Purdue eager for its next Indy era

Purdue University has its sights set on turning some mostly underdeveloped land on the northeastern portion of IUPUI into the heart of its new Indianapolis extension.

But its aspirations go beyond constructing some buildings on a site that today consists of three parking garages, four surface lots and the headquarters for the Sigma Theta Tau nursing honor society.

Purdue’s plan to establish a stronger presence in Indiana’s capital city is driven in large part by a desire to draw more students interested in engineering and business to the university, including through new degree programs such as motorsports engineering and executive education.

The school last year signed a separation agreement with Indiana University that will go into effect July 1. The agreement disbands IUPUI and replaces it with a local campus for Purdue and one for Indiana University.

Purdue last summer began rolling out its Indianapolis brand with billboards throughout the state, materials for prospective students and, most recently, welcome packets for those who have been admitted to the soon-to-come Purdue University in Indianapolis.

Likewise, the 28 acres Purdue will take over as part of a 100-year lease agreement with IU—a site largely bounded by Michigan, West, North and Blake streets and Indiana Avenue—has been marked with Purdue-branded signage in the school’s black and gold.

David Umulis, senior vice provost and chief academic officer for Purdue in Indianapolis, said the university is approaching the Indianapolis location as a “natural extension” of its flagship West Lafayette campus 65 miles northwest up Interstate 65, rather than as a stand-alone operation as was done with Purdue Fort Wayne in 2018. The approach, Umulis said, will cost less than operating separate from West Lafayette and will allow Purdue to share faculty with IU and to offer new programs to Purdue students in Indianapolis.

“It’s a new model, and we’re excited to see it work,” Umulis said. “But the important thing is that it’s generally the same courses, materials and textbooks that you would expect, regardless of the location—it’s completely, all the way through, an extension of Purdue West Lafayette.”

Purdue plans to offer writing, liberal arts and mathematics courses in Indianapolis starting this fall, either through its own faculty or by partnering with IU professors who can teach the Purdue courses using West Lafayette standards and textbooks.

As part of the separation agreement, students who enroll in Indianapolis starting July 1 will pay the same tuition rate as West Lafayette students; transitioning students who were enrolled on June 30 pay either the West Lafayette rate or the 2023-2024 IUPUI tuition rate—whichever is lower.

Dual access

Umulis said that, over the coming months, Purdue will finalize a course catalog for its Indianapolis operation’s first full semester this fall as well as complete transfers of faculty and research programs.

He said most students will be given the option to choose whether to take classes mostly in West Lafayette or in Indianapolis, but some will have their locale determined by their academic program. Those students who take courses at both campuses will have access to shuttles between the two.

For example, students who enroll in motorsports engineering will take those courses in Indianapolis, while chemical engineering students will attend classes in West Lafayette.

“We’ll work to honor the students’ intent and interest in location,” he said. “What’s unique about Indianapolis is, because we have specific programs that are here, that allows us to grow in certain areas but not the entirety of all engineering disciplines. We’ll have three engineering programs here, plus motorsports engineering, as opposed to West Lafayette, where there’s more than 10.”

Umulis said Purdue is interested in nearly doubling its current enrollment of 2,500 at IUPUI within the first few years of launching Purdue in Indianapolis. That figure accounts for just 10% of the urban campus’ total enrollment of more than 25,000.

He said increasing availability of housing and success in establishing long-term partnerships with the private sector will play a role in devising a strong master plan for the campus. In particular, he said, there is interest in further boosting enrollment and creating new academic tracts, but with a specific focus on programs that are either unique to Indianapolis or directly additive to what’s already being done in West Lafayette.

“It takes a team and a village to build those connections with the partnerships around Indianapolis … and to provide the experiential aspects that we are aiming for as part of this curriculum and as part of these programs.”

Drumm McNaughton, whose firm The Change Leader Inc. provides higher education consulting, said Purdue’s decision to expand its offerings as part of its split from IU should lead to growth.

“Offering new programs is one of the best ways to bring in more students at an institution with the research roots and the acumen that Purdue has,” said McNaughton, who has not been involved in the separation. “I’m sure they have done the market research to say, ‘Yes, this is going to be a profitable program for us.’”

