February 4, 2005
Purdue to connect with Evansville in community visit
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University leaders, who are traveling the state to meet and learn from its citizens, will be in Evansville on Feb. 15 to visit businesses and community members.
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Purdue President Martin C. Jischke and other university officials will visit Anchor Industries, George Koch and Sons, Vectren Energy, Deaconess Hospital and West Pharmaceutical Services, as well as other locations.
Victor L. Lechtenberg, Purdue's vice provost for engagement, said he welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with business and community leaders.
"We learn so much from these visits," Lechtenberg said. "Purdue has made a commitment to enhance economic development, boost education and expand community service. To accomplish this mission, we need to exchange ideas with the people of Indiana in communities like Evansville."
This is the fifth year Jischke and university leaders have conducted daylong visits to Indiana communities. More than 50 previous stops have ranged from Gary to Jasper and from South Bend to New Albany. Future visits are planned for Bedford, Valparaiso, Kokomo and Elkhart.
Several activities are scheduled for the Evansville visit:
• 8 a.m. – Tour Anchor Industries, 1100 Burch Drive. Anchor Industries produces tents, awnings and other soft goods. The company employs 425 people and has worked with Purdue's Technical Assistance program on 16 projects. The Technical Assistance Program connects companies with Purdue resources and assists them in implementing state-of-the art technologies. TAP currently is working with Anchor Industries to determine the wind resistance of a mesh material used in tents.
• 9:30 a.m. – Tour George Koch and Sons LLC, 14 S. 11th Ave. George Koch and Sons, a 130-year-old company which is listed in the Forbes Top 500 Private Companies, designs, manufactures and installs more than 1,200 paint finishing systems. It also produces specialty products such as process heating systems, curtain coaters, and acoustical enclosures and panels. George Koch and Sons serves customers throughout the United States and in 36 other countries. The company also is working with Purdue on a 21st Century Research and Technology Fund project through which Jayathi Murthy, a professor of mechanical engineering, is helping to design a more efficient curing oven to dry and set paint.
• 10:45 a.m. – Visit Vectren Energy Delivery, 20 N. W. Fourth St. Vectren Corp. is an energy and applied technology holding company headquartered in Evansville. Vectren's energy delivery subsidiaries provide gas and/or electricity to nearly 1 million customers in adjoining service territories that cover nearly two-thirds of Indiana and west central Ohio.
• 11:45 a.m. – Lunch with the Evansville Rotary Club at the Evansville Coliseum, 300 Court St. Jischke will deliver a speech entitled "This is What Purdue Can Do for Indiana." He also will take questions from club members.
• 2 p.m. – Tour Deaconess Hospital, 600 Mary St. Deaconess Hospital is a 350-bed acute care teaching hospital serving residents of southern Indiana, southeastern Illinois and western Kentucky. One of the largest hospitals in the region, Deaconess employs more than 3,000 people.
• 3:15 p.m. – Visit with fourth- and fifth-graders at Delaware Elementary School, 700 N. Garvin St. Purdue's Cooperative Extension Program works with the children through its 4-H youth development educators.
• 4 p.m. – Tour West Pharmaceutical Services' Clinical Research Center, 800 St. Mary's Drive. The clinical research center conducts research for large and small pharmaceutical companies around the world. Its services include device and clinical product trials as well as laboratory testing that uses advanced technology. The center's vice president, Christi Bradley, graduated from Purdue in 1978 with a degree in foods and nutrition.
• 5:15 p.m. – Attend Purdue alumni reception at the Clear Crest Pines Country Club, 10521 Darmstadt Road.
Jischke, who came to Purdue in August 2000, is the university's 10th president. He previously served for nine years as president of Iowa State University, another land-grant institution. His experience in higher education also includes 17 years as professor and dean at the University of Oklahoma and five years at the University of Missouri-Rolla.
Jischke was the founding president of the Global Consortium of Higher Education and Research for Agriculture. He served as chairman and board member of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and as a board member of the American Council on Education, National Merit Scholarship Corporation, and Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. He is on the boards of directors of the Association of American Universities and the American Council on Competitiveness. He also serves on the national board of Campus Compact, an organization of university presidents and college deans that helps students learn about citizenship through community service opportunities
After receiving his doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968, Jischke joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma's School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering. During his 17 years at Oklahoma, he served in multiple capacities. He became director of the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering in 1977. He served as dean of the College of Engineering from 1981 to 1986, and he was named the university's interim president in 1985.
Writer: Marydell Forbes, (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu
Sources: Victor L. Lechtenberg, (765) 494-9095, vll@purdue.edu
David Petritz, Cooperative Extension Service director, (765) 494-8489, dpetritz@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Media can attend the luncheon and the visit to Delaware Elementary School. To make arrangements, contact David Petritz at (765) 494-8489, dpetritz@purdue.edu.
Related Web site:
Office of Engagement
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