December 20, 2008

Trustees OK support for engineering strategic plan, football coach appointment, IPFW housing contract

Trustees also ratified the appointment of Danny Hope as head football coach, effective Jan. 1, and approved a construction contract for the third phase of student housing on the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne campus.

The board approved the use of $10.8 million from the Vincent P. Reilly Memorial Fund for the College of Engineering to finance portions of its strategic plan, including global education and research initiatives, along with faculty development. The goals are to use:

* $2.3 million to prepare Purdue engineers to be effective in a global context. The money will be used to support a curriculum innovation project, expand the honors program, and expand cooperative work programs and internships to include international experiences and experiences for international students. It will create facilities, technologies and programs designed to help students begin solving real problems beginning in their first year. Examples of this include the Ideas to Innovation laboratory, zeroHUB technology and the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program.

* $4.375 million to position research for maximum impact and global significance. The funds will be used to leverage cost-sharing for sponsored programs, provide seed funding for new research initiatives, and provide gap funding to support employment of research staff during peaks and valleys in funding. It will build research communities, provide support for undergraduate students doing research, leverage external and internal funding for research facilities, and provide funding for surge space during the construction of new research facilities.

* $4.125 million for faculty development. The funds will be used to help provide start-up packages to new faculty and new department heads; provide discretionary funds for National Academy of Engineering members; increase funding for professorships; and support leadership and management development of faculty so they can lead research programs, assume administrative appointments, excel as teachers and mentor students.

The Vincent P. Reilly Memorial Fund for Engineering Education was established in 1970 to promote excellence in the field. Vincent P. Reilly, who received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue in 1922, bequeathed approximately $4.5 million to the university in 1969 for promoting the achievement of excellence in engineering education. Since 1970 the fund has supported numerous educational endeavors in engineering.

Trustees ratified the appointment of Hope to lead the Boilermaker football team and replace head coach Joe Tiller, who, after 12 years, is retiring as the winningest coach in Purdue football history.

Hope, whose hiring was announced in January, served this season as associate head coach. He was an assistant under Tiller at Purdue from 1997 to 2001 before serving as head football coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 2003 to 2007.

The trustees also approved a $21.25 million contract with MW Builders Inc., of Overland Park, Kan., for the construction of student housing at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Four residential buildings with 448 beds and apartment-style student housing will be built along with commons and maintenance facilities. Open recreational space, additional parking and access drives also will be part of the phase III project. Work is scheduled to begin early next year and be finished by fall 2010.

In the first two phases, nine residential buildings with 288 apartment units and 756 beds and a commons facility were constructed at IPFW. The first campus housing opened to students in fall 2004. All campus housing is full and there is a waiting list.

"Student housing has been a strong factor in the changing student culture on the IPFW campus," said IPFW Chancellor Michael Wartell. "We feel phases I and II have been very successful, and because there is still a great demand for student housing, we wanted to proceed with phase III of the project. We look forward to opening this latest phase."

For more information on student housing at IPFW, go to https://www.ipfwstudenthousing.com/
templates/template_acc_cento/default.asp?w=IPFW

Writer: Greg McClure, (765) 494-9394, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Sources: James S. Almond, interim executive vice president for business and finance and treasurer, (765) 494-9706, jsalmond@purdue.edu

Robert McMains, vice president of physical facilities, (765) 494-8000, remcmains@purdue.edu

Michael A. Wartell, (260) 481-6103, wartell@ipfw.edu

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

To the News Service home page