January 13, 2006
Purdue to connect with Fort Wayne in community visit
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University leaders, who travel the state to meet and learn from its residents, will be in Fort Wayne on Thursday (Jan 19).
President Martin C. Jischke and other university officials will visit the Fort Wayne Farm Show, Raytheon, International Truck and Engine Corp. and the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, as well as other locations.
Victor L. Lechtenberg, the university's vice provost for engagement, said Purdue welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with business and community leaders.
"Both Purdue and the communities we call on gain so much from these visits," Lechtenberg said. "Purdue wants to boost economic development and help farmers and businesses gain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. When we share ideas with people in communities like Fort Wayne, we can see firsthand how Purdue has made a difference and what more can be accomplished."
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 Lebanon. Future visits are planned for Hamilton County, Hendricks County, Elkhart and New Albany.
Several activities are scheduled for the Fort Wayne visit:
• 10:30 a.m. – Visit the Fort Wayne Farm Show, Fort Wayne Coliseum complex. Jischke will visit several booths, including the Purdue Extension booth.
• 11 a.m. – Jischke will deliver a speech at the farm show entitled "Purdue and Indiana Agriculture: A Partnership for Today and Tomorrow."
• 11:45 a.m. – Lunch with agricultural community leaders, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Union, 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd., rooms 222, 224 and 226. Jischke will speak about how Purdue can be a partner with the Fort Wayne community.
• 1:30 p.m. – Visit International Truck and Engine Corp., 2911 Meyer Road. International Truck, a subsidiary of Navistar International Corp., produces commercial truck, school bus and mid-range diesel engines. It also builds medium commercial trucks and sells truck and diesel engine service parts through a joint venture with Ford Motor Co. International Truck serves markets in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Approximately 100 Purdue graduates are employed there. Navistar International Corp. was founded in 1902 and has headquarters in Warrenville, Ill.
• 3 p.m. – Tour Raytheon, 1010 Production Road. Raytheon is a defense and aerospace systems supplier, employing 80,000 people worldwide. Its Fort Wayne facility supplies battle management systems, which provides fire support command and automation for the joint armed services. A component of the Army's Battle Command System, it was recently approved for foreign military sales and planned for worldwide use. The facility also produces ID systems, which provides the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies with secure, positive identification of friendly forces. Raytheon's Radios & Terminals unit also serves as a major supplier to the U.S. Department of Defense for communications in large communication systems, self-organized wireless networks, tactical communications, software digital technology and waveform development.
• 4:15 p.m. – Tour Northeast Indiana Innovation Center and Fort Wayne Purdue Engagement Office, 3201 Stellhorn Road. The Innovation Center nurtures technology businesses by developing the ventures during their start-up, early development and growth stages. It provides business resources for people who have ideas related to medical technology, information technology and advanced manufacturing. The engagement office is Purdue's main outreach liaison for business, industry and educational partnerships in Indiana. Its mission is to help the northeast Indiana area stay competitive in the new economy. The office serves as northeast Indiana's key contact for Purdue's Technical Assistance Program, the Purdue Research Park's high-tech business incubation complex, Purdue's Statewide Technology Program and Discovery Park.
• 5:30 p.m. – Attend a reception at the IPFW Walb Union ballroom, 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd., for Purdue alumni who live in Fort Wayne.
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 Corp., and the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities.
He currently serves as chairman of the Association of American Universities, which represents the top 62 research universities in North America, and also is the current chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors. Jischke also is on the board of the American Council on Competitiveness and the national board of Campus Compact, an organization of university presidents and college deans that helps students learn about citizenship through community-service opportunities. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce honored Jischke in November with its Volunteer of the Year Award.
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 cover President Jischke's speech at the farm show. To make arrangements, contact Marydell Forbes, Purdue News Service, at (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu.
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