April 7, 2006

Purdue trustees invest in green space, campus environment

The trustees also took action to begin building the university's budget, conceptually approving a $927.9 million general fund for all Purdue campuses for the 2006-07 fiscal year, up 4.8 percent. The general fund budget relies primarily on state appropriations and student fees. This year state funding went up 1.3 percent systemwide and 0.9 percent for the West Lafayette campus. Student fees will go up 6 percent, which was set by the board a year ago.

The budget provides for a 2 percent increase in the pool of money available for faculty and staff salary increases, to be based on merit. As in the past five years, the budget contains no increase for supplies and other expenses for the West Lafayette campus.

Trustees also approved renaming the School of Business and Management Sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne for Richard T. Doermer, who has made a significant gift to the school in support of scholarships, faculty and students.

At Discovery Park, Purdue landscape architects have conceived new techniques intended to make the mall an outdoor commons area that fosters interaction among faculty, staff and students. Instead of traditional linear concrete sidewalks and park-like vegetation, the mall will feature walkways with varying lines, shapes and textures, and structured landscaping. The design will complement the award-winning, nontraditional architecture of surrounding buildings such as the Birck Nanotechnology Center and Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.

"This is a distinct and new space," said Barbara Mansfield, manager of the $1.5 million project. "It's going to be different."

The trustees awarded the design contract to Schneider Corp. of Lafayette. Construction is expected to begin this summer and to be completed before the end of this year.

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne will partner with the city and Allen County in a three-phase development that will reroute traffic, extend greenway with trails along the St. Joseph River and create a multi-use park that includes improved access to the river. The park will connect to the campus via a previously-approved pedestrian bridge across the river. The trustees authorized retaining architectural firm Rundell Ernstberger Associates LLC of Indianapolis and Muncie to design the park, which could include a pavilion, sensory garden, flower beds, restrooms, educational labs for kindergarten- through university-level students and therapeutic spaces for those with disabilities.

The park will be fully handicapped-accessible and designed to appeal to all five senses, in part to ensure that it can serve as a place of therapy for people with special needs, including those with autism and Alzheimer's disease.

"Nature as therapy is an increasing trend in park and landscape design," said Eugene Hatke, a Purdue senior architect. "This creates links to academic opportunities for nursing and medical students who have access to outdoor laboratory space in which to work with patients."

Timing of the $4 million project is dependent upon the progress of fundraising.

IPFW's business school will be renamed the Richard T. Doermer School of Business and Management Sciences in honor of Doermer, a Fort Wayne native. Doermer is the president of Growth Capital Co. in Fort Wayne. He retired in April 2005 after serving 22 years as vice chairman of the board of Avis Industrial Corp. of Upland, Ind. In addition to his many years of banking experience, Doermer also was a practicing attorney for seven years in the Fort Wayne area.

The Richard T. Doermer School of Business and Management Sciences is one of seven colleges or schools offering degrees at IPFW. The school grew from the Division of Business, which was founded in 1966. In spring 2006, approximately 800 students were enrolled in the school's degree programs, which include the master of business administration, a two-year associate of science degree and a bachelor's degree in business with concentrations in accounting, economics, finance, management and marketing.

The trustees also approved preliminary planning for a new boiler at the West Lafayette campus that is necessary to provide adequate utility capacity for new facilities that have been built in recent years. Burns & McDonnell of St. Louis and Environmental Resource Management of Carmel, Ind., were chosen as consultants for the $1.4 million planning process, which is expected to take up to 18 months to complete. Estimates indicate that the proposed Boiler 6 will save the university several million dollars per year in operating costs.

The board's Physical Facilities Committee on Thursday (April 6) awarded construction contracts to J.R. Kelly Co. Inc. of Lafayette for the following projects at West Lafayette:

• Installation of a pulse-jet fabric filter baghouse and spray cooler reactor to reduce particulate and mercury emissions at the coal-powered Boiler No. 2 at the Wade Utility Plant. The $2.88 million project will bring the boiler within federal EPA Maximum Achievable Controls Technology compliance.

• Construction of a new vault in the Purdue Memorial Union that will contain switchgear and transformers capable of handling 12,500 volts. The $1.75 million upgrade is the first and most extensive planned for 20 buildings at the center of campus. Aging equipment at these buildings has reduced voltage capability, increasing the possibility of power outages and safety hazards.

• Renovation of the Heine Pharmacy Building practice laboratory. The $823,000 project, funded by gifts, will create flexible lab space, counseling rooms, computer stations and video-monitoring systems to expand observation and learning opportunities.

Writer: Jim Schenke, (765) 494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu

Sources: Wayne W. Kjonaas, (765) 494-8000, wwkjonaas@purdue.edu

Morgan R. Olsen, (765) 494-9705, mrolsen@purdue.edu

Barbara Mansfield, (765) 496-7389, bjmansfield@purdue.edu

Eugene Hatke, (765) 494-3426, erhatke@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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