Purdue to seek strategic plan input from Porter County residents
|
"Previous community visits have generated some promising ideas - many of which we have implemented," Jischke said. "Now, it's time to discuss the future. The board of trustees and I look forward to receiving input from Porter County residents as we set new goals and consider Purdue's future role in our state."
Jischke and other university officials also will visit The Ports of Indiana, Crown ESA, the Urschel Lab and Emerson Electric, among other locations. The strategic plan input will be sought specifically during an invitation-only luncheon with business and community leaders at the Strongbow Inn. Ideas also can be submitted through a new strategic plan Web site.
Victor L. Lechtenberg, the university's vice provost for engagement, said Purdue welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with business and community leaders.
"These visits help us gain insight into the ambitions and aspirations of communities throughout Indiana," Lechtenberg said. "Purdue wants to serve as an economic development partner to Porter County so that its businesses can gain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. We look forward to learning what specific goals Porter County residents have for that partnership."
This is the sixth year Jischke and university leaders have conducted daylong visits to Indiana communities. More than 50 previous stops have included communities such as Gary, Jasper, South Bend and Lebanon. Future visits are planned for Anderson; Hancock County; the southwest region, including Evansville; and Johnson County, including Franklin and Greenwood.
Several activities are scheduled for the Porter County visit:
• 9:30 a.m. - Tour the Ports of Indiana, 6625 S. Boundary Drive, Portage. The Ports of Indiana at Burns Harbor, located on the south shore of Lake Michigan, is one of Indiana's three public ports. Indiana ships approximately 70 million tons of cargo each year. This volume ranks 14th among all U.S. states. More than half of Indiana's border is water, which includes 400 miles of direct access to two major freight transportation arteries: the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway via Lake Michigan and the Inland Waterway System via the Ohio River.
• 10:45 a.m. - Tour Crown ESA Inc., 5960 Southport Road, Portage. Crown ESA, which stands for Engineering Services and Automation, offers mechanical and electrical engineering services, as well as fluids and construction engineering. It specializes in industrial automation and process control systems and equipment. Founded in 1992, Crown ESA employs 75 people, many of whom are Purdue graduates. The company regularly recruits prospective employees at Purdue's High Tech Job Fair for Indiana Companies. The state of Indiana presented Crown ESA owners with the Entrepreneur Success Award in 2001.
• Noon - Attend lunch and a community forum with community leaders and elected officials at the Strongbow Inn Charles Room, 2405 E. U.S. 30, Valparaiso. Jischke will invite questions and comments after a brief presentation on the implementation of the current strategic plan, which will conclude on June 30. All input is welcome, but Jischke has suggested five topics for the Valparaiso session:
• How has Purdue benefited Porter County, and what needs might be unmet?
• What do businesses, citizens and young people in Porter County need from a major research university?
• What does Purdue need from Porter County to help it accomplish mutual goals?
• How can Purdue improve its learning environment to better prepare students for the future?
The strategic plan initiatives of discovery, learning and engagement are funded through the $1.5 billion Campaign for Purdue, which has raised $1.45 billion to date.
• 2:15 p.m. - Visit Urschel Laboratories Inc., 2503 Calumet Ave., Valparaiso. Family-owned and operated, Urschel Laboratories Inc. designs, manufactures and sells precision food-cutting equipment. Their products include commercial potato chip slicers, cheese shredders, fruit dicers, french fry cutters, meat dicers, peanut butter mills, poultry dicers, lettuce shredders and other size-reduction equipment. Urschel food-cutting equipment is used by every major food processor in the United States and in more than 100 countries worldwide.
• 3:30 p.m. - Tour Emerson Power Transmission, 909 N. Lafayette St., Valparaiso. Emerson Power Transmission produces power transmission drives, components and bearings. Bob Swinehart, the company's president and chief operating officer, graduated from Purdue in 1965 with an industrial engineering degree and currently serves on the Purdue North Central advisory board. Emerson Power Transmission's parent company, Emerson, combines technology and engineering to create process control systems, climate-control technologies and electric motors. It also manufactures products for use in the home, including garbage kitchen food disposers, ceiling fans and hand tools. Founded in 1890, Emerson distributes its products worldwide.
• 5:15 p.m. - Attend Purdue Alumni Association reception, Casa del Roma, 712 Calumet Ave., Valparaiso. Jischke and university leaders will visit with Purdue alumni who live in Porter County.
Jischke, who came to Purdue in August 2000, is the university's 10th president. He currently serves as past chairman of the Association of American Universities, which represents the top 62 research universities in North America, and is the current chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors. He also serves on President George W. Bush's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Jischke serves 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 and his wife, Patty, in November with its Volunteer of the Year Award.
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 previously served for nine years as president of Iowa State University, another land-grant institution. Jischke's 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. During his tenure at Oklahoma, he served in multiple capacities. He became director of the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering in 1977. He also served as dean of the College of Engineering from 1981 to 1986, and was named the university's interim president in 1985.
Writer: Marydell Forbes, (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu
Sources: Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-2098
Victor L. Lechtenberg, (765) 494-9095, vll@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Journalists are invited to cover the luncheon. To reserve a seat, contact Marydell Forbes, Purdue News Service, (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu.
To the News Service home page