognized by the Higher Learning Commission as part of our decadal accreditation review process. They had great things to say about the vision of our strategic plan and our commitment to its measurement.

    • We received continued full accreditation for the next 10 years.

    • The Commission's final report stated:

      • Purdue's self-study report was "exemplary in every way."

      • Our strategic planning was impressively thorough.

      • We have careful management of resources.

      • We have a strong commitment to student learning, engagement and service.

      • We are a leader in scholarship and research, fostering spirit of inquiry evident in interdisciplinary efforts.

    • As with any university there are always areas to improve and enhance. For example, we are working to enhance our diversity initiatives.

  • I presented Christine Ladisch, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, and Mark Pagano, dean of Continuing Education and Conferences, with the One Brick Higher Award for their work as co-chairs of the Accreditation Steering Committee.

Slide 2

  • Purdue's faculty continue to make outstanding contributions to both research and teaching. They are increasing value of a Purdue degree, and are being recognized for it.

  • This slide is a short list that summarizes some of the outstanding honors that have gone to our faculty recently.

Slide 2

  • The quality of our faculty and academic programs is being recognized through enhanced rankings.

  • Again, this is a long list that I won't repeat, but it's a great one.

Slide 2

  • This slide shows some of our programs that are ranked in the top 10.

Slide 2

  • In order to accomplish our goals, we require resources. Development, therefore, is a crucial part of our strategic plan, as it gives us the capacity to maintain our quality in the face of diminishing state appropriations.

  • You received a governance report on Development from Robin Bellinger in July. You see the highlights from that report here.

    • As you know, we started a new scholarship this year, called the Emerging Urban Leaders. It was made possible by anonymous $6 million gift. The first class of 33 recipients began this fall.

  • We are preparing for a significant philanthropic effort that will help us continue to provide scholarships, cutting-edge facilities, endowed professorships, and more.

Slide 2

  • Private resources are important, but as a public university we are also dependent on state funding.

  • Like all universities we have been faced with fiscal challenges in a difficult and uncertain economic environment.

    • We've put energy behind maximizing our resources and have been engaged in a yearlong effort to cut costs and improve efficiencies.

    • We responded to the Governor's $45.5 million dollar challenge to the Purdue system.

    • We have established a deficit reduction plan that addresses a projected $67.4 million recurring budget shortfall.

  • Now, we are preparing for a new biennial budget appropriations process.

  • We kicked off that process with an open forum in November about the value of public research institutions. The discussion helped position the importance of state funding. All funding resources are leveraged by the state's commitment. Speaking at the Forum was the commissioner of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Teresa Lubbers.

  • In the end, it's about maintaining the value of a Purdue education. Our student body president, Brad Krites said it best when he spoke at the forum ...

Slide 2

[Video of Brad Krites, President, Purdue Student Government]

Slide 2

  • We have indeed had a great year at Purdue! These are just highlights, but they represent progress in our strategic plan and show exciting things ahead.

  • Now, Rab will review selected metrics from our strategic plan dashboard, which shows more detail behind some of the progress that we've made.

  • As you know, because of Rab's invaluable work on the strategic plan, I recently presented him with the Order of the Griffin.

Slide 2

  • We will now illustrate the highlights of our progress as measured by the strategic plan metrics. These highlights are selected items of our "dashboard" where we see our progress from the base year of the strategic plan, as well as a year ago. We also illustrate our relative progress and position among our peers in these measures.

Slide 2

  • The full report shows the details of the data on these metrics. We have simplified the presentation today by graphically showing the trends only.

  • The metrics shown are data from last year, because that is the latest set of data available from our peers.

  • As you read this "dashboard," the data string shows Base Year, Year 1, Year 2, and the change. Because the process of collecting, publishing, and comparing the data takes time, there will always be a time lag, and we will always be one year removed.

  • Let's zero-in on the signals. In the first column, the color indicates the comparison to the base year. In the second column, the color indicates the comparison to the Big Ten/Peers. The arrow indicates the trend.

