2020-21 Funding Initiatives

A key HHS development priority is the $98 million Active Clinical Learning Facility, a shared facility between HHS and the College of Pharmacy. Planned for the heart of campus, the building will be home to the School of Nursing and the Dean’s Office with collaboration spaces, study lounges and advising offices.

The new normal of our world today has helped us all think about what’s most important to us — our health, our families, our security, our careers. Adapting to a world during this era of COVID-19 has forced us to change our routines, even for the simplest things.

Yet one thing has remained constant during this time of change and uncertainty: the generosity to your alma mater and, specifically, Purdue’s College of Health and Human Sciences. Even amid the tumult of a global pandemic, we were able to sustain and advance our persistent pursuit of Making Lives Better. Because of you, we are optimistic about what our future holds for the students, faculty and staff that are and will become a part of the HHS family.

As part of a major initiative for 2020-21, HHS is partnering with the College of Pharmacy on a shared new building in the heart of campus, providing opportunities for collaboration while housing nearly 800 nursing students in HHS’ School of Nursing.

The $98 million Active Clinical Learning Facility will be home for our Nursing students with collaboration spaces, study lounges, Student Services advising offices, the Dean’s Office and HHS Business, Communications and IT offices. It also will house our newest department, Public Health, and one of our oldest, Health and Kinesiology.

By the year 2030, Indiana will need 75,300 regis­tered nurses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the U.S. workforce of registered nurses will need to grow 7% in the next decade, and nursing school enroll­ment is not growing fast enough to meet the projected demand for registered nurses.

To meet the continuing need for excel­lent clinicians and health care leaders who will support the advancement of effective and efficient health care, the Purdue undergraduate program in Nursing has doubled enrollment in the past five years, requiring the addition of 36 faculty.

Purdue Day of Giving, held a bit later this year because of the pandemic, once again set a record, raising $42.2 million for our University on Sept. 9. And HHS played a major role in those fundraising efforts, generating $8,237,962 — tops among all Purdue colleges! Bonus funds reached $24,250, which was four times higher than last year’s total.

And all in a 24-hour period.

The 437 gifts from 375 donors to HHS came from two countries and 37 states — all in a day’s work on the surface but countless hours behind the scenes by the thousands of Boilermakers who helped Purdue set the standard for university giving amid this global pandemic.

Here are HHS’ other top funding initiatives for 2020-21 that may align with your strategic contribution plans for the college:

• Named Deanship — An endowed named deanship is the hallmark of a top dean at the best colleges and universities. As with professorships, named deanships help attract and retain the most outstanding leadership in the country.
• Endowed Professorships — Endowed named professorships play a vital role in attracting and retaining top faculty in the competitive world of higher education. Endowed professorships cover part or all of a faculty member’s salary, allowing HHS to reduce its student-to-faculty ratio (a statistic used for college rankings and other institutional evaluations). In addition to named professorships, Rising Star professorships will help attract and retain early career faculty.
• Undergraduate Scholarships — When HHS was established in 2010, it started at ground zero to establish unrestricted undergraduate student scholarships. Unrestricted scholarship funds are awarded across the college to help achieve strategic enrollment initiatives. A scholarship often means the difference between a student coming to Purdue or not. Gifts of any amount will help us build the HHS undergraduate scholarship fund and benefit students.