Purdue University President Martin C. Jischke made these remarks Friday (04/08/05) during a meeting of the Purdue University Board of Trustees.

April 8, 2005

President Jischke's comments to the Board of Trustees

Good morning.

Welcome to campus as we head into the final weeks of our spring semester. There is a great deal taking place not only on our campuses, but at the Indiana Statehouse as the legislative session nears its end.

By law the General Assembly must finish its work no later than April 29. That is three weeks from today.

Among the key issues that must be still be resolved is the biennial budget.

Indiana has a budget shortfall of $600 million to $700 million, plus more than $700 million in payment delays. More than $100 million of this is owed to higher education, including more than $30 million to Purdue.

To bring you up to date, the House has passed its budget bill. We deeply appreciate recognition given to the concerns of our regional campuses in the Indiana House version of the 2005-2007 Budget.

The House version addresses equity issues and growing enrollments, which are particularly important to our Fort Wayne, Calumet and North Central campuses. However, there is no funding for our AIM (Advancing Indiana Manufacturing) initiative in the House budget bill. And there is little new money in four areas that are especially important to Purdue: research support, repair and rehabilitation, environmental requirements, and the operating costs of new buildings.

The Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee has unveiled its version of the state's two-year budget.

The Senate version includes some enrollment and equity funding, although more modest than in the bill that passed the House. The Senate version provides research and repair and renovation funding at about 50 percent of the formula. There is a 1 percent adjustment for inflation each year and no recognition of the operating costs associated with newly opened facilities, most of which were constructed with private funding at West Lafayette.

At the same time, in the Senate version, there is an across-the-board reduction of about 4 percent in state funding to bring the overall budget into balance.

This has the net effect of wiping out any adjustments in expenditures and even reducing appropriations below current levels for some campuses. For West Lafayette, the operating appropriations would be reduced by about $1 million for fiscal 2005-2006, and then increased by $2 million for 2006-2007.

The result would be about $1 million in additional cash for the biennium when compared with the House version.

For our regional campuses, the differences would be more significant.

Purdue Calumet's appropriations would be reduced below current 2004-2005 amounts by over $500,000 – or about 2.5 percent. Despite increases in enrollments, Purdue North Central and IPFW both would receive less than in the House version, although they would receive more than they do this year.

The highest priority for individual projects in the Senate version is a $43.6 million package for infrastructure and utility improvements on our West Lafayette campus. This is designed to meet federal requirements for air and water quality looming in the next two years.

Without these critical improvements, the power plant at West Lafayette would be out of compliance. In addition, the Clean Water Act requires storm water overflow improvements to protect ground water.

We appreciate the efforts of the Senate as well as the House. Our legislators are being forced to make some difficult and unpopular choices in the budget making process.

Looming on the horizon, next week, is the much-anticipated revenue forecast update. This update will be used to help legislators make their final budget decisions.

Any significant deviations, particularly downward adjustments, could change everything. There is not much optimism that there will be a projected increase in revenue.

We are very grateful for the support higher education is receiving from the governor and the General Assembly. Our elected officials believe in Purdue, and they believe in the power of higher education to impact lives and economic development.

At a time when some states are cutting funds to higher education, Indiana is working very hard to continue its support.

Evidence of this is a proposal sponsored by Representative Jeff Espich. It that would allow the state to raise as much as $1 billion through bond sales during the next six years to support university and private enterprise research.

In his State of the State Address, Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed flat-lining support for higher education – no more and no less than is currently provided.

We support the governor in the important process of balancing the budget. I believe balancing the budget is critical to the future of Indiana.

But if additional revenue becomes available, we hope the full needs of higher education can be addressed. We believe support for higher education is in the best interest of our state.

We annually make a detailed report to the board about progress with our strategic plans.

As you know, we are making solid gains. And our progress is being noted beyond this campus.

Though we don't place too strong an emphasis on rankings or make any decisions based on improving our rankings, it is noteworthy when others recognize what is happening at Purdue.

Purdue's graduate programs in pharmacy, engineering and management continue to rank among the top in the country, according to a U.S.News & World Report survey released last Friday.

The survey ranked Purdue's pharmacy doctoral program fourth nationally. Our College of Engineering graduate program was ranked number 10. And the Krannert Graduate School of Management ranked No. 23 overall.

This year's U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings show that Purdue is being recognized for strengths across a broad spectrum of programs.

This year marked the first time the publication has ranked pharmacy schools.

In addition to our College of Engineering graduate program's No. 10 national ranking, a number of its schools also were highly ranked in the survey.

