November 10, 2006

Purdue University President Martin C. Jischke made these remarks Friday (November 10) during a meeting of the Purdue University Board of Trustees.

President Jischke provides update on the university's strategic plan

We have now completed the fifth year of our strategic plans and have entered the sixth and final year of our efforts to take this university to preeminence. A very important part of the strategic planning process is to review of our progress and assess what is working and where we might need new initiatives to help us succeed.

Today I will continue our policy of annual reports to the board of trustees to report on our progress. This public report also gives our students, our alumni, our donors, corporate sponsors and the state of Indiana an annual update on what is taking place at Purdue.

This is all part of our process of accountability, which I believe is so important to our university.

I arrived at Purdue in the year 2000 with a charge from our board of trustees to lead the university in drafting and implementing strategic plans. The goal was to make Purdue a better university. In fact, we ultimately decided Purdue should and could become a preeminent university.

As Indiana's land-grant university, Purdue needed to move to the next level so that it could help our state advance in this highly competitive international marketplace. Our strategic plans focus directly on how we can use our missions for learning, discovery and engagement to impact our state.

We then took the next essential step in the strategic planning process. We determined exactly how much this would cost and how we would pay for it. Our revenue sources include state- appropriated support, sponsored programs, student tuition, private giving and internal reallocations of resources toward strategic plan initiatives.

Our plans included the expectation that: one, the state would stay the course with its support; two , we would grow our sponsored programs; three, we would utilize additional tuition funds to improve the learning environment; four, we would annually reallocate at least 2 percent from our budget; and five, we would mount an ambitious and aggressive private fund-raising campaign.

We launched a $1.3 billion capital campaign that has been so successful, the goal has now been raised to $1.5 billion. It is the largest educational capital campaign in the history of Indiana and among the largest by a public university in the nation.

From the outset, we set out exactly where these funds would be spent:

• $200 million for student support,

• $200 million for faculty support, which includes both research and teaching assistance,

• $600 million for facilities,

• $300 million for programs, and

• $200 million in discretionary funds.

We have received tremendous support from our friends, alumni and corporate partners. To date, we have raised $1.45 billion, and our campaign will conclude successfully on June 30, 2007.

The success of the Campaign for Purdue has earned the university national recognition for having one of the most improved fund-raising programs among U.S. educational institutions. Purdue was selected as the recipient of the 2006 Council for Advancement and Support of Education WealthEngine Award for Educational Fund Raising, an award that honors superior fund-raising programs across the country.

Private giving for last year exceeded its goal of $175 million. The total raised reached $211.6 million. State support for our general fund has remained flat or decreased throughout our strategic plans.

We appreciate the support we have received from our governor and General Assembly. These past five years have been difficult for our state. Funding for higher education has been impacted not only at Purdue, but throughout the state and in fact the nation.

In 2000-01, the year I arrived at Purdue, the West Lafayette campus received $267.4 million. The next year, the amount we received declined to $228.6 million a drop of 14.5 percent.

In 2002-03, we received $256.6 million, $11 million less than the amount the year I arrived. In 2003-04, we dropped another 0.3 percent.

This goes on and, as you can see, in fiscal 2005-06, Purdue West Lafayette was still receiving less than in 2000-01. This year, the West Lafayette campus is receiving $277.9 million.

But that is because we are only now receiving $8.5 million that was due us and withheld from that big drop year in 2001-02.

And the state is requiring that we use this $8.5 million in repair and rehabilitation, which was not the original target when it was withheld five years ago to help the state balance its budget. Take that $8.5 million out and this year we are receiving about $269.4 million an increase in six years of 0.7 percent.

Though state support has not been what we anticipated, our strategic plans are succeeding. We are transforming this university into a new model for 21st century higher education.

We have added 250 additional faculty positions and hired people to fill them. We will add 50 more positions by the fall of 2007 to reach our goal. We are increasing diversity. Since 2001, 58 percent of our faculty hires have been women and minorities, including 65 percent of the new positions created through the strategic plan.

Since 2001, our African-American student enrollment has grown each year and is now at an all-time high. Student financial aid has increased every year of our strategic plans. Including scholarships, grants, loans, and employment, total student financial aid at Purdue West Lafayette in 2005-06 was $411 million, exceeding the $394 million received in student fees.

To help maintain and attract top faculty, we have increased the number of named and distinguished faculty by 91 percent since 2001.

In six years, Discovery Park has grown from an idea to a $330 million interdisciplinary research and teaching complex with some of the most advanced facilities in the world.