Umulis said more than 100 faculty members have expressed interest in teaching either part time or full time at the Indianapolis campus, which is more than was anticipated. The university is also hiring dozens of other professors to provide instruction and conduct research.

“There are unique opportunities that we can leverage in Indianapolis to bring the academic rigor and excellence that Purdue University has established over the years in a seamless way, allowing us to [continue] creating opportunities for students in West Lafayette, while also bring up a new group of students and faculty in Indianapolis that will be able to take advantage of functions” on the main campus, Umulis said.

Growing a footprint

Purdue plans to build its first academic and student building on its footprint leased from IU.

Andrew Downs, a former professor and interim department chair for political science and public policy at Purdue University Fort Wayne, said it “makes sense” for Purdue to grow its campus on former IUPUI space, largely because the urban campus is already a hub for academia downtown.

But he said it’s important for IU and Purdue to create some geographic separation, even if they are adjacent, “so people are not confused when they’re on campus.”

“It makes sense that they would be partitioned off in a way that would make that clear,” Downs said. “But at the same time, there are going to continue to be advantages for the two of them to be located near each other.”

For now, with no buildings of its own, Purdue will conduct classes on the IU Indianapolis campus across the road. It is leasing space in five nearby academic buildings—including those in the engineering and science departments.

It also has agreed to terms with venture studio High Alpha to lease space for the university’s Executive Education Program within the Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business. Purdue expects to be housed on the third floor of High Alpha’s 41,000-square-foot office space at 830 Massachusetts Ave., part of a building that opened in 2020 at the Bottleworks District.

Further, the university is in negotiations to lease existing space at the 16 Tech innovation district just northwest of the IUPUI campus. Emily Krueger, 16 Tech’s executive director, said the potential addition of Purdue—as well as IU Indianapolis—would be a boon for the 50-acre district, most of which has yet to be built out.

“16 Tech will be the place where industry goes to interact with both Purdue and IU Indianapolis,” she said. “They’re going to do so not just because of the great research and the [intellectual property] that’s going to come out of those universities but because it will give access to their students.”

Krueger said students will have “opportunities to interact with the industry earlier in their academic careers, which will lead not only to their success but is part of helping retain and attract talent to Indianapolis.”

16 Tech has “several leases in front of Purdue for consideration,” she said, including for space in the district’s Innovation Hub, which offers makerspace, offices and labs. Purdue expects to make decisions about space at 16 Tech in the next few months.

More possibilities

Umulis said the university is also eyeing partnerships in the motorsports sector, including possibly with Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I expect we’ll have some things to roll out over the next couple of months in regard to looking forward and how we weave [partnerships] into the city more broadly,” he said. “There’s a lot of activity in Speedway, where we’re going to have the large solar eclipse event with NASA at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”

On the housing side, Purdue is in the early stages of a feasibility study for building a dormitory. For now, it has two leases at nearby housing options to which it is directing students: One is for two-thirds—or 450 beds—of the North Hall dormitory, 820 W. North St., adjacent to the western border of Purdue’s leased footprint. The other lease gives Purdue full control of Lux on Capitol, an apartment building three blocks east of its footprint, at 501 N. Capitol Ave. Lux is privately owned but was designed for IUPUI students and offers 400 beds.

Each property, Umulis said, will feature resident advisers, student life programs and learning communities that cater to students across different majors.

Downs said the approach in Indianapolis is positive in that Purdue is thinking long term, not simply making short-term decisions to get through the transition.

He opposed the separation of Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne into distinct institutions in 2018, but he understood the reasons for it, just as he does for the decision in Indianapolis. He said it will take years to determine whether the Fort Wayne separation or the one in Indianapolis were the right calls.

“It’s very important that, when these decisions are being made, the folks who are involved in it are not thinking one semester or two academic years down the road, but instead, more like five, 10, 15 or 20 academic years down the road,” he said.

“The academic world does not move at a lightning quick pace, and there’s the reality that, when you start talking about needing to add a building or other infrastructure, that won’t happen in a moment, either, since the Legislature is involved, and they only do budgeting every two years,” Downs said. “It has to have a long-term view.”•