IPFW Names Community Research Institute Director
(photo courtesy IPFW)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIPFW has named Rachel Blakeman director of the Community Research Institute. Blakeman, a licensed attorney who most recently served as a project manager for the city of Fort Wayne, will begin her new role July 10.
Blakeman will be responsible for leading the CRI, which links IPFW’s academic expertise with the needs of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in northeast Indiana. The university says the institute provides research and analytical services in the areas of socio-economic data, urban planning, municipal finance, public policy, and economic development.
"CRI has a long tradition of providing useful, relevant data and information to public-sector and nonprofit clients and the general public in northeast Indiana,” said Blakeman. “I look forward to bringing my experience in local government and public policy to the university. Our corner of the state has both opportunities and challenges ahead. The CRI can help leaders understand how we got here and what may be coming."
Carl Drummond, vice chancellor for academic affairs and enrollment management at IPFW, says Blakeman’s experience combined with her economic development research as a fellow at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law made her a "perfect fit" for the position.