Slide 2

  • As a reminder, these 13 institutions comprise our peer group: the Big Ten public universities and our aspirational peers. Four universities are common to both sets.

Slide 2

  • As President Córdova already mentioned, Purdue has made considerable progress in overall rankings. We have moved upward from 26th among publics in the Base Year, to 22nd last year, to 18th this year. And we've gone from 66th to 56th among all national universities.

  • Our new mantra now is "15/50" -- to be among the top 15 publics and top 50 nationals -- a lofty goal indeed. But that's what our new Nobel Laureate Dr. Negishi asks -- to set lofty goals to keep making progress.

  • It is a worthy goal as a next milestone to achieve in our national rankings. We will keep it in focus.

Slide 2

  • The academic profile of our freshmen is improving. We are enrolling more of the top high school graduates. And we are closing the gap in the comparison among our peers.

  • The GPA comparison, however, has remained unchanged.

  • Provost Sands is working with every college on "Future Purdue" goals that will strive to raise the student academic profiles of every college or school -- it is a work in progress. The plans are coming together, and we will share them as they get closer to completion.

Slide 2

  • Here we have a good story with one-year retention rates. It continues to increase due both to the academic profile of the new students and the throughput intervention programs of the Provost.

  • A worthy goal for one-year retention would be the peer mean at 92%, an increase of three percentage points for us.

  • For six-year graduation rates, we have lost some ground. A big factor is the academic profile of the class entering six years ago -- a large class that was less selective and with lower one-year retention.

Slide 2

  • This chart shows a dip in the six-year rate of that class is to nearly 70% for the 2004 cohort year, which also corresponds to a dip in the one-year retention rate. This will continue for one more year, and then will uptick. See the one-year rate and the four-year rate.

  • We expect to see upward movement starting in 2012, corresponding to the 2006 class that shows both one-year and four-year rates going up. This too will be the result of our concerted efforts in recruitment and retention.

Slide 2

  • The post-graduation trends, at least in part, reflect the impact of the economy. While employment declined, enrolling in advanced study increased. We are gaining ground here among our peers.

  • The percentage of graduates who are donors also shows a decline this past year, perhaps due to the economy. As Robin Bellinger pointed out in her governance report in July, alumni donor participation rate has decreased, but amount per donor has increased.

Slide 2

  • Our national academy membership count is holding relatively steady. We have lost a few due to death, while we also gaining a few new members. Correspondingly, the gap with our peers also remains virtually unchanged.

    • However, Purdue increased from zero in the Base Year to 25 this year, a significant gain and trend.

  • We do well in the minority count among the tenure system faculty, increasing steadily and ahead of our peers.

Slide 43

  • Here we have exciting news on our progress. We have calculated the research expenditures excluding "medical sciences," which is a more fair comparison for us. It shows an aggressive trend of progress for both S&E and non-S&E expenditures. We are getting closer to our peers, but still a gap remains.

Slide 44

  • To explain further, this chart shows research expenditures comparisons including and excluding "medical sciences."

  • Note that our position is closer to the range of others when we exclude "medical sciences." We exceed Minnesota, Ohio State, in addition to Indiana, Michigan State, and Iowa. And the differences when compared to the others are within reach given our sponsored programs trajectory.

Slide 2

  • Looking at the R&D growth trend, it is a strong progress indicator. In the comparison group, we now rank 5th in rate of growth, an aggressive trend.

  • In the previous chart we had three schools below us, indicated by the boxes below, but here we surpass six more.

  • The research enterprise is making rapid progress under the leadership of Vice President for Research Richard Buckius and, of course, the faculty.

Slide 2

  • This continues to be a very good story for us Ð and a most fitting example of "Makers, All."

  • We have increased in patents issued and also made progress among our peers. I would note, however, that the patents fluctuate from year to year due to throughput timing that can vary considerably and stretch out the timeline.

  • For start-up companies, we are a national leader, helping in closing the loop for Discovery with Delivery.

Slide 2

  • Looking ahead, in a nutshell we see our future in the crosshairs Ð to be among the top 15 public and top 50 national universities.

  • We will be happy to respond to your questions.