August 30, 2007
Purdue Research Foundation, Purdue University officials to speak to southern Indiana, northern Kentucky business leaders
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
 |
Joseph B. Hornett, Purdue Research Foundation senior vice president, treasurer and COO, and Dennis R. Depew, dean of the Purdue College of Technology, will speak at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 6 at Kye's at Watertower Square in Jeffersonville, Ind.
 |
event_rsvp.asp
In 2006, officials of the Purdue Research Foundation announced plans for the Purdue Technology Center of Southeast Indiana, and the Purdue College of Technology reported it would offer a number of additional educational programs in cooperation with Indiana University Southeast. The center is expected to open in 2008.
"Southeast Indiana and northeast Kentucky are influential pacesetters in the areas of economic development and higher education in the Midwest," Hornett said. "The new Purdue Technology Center of Southeast Indiana will provide the same kind of support for high-tech businesses and high-paying jobs that we offer at our West Lafayette and Merrillville sites.
"We look forward to collaborating with other business leaders and entrepreneurs in this growing economic environment."
The area where the center is under construction includes 40 acres of land given to the Purdue Research Foundation from local business leaders Jane and John Shine.
"As founders and owners of the successful electronics company Samtec Inc., the Shine family certainly knows what it means to be an entrepreneur and how to build a business," Hornett said.
By acquiring space at the center, the Purdue College of Technology at New Albany will more than double its classroom and lab space – from 7,600 square feet on the IU Southeast campus to a total of nearly 20,000 square feet at the two locations.
"The additional facilities will enable us to expand three of our current associate degree programs to bachelor's degree programs pending approval from Indiana's Commission for Higher Education as well as implement a fourth bachelor's degree program," Depew said. "And collaborating with the center will afford our students with educational opportunities that go beyond the classroom walls, exposing them to and preparing them for success in real-world business."
The increased educational opportunities the college could offer include:
* Bachelor's degrees in computer graphics technology, electrical engineering technology and mechanical engineering technology (pending approval by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education)
* Bachelor's degree in industrial technology (newly implemented program)
* Delivery of select courses and certificate and degree programs to area industry.
Also, a tuition reciprocity agreement between Indiana and Kentucky allows students residing in Jefferson, Oldham, Trimble and Bullitt counties to pay in-state tuition rates at Purdue's College of Technology at New Albany.
It is clear that the business and governmental leaders in southeast Indiana and northeast Kentucky are doing something right in economic development and education," Hornett said. "We want to contribute to that success."
About Purdue Research Park
Purdue Research Park (https://www.purdueresearchpark.com) encompasses 591 acres in West Lafayette, Ind., and is home to the largest university-affiliated business incubator complex in the nation. Within the park, 140 businesses, of which more than 90 are high-tech, employ more than 2,900 people. The Association of University Research Parks recognized Purdue Research Park for Excellence in Technology Transfer in 2005, and the park received the organization's Research/Science Park Company of the Year Award of Excellence in 2004.
About Purdue Research Foundation
To the Purdue Research Park, https://www.purdueresearchpark.com
Purdue Research Foundation marketing and communication contact:
Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192 (office), (765) 413-6031 (mobile), casequin@prf.org