Purdue Fort Wayne lands $1.3M for business school
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The Doermer School of Business at Purdue University Fort Wayne announced Tuesday that it has received $1.32 million in gift commitments toward building renovations and the development of a banking industry center.
The university received $800,000 from the Doermer Family Foundation, $300,000 from the English-Bonter-Mitchell Foundation and $150,000 from Max and Janet Laudeman to help renovate the business school’s second floor. The project, expected to be completed in August 2026, will add 10 classrooms and provide space for faculty and staff to centrally locate.
“Helping students access excellence in education has always been an area of priority for the foundation,” Doermer Family Foundation President Kathy Callen said in a news release.
The university said it also received a $70,000 gift commitment from the Edward M. & Mary McCrea Wilson Foundation to help develop a banking center on the first floor of the building, where students can learn from faculty as well as leaders of northeast Indiana’s banking community.
A construction timeline has yet to be established for the center. The center will become the permanent home of a “design and entrepreneurship nexus” developed in partnership with the university’s College of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science, the news release said.
“In our broad vision, the term ‘nexus’ captures our role as a central hub for uniting students, faculty, and professionals through interdisciplinary collaboration and integrated theory and practice,” business school dean Nodir Adilov said. “This is critical for encouraging innovation, entrepreneurship, and improvements in business practices. The banking center will rely on the same principle, emphasizing student learning, financial industry collaboration, and community impact.”
The $1.32 million in total gift commitments have been received since Nov. 20.
The business school is named after Richard T. Doermer, a Fort Wayne business leader, community supporter and philanthropist who died in 2010 after a long career in the banking industry, the university said.