Fifty-four capital projects, including more than 40 buildings, are listed in our strategic plans, and we are well on our way to completing them. The majority of these facilities are paid for by private donations.

In engagement, Purdue is creating a new model for 21st-century university involvement in public education and the economic development of our state. The Purdue Research Park is recognized as one of the top technology/business incubators in the nation.

We do not measure our progress by rankings. But it is important to note how we are being perceived nationally and internationally. In U.S. News and World Report, Purdue is recognized with 31 top 10 rankings, and 45 top 20 rankings in the nation. Intel Corporation has ranked Purdue number two nationally in wireless Internet capabilities. The Scientist magazine has ranked Purdue second among best places to work in academia.

Applications to Purdue are at an all-time high. The 2006 freshman class is both the largest and among the best prepared in our history. On the university's statewide campuses, we are expanding programs based on the economic needs of their regions. We have launched residential facilities to expand student opportunities.

A Purdue education has never been better. A Purdue degree has never been worth more. Purdue's impact on the economy and quality of life in our state has never been greater.

Purdue is becoming a preeminent university and is very well-positioned to serve the people of Indiana.

The strategic plan is succeeding for Purdue because of the vision of our trustees, the hard work of our faculty and staff, the support of students, parents, alumni and friends and the continuing faith of the people of Indiana in their land-grant university.

We believed we could become a better university and a better servant to our state. And we are.

The three primary goals of our strategic plans are first, attaining and preserving excellence in learning through programs of superior quality and value in every academic discipline; second, achieving and sustaining preeminence in discovery; and third, effectively addressing the needs of society through engagement.

Improving the learning community for our students continues to be a top priority at Purdue. Our strategic plans have focused on increasing classroom, office and laboratory space, increasing diversity, increasing technology in the classroom and new and innovative programs.

Applications for admission continue to increase, allowing Purdue to manage the undergraduate enrollment on the West Lafayette campus.

Graduate school numbers, which had experienced a decline in international enrollment that impacted universities nationwide, are again headed in the right direction.

Applications from international students to our graduate programs increased by 1,000 over last year. Purdue started the current school year with 39,228 students, including a record 7,815 freshmen. Graduate and professional school enrollment is up to 7,938. Systemwide, enrollment is 69,594 for the fall, about 600 more than the previous fall.

The number of international students on the West Lafayette campus is 4,824. Purdue ranks second in the nation among public universities and third among all U.S. universities for international enrollment.

We are a more diverse university. We are increasing diversity in our faculty, staff and student bodies. The percentage of ethnic minority undergraduates has grown from 9.7 percent in the fall of 2000 to 13.1 percent this academic year.

At Purdue this fall, our African-American numbers are up, as they have been in every year of our strategic plans. We have a record number of African-American students on campus — 1,385. The number of African-Americans in our freshman class this fall is 10.6 percent higher than last year and 30.4 percent higher than five years ago.

We are increasing the number of Hispanic, Asian-American and American Indian students, faculty and staff. Diversity hit record numbers in our freshman class this fall.

As I have mentioned since 2001, 58 percent of our faculty hires have been women and/or minorities, including 65 percent of our strategic plan new hires. The number of African-Americans on our faculty more than doubled from 1995 to 2005. It has increased 63 percent since 2000.

The number of African-Americans on our staff increased 36 percent from 2000 to 2005. Total minority employment at Purdue in 2005 was 12.1 percent.

We are increasing the diversity of the companies that do business with the university. In the past two years since we launched the Purdue Office of Supplier Diversity Development , we have had professional construction, procurement and sponsored contracts with minority-owned businesses totaling $60.9 million. That is 7.6 percent of the two-year total.

While we are making great strides in diversity, we still have further to go. In an effort to think long-term about diversity issues, two years ago, Provost Sally Mason convened a universitywide Diversity Leadership Group. It was composed of faculty, staff, administrators and students.

The purpose of this committee was to draft plans for institutionalized diversity efforts for the academic community and most particularly for improving the overall climate for diversity. The plan is titled "Toward a Mosaic for Educational Equity." It is now being reviewed by the Purdue community. It is multifaceted and focused on inclusion and equity for all.

We would like for diversity initiatives to be institutionalized at Purdue, to become a part of the way we live and work on this campus.

