Purdue News Roundup

February 6, 1998

Purdue adds specialist in $5 million student-retention effort

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University has taken a major step in its new $5 million initiative to increase graduation rates with the addition of a retention specialist.

Drew Koch will assist Registrar Marlesa Roney in developing and implementing programs designed to increase the number of students earning undergraduate degrees at four of Purdue's campuses and the School of Technology's 10 statewide sites. Roney is senior project officer for the five-year, $5 million Lilly Endowment Retention Initiatives grant awarded to Purdue last fall.

The university expects the new programs will result in a 5 percent increase in graduation rates at each campus by the end of the five-year period. By the year 2010, these programs have the potential to yield an additional 4,600 new baccalaureate graduates from Purdue.

Koch will provide management support for the development and implementation programs at the Purdue Calumet, Purdue North Central, Indiana University Purdue University-Fort Wayne and West Lafayette campuses and for technology's statewide programs.

"I am pleased to now have the core leadership of the Lilly retention program in place as we move into the implementation phase of the grant," said Robert L. Ringel, executive vice president for academic affairs. "The regional campuses will feel the benefits of having a person with Drew's background exclusively devoted to helping their programs succeed. The West Lafayette campus looks forward to Drew's presence as its programs are implemented as well."

The systemwide goals include helping new students adapt to the college environment in their earliest weeks at Purdue and providing positive academic experiences for students, especially during their first year.

"Each year we bring in a new class of first-year students," Roney said. "Every one of them has made the decision that higher education is a valuable asset. It's important that we are investing in those students as much as they are investing in us. If we start with 100 freshmen and 75 of them graduate, that's good. The new challenge is to find ways to meet the needs of the other 25."

Roney said some of the programs to be implemented are expanded orientation, first-year seminars, proactive academic advising and supplemental instruction efforts. She said Koch also will develop and maintain a Web site that summarizes all grant activities, present progress reports to the university community, initiate and maintain a new informational series entitled Student Retention at Purdue, and serve as a resource for all retention-related programs.

Since 1995, Koch has been the associate dean and director of the Offices of First-Year Advisement and University Tutorial Services at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. He coordinated the creation of many services for first-year students and implemented a variety of retention-related programs.

Purdue's grant is part of $24 million presented to five public and nine private colleges and universities around the state as part of Lilly Endowment's continuing effort to improve Indiana's 47th ranking in the percentage of college-educated persons in the work force.

CONTACTS: Ringel, (765) 494-9709; Roney, (765) 494-6133

Nutritionist to speak Feb. 13 about Vitamin B and pregnancy

She will speak at 10:30 a.m. in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. The lecture is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Call (765) 494-8231 for reservations.

Picciano has conducted research about maternal, infant and child nutrition for more than 25 years and has published more than 100 journal articles. She will speak about how to prevent the deficiency of folic acid, a B vitamin, that has been found in women during their early pregnancy. This deficiency leads to the high risk of infants being born with birth defects and diseases.

The lecture is part of the Avanelle Kirksey Lecture Series. Kirksey was a faculty member of the Department of Foods and Nutrition from 1961 to 1994. In 1985, she became the second female distinguished professor at Purdue. Kirksey will attend the Picciano lecture.

CONTACT: Connie Weaver, head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition, (765) 494-8231; e-mail, weavercm@cfs.purdue.edu

Purdue Notebook

-- The Council on the Status of Women at Purdue is seeking nominations for its annual Violet Haas Recognition Award. The award is presented in April to a department, program or individual that has made a positive impact on behalf of women. Nomination letters not exceeding two pages should be submitted by Feb. 16 to Carolyn Percifield at the Office of the Dean of Engineering, Engineering Administration Building. More information about nominations and the award is available from Percifield, (765) 494-5343.

-- Awards of up to $500 to underwrite lectures by women or related to women's issues are available from the Flora Roberts Bequest for the fiscal year starting July 1. Proposals may be submitted by departments, student organizations and other units on the West Lafayette campus. Applications for funding from the endowment are due in the Purdue Department of Convocations office by April 3. A committee will review the proposals and award grants during the last week of April. For more information, a proposal form, and a one-page summary of the program, contact Lorna Myers, director of Convocations, at (765) 494-9712.

-- A callout for "Weigh to Go," a seven-week weight control program for students, will be at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday (2/11) in the basement conference room of the Student Health Center. The series focuses on healthy eating and exercise as part of a comprehensive weight-loss plan. Registration is $30. More information about the program is available from Health Promotion Programs, (765) 494-9355.

-- Purdue's AIM Summer Research Program is accepting applications for the eight-week session that will be conducted June 7 through Aug. 1. African-American, Hispanic or Native American undergraduate students selected for the program will conduct research projects under the direction of Purdue faculty. Participants will receive a $3,200 stipend and must provide for their own living expenses. Applications are due before March 15. More information about program is available from Meredith Rodwell, AIM administrator, (765) 463-5740; e-mail, mrodwell@purdue.edu

Compiled by J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail, mike_willis@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu

To the Purdue News and Photos Page