Purdue featured in national council's leadership report

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Purdue is featured in a report released Thursday (May 4) by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The report is titled "Bold Leadership, Real Reform 2.0: Improving Efficiency, Cutting Costs and Expanding College Opportunity."

In its report, ACTA cites Purdue's:

* Affordability initiatives that include the University’s ongoing tuition freeze; its Back a Boiler income share agreement program to offer students an alternative to traditional loans; its budgeting process; and its partnership with Amazon, which has led to an estimated total of $1.8 million in textbook savings.

* Active learning, which has targeted University investments such as the Pillars of Excellence in Life Sciences, the Wilmeth Active Learning Center, IMPACT program to focus on student-centered learning, and Purdue Polytechnic High School.

* Upholding freedom of speech by amending University policies and adoption of the Chicago Principles and incorporating a free speech session into its Boiler Gold Rush orientation program, which was voluntarily attended by more than 6,000 incoming students.

“Purdue is proud to be included among universities that are at the forefront of innovation,” says Mike Berghoff, chair of Purdue’s Board of Trustees. “As a land-grant university, we firmly believe we owe students and their families our best efforts to stem the rising costs of higher education while enhancing accessibility and the quality of the education we provide -- or as we say, ‘higher education at the highest proven value.’ Our commitment to those values has been driven by the leadership of President Mitch Daniels but would not have been possible without the support of our board and the dedication of our faculty and staff.”

The ACTA news release and link to the report is available at https://www.goacta.org/news/new-trustee-guide-explores-innovative-practices-for-reducing-costs.

ACTA was launched in 1995 as an organization to work with alumni, donors, trustees and education leaders to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that students receive a high-quality college education at an affordable price.