A proclamation by the Tippecanoe County Commissioners has designated Nov. 15 and 16 as "Supplier Diversity Days" in honor of the Lafayette Supplier Diversity Coalition. Purdue has taken a lead role in the establishment and ongoing efforts of this coalition.

Its purpose is to encourage and expand the number of minority- and woman-owned businesses in the Greater Lafayette area. Jim Almond, Larry Pherson, Doug Sabel and now Jesse Moore all have played important roles in this initiative.

Another major area of emphasis has been the Treasurer's Diversity Task Force. Its goals are to first, benchmark best practices in diversity recruitment, retention and outreach; second, seek input from individuals within the university and the community to draw out ideas for enhancing staff diversity; third, develop strategies and actions to expand the number of minority individuals in Purdue's applicant pool and to increase the number of job offers made to minority applicants as well as the number of minority candidates hired; fourth, estimate the resources required to implement specific strategies and actions; fifth, study the factors influencing the retention of minority staff and recommend strategies and actions to promote retention; and sixth, monitor the progress and effectiveness of diversity efforts.

Cultural awareness and diversity training has been developed and delivered to the executive vice president and treasurer's area personnel. Since startup, over 1,900 members of the treasurer's staff have participated in this training. The task force's most recent initiative is a diversity survey delivered to staff within the executive vice president and treasurer's area.

The survey received a 50 percent response rate. More than 90 percent of those surveyed indicated an awareness of Purdue's emphasis on diversity education. The diversity task force will continue working with members of the Black Caucus and the Latino Faculty and Staff Association to develop plans for enhancing diversity and addressing opportunities for improvement as identified in the survey.

The academic quality of the student body remains strong. More than half of the entering freshmen had a 3.5 grade-point average or higher in high school. However, following a national trend, the average SAT score of 1142 represents a decrease of eight points. The national average is now 1021 and Indiana's average this year is 1007.

Purdue SAT scores are 40 points higher than seven years ago in 1999. This freshman class includes 85 National Merit Scholars and 205 high school valedictorians.

Student financial aid and scholarship has increased every year of our strategic plans. Including scholarships, grants, loans and employment, total student financial aid at Purdue-West Lafayette this academic year is budget at $433 million. This is an increase of 66 percent from 2000-01.

The $433 million compares to $420.4 million budget from student fees this year. Seventy-nine percent of Purdue-West Lafayette students this year receive some form of assistance. Most of this aid is need-based. Last year, we administered more than $66 million in direct aid, excluding loans and employment, to Purdue students at West Lafayette. About 75 percent of this went to meet financial need.

Even our merit aid impacts financial needs. Nearly one-third of all merit-based aid, satisfies demonstrated financial need of the recipients. Systemwide, our total financial aid program last year was $524 million. This year it is budgeted at $551 million. We are also succeeding with the Purdue Opportunity Awards, providing a scholarship for one student with special needs from each of Indiana's 92 counties every year.

Purdue now offers more that 150 study abroad and internship programs in dozens of countries lasting from a week to a year, for all majors. About 990 students were enrolled in study abroad programs last year, a decrease of 36 students compared with the year before. But overall, the number of Purdue students studying abroad has more than doubled since 2000. More than 4,500 students have participated during these years.

Service learning has become an important part of the educational process at Purdue. Last year, more than 2,750 students were enrolled in 139 courses that included a service-learning component. These included several that assisted hurricane-ravaged areas in Biloxi, Miss., and New Orleans, La.

Growth and popularity in learning communities and programs such as Boiler Gold Rush are boosting student retention and graduation rates. The five- and six-year graduation rates are the highest ever recorded at Purdue. The six-year rate of 71.9 percent is 7.3 percentage points higher than 1995.

Employment and further study by bachelor's degree graduates remain very strong at 92 percent placement. This is the impact of our strategic plans. When our students look for jobs and graduate programs, a Purdue degree stands for excellence wherever they go.

Aggressive faculty recruitment is succeeding with the hiring of top choices at all faculty ranks. Named and distinguished professorships have increased since 2000, and more faculty are now members of national academies, which signifies distinction at a very high level, indeed.

Faculty salary competitiveness slipped slightly this past year compared with our peers. Compensation competitiveness remained steady at 2 percent below our peers.

Since launching our strategic plans in 2001, $786 million in new and remodeled facilities have completed or are now in progress, or planning. This fall, we have opened a new $25 million Biomedical Engineering Building and a $20 million Lawson Hall of Computer Science. We opened the state's first veterinary radiation therapy facility.

