Trustees OK selection process for student trustee, create path for convening new Purdue Northwest senate

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Aug. 26) approved a process for selecting Purdue's student trustee, passed a resolution thanking donors who have contributed $1 million or more to the university, and approved a posthumous degree.

Trustees also reviewed and discussed recently updated student conduct regulations for the West Lafayette and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne campuses.

Mike Berghoff, board chair, said the process for selecting the student trustee was formalized with input received in late 2015 from Purdue Student Government leadership. The process calls for a staff member of the Vice Provost for Student Life to oversee the search.

Both undergraduate and graduate students may apply to serve as student trustee. Only members of the Student Trustee Search Committee may review the student trustee applications, interview the candidates and send the 10 finalists to the governor. The governor then makes the final selection. The process will be used when the next student trustee is selected to fill a two-year term, which will begin July 1, 2017.

Trustees also conditionally approved the Purdue University Northwest Senate Constitution. Purdue University Northwest was the result of the unification of Purdue University Calumet and Purdue University North Central. The constitution covers the merged faculty bodies' composition, powers and responsibilities, operations, and meeting protocols.

In granting approval, trustees noted the concurrence of the Purdue Northwest bylaws drafting committee that two amendments would be made to the final version, both of which reinforce the senate's ability to operate under authority that is ultimately traced to trustees' powers under state statute.

Resolutions were approved by trustees for donors Charles and Nancy Davidson (School of Chemical Engineering); Hubert and Audrey Kleasen (Lyles School of Civil Engineering); Ray and Beverly Mentzer (School of Chemical Engineering); Ivan Sublette (School of Electrical and Computer Engineering); David and Christine Wallace (Lyles School of Civil Engineering and the College of Health and Human Sciences); and anonymous (School of Chemical Engineering). All of the donors contributed $1 million or more to Purdue.

Trustees approved a posthumous Bachelor of Science in Sales and Marketing for Breanna S. Lemler, a student in the College of Agriculture.

Trustees discussed recent updates to the student conduct regulations for the West Lafayette and IPFW campuses. While a number of clarifications and improvements were made to both sets of regulations, trustees noted in particular that the IPFW revisions helped earn the highest "green light" status from FIRE, or the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. That designation, which the West Lafayette campus obtained in 2015, would bring every Purdue campus into this category.  

Contact: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu 

Sources: Steve Schultz, Purdue legal counsel, schult51@purdue.edu

Michael Berghoff, trustees@purdue.edu

Thomas Keon, chancellor of Purdue University Northwest, tkeon@purdue.edu