Individual Purdue graduate engineering rankings were: Nuclear engineering, fourth; Industrial engineering, fourth; Aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering, sixth; Civil engineering, fifth; Mechanical engineering, ninth; Computer engineering, ninth; Electrical engineering, 10th; Chemical engineering, 12th; Materials engineering, 15th; and Biomedical engineering, 32nd.

Among employers surveyed by U.S. News, our College of Engineering tied for eighth nationally with the University of Michigan, the University of Texas and Cornell University – good company – and all among our benchmark peers.

In addition to ranking 23rd overall, our Krannert School of Management's graduate program ranked among the top 25 in six specialty areas: Production/operations management, third; Supply chain/logistics, ninth; Information systems, 12th; Executive education, 14th; Management, 21st; and Marketing, 25th.

This places us in the top tier of MBA programs nationwide, and it is three places higher than the previous graduate ranking. Our graduate management program was first among all public and private universities in Indiana.

The survey also ranked our College of Education tied for No. 49. And Purdue's Department of English doctoral program, in the College of Liberal Arts, tied for 56th nationally. This ranking is six spots higher than when the department was ranked in 2001.

Overall, we are very pleased. And, we believe we will show steady progress in the next several years as our strategic plans have an opportunity to further impact the university.

Another ranking came out focused on a different study in late March. "Accelerating Economic Development through University Technology Transfer" was a study commissioned by the state of Connecticut and prepared by Innovation Associates, a consulting firm in Virginia.

It ranked Purdue among eight U.S. universities that have been extraordinarily successful in generating new commercial licenses and business startups. In addition to Purdue, the list included such great American institutions as Stanford, MIT and Carnegie-Mellon.

The Connecticut report praises several of our initiatives, including the Purdue Research Park and the Technical Assistance Program.

"Purdue Research Park," the report states, "has been one of the most successful ... parks in the U.S. ... One of the reasons for the park's success is the unusually close link between firms in the park and the University."

The report continues: "Technology transfer comes in many forms, and one of those forms is advancement of technological know-how in small and medium-sized companies. TAP for almost 20 years has provided technological assessments and consulting to thousands of Indiana firms, resulting in higher sales and cost savings to most of those firms. A 5:1 benefit-cost ratio and a 90 percent customer satisfaction rating makes this one of the most successful 'technology transfer' programs."

Innovation Associates credits Purdue research and technology transfer for creating an estimated 10,000 jobs and 20 new companies between 2002 and 2004. This is a significant impact on our Indiana economy. This is the impact of our strategic plans. And we will have much more to report about in the years ahead.

Purdue is receiving even more recognition.

Purdue EPICS, which harnesses the talents of students to solve real-world problems, has received a $500,000 award as a national model for engineering education. The National Academy of Engineering honored EPICS and its leaders, with the 2005 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education.

The three professors responsible for the program are Leah Jamieson, Ed Coyle, and Bill Oakes. Leah, Ed, and Bill have each declined their portion of the Gordon Prize. The academy has gifted their shares to Purdue. This brings Purdue's total prize amount to $500,000!

We will use this award to endow the EPICS program.

Receiving this award is a tremendous honor. And the decision of our faculty members to invest this money totally in the program says more about their character and dedication than I ever could.

Leah Jamieson, Ed Coyle, and Bill Oakes have impacted this university and the young people who come to learn and grow here in ways that we can hardly measure today. The ultimate impact of what they are doing will ripple through the decades as our students pursue their careers and impact our society.

Congratulations to these outstanding faculty members. And we thank them very, very much.

Finally, we note a significant change in our Intercollegiate Athletic Program.

Gene Keady, who for 25 years has led our basketball program with dignity and enormous success retired as of April 1.

We are all well aware of Gene's outstanding coaching abilities and the great records his team set. He is among the greatest coaches in the United States.

Twenty-five years ago, Gene came to Purdue with a dream in his heart. He built it into reality. And in the process, he created opportunity for countless young men who benefited enormously not only from his knowledge and wisdom but also from his example.

Our basketball program is about far more than wins and losses.

It is about education. It is about teaching and learning – and the very essence of a university.

Gene Keady used the power of his education to fulfill not only his own personal dreams, but also the dreams of student athletes who came here to learn and grow.

Gene has been much more than a basketball coach at Purdue. He has been a teacher of our students. And that is the highest calling on our campus.

In fact, he has given his time generously to help our faculty better understand how he teaches and inspires students.

I would like to add my personal thanks to Gene and his wife, Pat, for all they accomplished for Purdue. Gene is one of the greatest Boilermakers of all time, and his impact will continue to reverberate at this university for many years to come.

Thank you.

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