All of this is in addition to more than $100 million in interdisciplinary research facilities in Discovery Park, the renovation of Ross-Ade Stadium, new tennis and golf facilities, the Mollenkopf makeover, remodeling of our wrestling and volleyball facilities, new food courts and residence hall remodeling.

Our $53 million Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering is under construction and will open next year.

Among other projects in recent years are Rawls Hall for our School of Management, Pfendler Hall (which was formerly Ag Hall), Dauch Alumni Center, Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts, the Bowen Civil Engineering Laboratory, Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering, the Visualization Lab, the Veterinary Medicine Isolation Facility, the Equine Health Science Facility, the Chao pharmacy facility and the John S. Wright Forestry Center.

We are addressing our growing needs in repair and rehabilitation through internal reallocations, some state support and a new student fee that went into effect this fall.

Phased renovations at Cary Quad are complete, and a similar $53 million refurbishing is under way in Windsor Halls.

University dining facilities are undergoing a $48 million makeover that is melding 11 cafeteria operations into five major dining courts. Earhart Dining Court was opened in 2003. Hillenbrand Dining Court was remodeled in late 2003. Ford Dining Court was dedicated in 2004. Windsor Dining Court opened in 2005. And Wiley Dining Court will open in 2008.

These projects are being funded through room and board payments. In another multiyear renovation project, all residence halls are getting sprinkler systems and air conditioning.

Since July of 2000, repair and rehabilitation expenditures by Housing and Food Services exceed $151 million.

Intercollegiate athletics is an important part of our learning environment. Our strategic plan goals focus on more than success on the playing field for our student- athletes. In competition for the Directors' Cup, measuring overall intercollegiate athletic strength, Purdue finished 35th in the nation last year, 11 positions better than the previous year.

The goal is to be in the top 25 in athletic competition and have a 75 percent graduation rate among our student-athletes. Boilermaker student-athletes as a group continued to excel in the classroom, earning a 2.97 cumulative grade point average. That is higher than the cumulative grade point average for the entire student body. This is the ninth consecutive year our student-athletes have done this.

Student-athletes also held a higher graduation rate than the student body as a whole.

Highlighting academic progress on Purdue's other campuses. Purdue Calumet students who excel academically are automatically eligible for the Best and Brightest Scholarship as well as the newly formed Honors Program. In order to grow successfully to an academically autonomous campus, Purdue North Central is developing and implementing a new academic organizational structure. IPFW has expanded its graduate and undergraduate program offerings.

Our goal in discovery is to achieve and sustain preeminence, and we are moving forward rapidly. Major research highlights continue to reflect the growing strength in research and visionary initiatives at Purdue, many of which are interdisciplinary or collaborative.

Discovery Park is transforming the research mission of this university. One thousand faculty have been involved in interdisciplinary research at Discovery Park, about half of the total faculty.

Now open in Discovery Park are the $58 million Birck Nanotechnology Center, the $15 million Bindley Biosciences Center, the $25 million Biomedical Engineering building and the $7 million Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. Our Mann Center for e-Enterprise will open next year.

We have broken ground on a $10 million Discovery Learning Center.

Although Birck Nanotechnology Center was completed just a year ago and the program is far from full maturity because some portions of the building will not become functional until late this year, Purdue already has been recognized as one of the nation’s top universities in this emerging field.

Last spring, Small Times, a magazine that focuses on nanotechnology, ranked Purdue's efforts 11th best among 50 university programs in the United States.

Discovery Park is becoming a crown jewel of research with expanding interdisciplinary research centers, increasing external sponsorships, faculty collaborations, and business and industrial partnerships.

In the past year, we have created new Discovery Park centers, including the Cyber Center, the Oncological Sciences Center, the Energy Center and the Center for the Environment.

Since it was launched in February 2005, Discovery Park's Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering has garnered more than $20 million worth of research. Projects with strategic partners focus on applying engineering principles to the U.S. health-care system. These projects are designed to help the industry improve service, reduce inefficiencies and minimize costs.

Purdue now has 114 research centers. More than half of them have been created since 2000. This compares with 50 centers created in the previous four decades. It is estimated that more than half of the faculty are involved in research conducted through these centers. This has resulted in a tremendous increase in faculty research productivity.

The number of research proposals submitted by Purdue faculty last year increased to more than 3,000. The value of those proposals increased by nearly $90 million. Unfortunately, the total awards dropped from $285 million to $252 million due primarily to a single large grant that was not funded last year.

