Purdue, IU extend management agreement for IPFW

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (June 17) voted to renew for five years the agreement with Indiana University for the management of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Under the approved terms, the agreement calls for a proposal for a revised governance structure to be presented to IU and Purdue trustees at their December 2016 meetings. Any change in the governance structure is subject to the approval of the respective boards and would be based on ongoing discussions around realignment.

“Over the past three years, IPFW has been the subject of four committee processes to study the governance structure,” said Mike Berghoff, chair of Purdue’s Board of Trustees. “The studies have raised some interesting possibilities that have the potential to benefit students and community stakeholders, but more time is needed to fully consider the ideas and proposals and the best path for the institution, its people and the Fort Wayne community.”

Berghoff said trustees of both universities understand the importance of bringing stability and closure to the IPFW community and the request for a December presentation would allow for a funding request to the Indiana legislature for the FY 2017-18 biennium that would assist in any transition to new organizational arrangements.

Under the current management agreement, which was due to expire June 30, Purdue has fiscal responsibility for the Fort Wayne campus and both IU and Purdue have degree programs at the campus. Indiana University trustees approved the renewed agreement at a meeting Friday (June 17) at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Trustees and administrators of both Purdue and IU agreed that the primary objective of ongoing discussions would be to achieve realignment of the academic missions, whereby IU would focus primarily on its health sciences initiative and Purdue would be the governing entity of IPFW, responsible for the remaining programs and any future programs. The recommendations of both the Legislatives Services Agency report, completed in January 2016 at the direction of the Indiana General Assembly, and IPFW’s recent University Strategic Alignment Process (USAP) report from May 2016, will be considered as next steps are developed and proposed.

Presidents Mitch Daniels of Purdue and Michael McRobbie of Indiana say they expect the IPFW community to continue the USAP process, particularly the rigorous examination of the internal structure of the campus and reduction of costs as outlined in the May 2016 USAP report.

The presidents reiterated their statement of April 2016, saying: “The goal continues to be to reverse the troubling decline in IPFW enrollments, improve the rate of student success, and strengthen the school’s contribution to the long-term prosperity of Northeast Indiana.”

Individuals from IPFW, Purdue and IU will continue to discuss realignment, taking into account the LSA and USAP reports, with the goal of a final proposal by December 2016.