Decisions Loom For IPFW
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTwo weeks before the current IPFW management agreement is due to expire, Purdue University and Indiana University trustees will meet Friday to consider an extension. The agreement involves governance of the Fort Wayne school, which is handled by Purdue and IU. Any new deal must be approved by both boards.
Purdue President Mitch Daniels and IU President Michael McRobbie issued a statement last month saying discussions will include recommendations set forth by a working group convened by the state Legislative Services Agency. Those recommendations, supported by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership and other prominent community and higher education stakeholders, include creating two independent campuses focusing more on connections between programming and the work force, as well as the individual strengths of Purdue and IU. Daniels and McRobbie said a new agreement would focus on curbing falling enrollment figures, which they call "troubling."
IPFW Chancellor Vicky Carwein has emphasized the word "recommendations" when discussing the results of the working group. In April, she said "while there is significant potential and exciting opportunities outlined in the recommendations, many questions, issues, and technicalities will need to be addressed."
Purdue currently manages and operates IPFW. Graduates from the school can receive degrees from either Purdue or IU, depending on their major. IPFW’s 2015 enrollment was 12,719, compared to 13,214 the year before.