Systemwide, Purdue received 3,774 awards valued at $261 million. Overall, 28 of the national and state awards are for more than $1 million each, and the awards are in a wide range of fields.

Knowledge discovered at Purdue has led to the founding of companies such as MagSense, which produces advanced magnetic materials and diagnostic devices based on these materials; M4, Micro/Meso Mechanical Manufacturing, which is a spinoff from the Center for Advanced Manufacturing; and Endocyte, which is developing new treatments for cancer and other diseases.

Discovery Learning Center directs the interns for the Indiana component of Purdue's Opportunities for Indiana Program. To date, student interns from 42 different majors have supported Indiana start-up companies by providing more than 70,000 hours of service.

Ten interns have been hired full time, 13 students have been hired part-time or as consultants by the companies with which they interned, and five students have started companies on their own.

Purdue has taken engagement to a whole new level locally, statewide and nationally.

While quality-of-life issues and education from preschool through grade 12 are always going to be important, an emphasis this past year on economic development, service learning and community service has earned Purdue high marks with many citizens and leaders.

For example, we teamed with Sen. Richard Lugar and Gov. Mitch Daniels to host a Summit on Energy Security on Purdue’s campus in late August. It attracted 900 people for an important discussion that could stimulate major changes in future research and development into alternative fuels and could have long-lasting implications about our nation's dependency on foreign oil.

Overall engagement efforts and activities have grown during the last year. These efforts have included all colleges and schools.

The merger of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership with the Technical Assistance Program was completed in July of 2005, and the results have been very positive. Our Technical Assistance Program provided 424 confidential consulting projects for companies, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. About 200 Purdue faculty, staff, and students were involved.

Healthcare TAP was launched successfully, serving 17 hospitals and the Indiana State Department of Health in the first year.

Corporate partnerships have been created and strengthened to advance economic development in Indiana. Purdue is partnering with 10 of the 17 certified technology parks in Indiana that help attract and grow businesses in the state.

Since the year 2000, the university's focus on engagement has resulted in a 170 percent increase in patent filings for technologies coming out of Purdue and Purdue Research Park.

Invention and copyright disclosures filed continue to increase. There were 237 disclosures in 2005, 208 in 2004 and 166 in 2003.

Since 2000, royalties are up more than $2.5 million to $4.2 million last year. United States and foreign patents issued to Purdue doubled from 32 in 2000 to 64 in 2005. Thirty-eight new companies have been started using Purdue technology since 2000.

In connection with Purdue Calumet, the Purdue Technology Center Northwest in Merrillville is off to a great start and now serves nearly 20 companies. The Merrillville park also includes an Academic Learning Center with 1,000 students in its first semester of operation last fall.

Purdue's presence and involvement with Indiana Black Expo and the Indiana State Fair during the summertime in recent years has raised the University's level of exposure in the Indianapolis area.

Literally thousands of people across Indiana are impacted by Purdue service projects such as the Service Learning Student Grant Program, the Boiler Volunteer Network, the Day in Service commitments on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the National Youth Sports Camp and Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS).

The Purdue Science Bound Program, a partnership with the Indianapolis Public Schools, now involves 260 students in grades 8 through 11. The first of these students are now being admitted to Purdue for the fall of 2007.

The For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Program at West Lafayette High School completed its seventh year and has been expanded to Lafayette Jefferson and Harrison high schools. Purdue students mentor the high school students at these schools.

Purdue’s Space Day continues to be a great success, attracting about 300 third- through eighth-grade students to campus for a day of activities and to meet an astronaut.

Purdue is helping Indiana businesses become more efficient and productive. The university's Industry Research and Technology Program promotes partnerships between Purdue and the private sector. It provides access to Purdue's broad range of research resources. Programs such as Purdue's Technical Assistance Program and the Dauch Center for the Management of Manufacturing Enterprises help place student interns in manufacturing and other jobs.

We are clearly making progress. Although we have not yet accomplished all our strategic plan goals and still have work to do, we are transforming Purdue into the preeminent university we envisioned five years ago. And, we have already begun the process of seeking public and university input concerning the next strategic plans for our university.

Once again, thanks to this board for the remarkable leadership that is guiding us to success. Thanks to our students, faculty, staff, our alumni, friends and corporate partners who are doing so much to move us forward.

The progress we have made in the past five years is the result of a great deal of hard work. It is the people of Purdue who are making all of this possible.

Congratulations to you all!

Related release:
Jischke says strategic plan on track for 2007 completion