For a city feverishly growing its technology and life sciences sectors, it seemed a bit anticlimactic last January when
Purdue University dedicated its new technology center with only one tenant. But the lone tenant in the $12.8
million complex, FlamencoNets, a high-tech telecommunications firm, is about to get some company.
In five years, Butler University President Bobby Fong wants to vault his school into the top 10 of the nation’s master’s
universities—schools that offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees but few doctorates.
Teresa Lubbers became Indiana commissioner for higher education on July 7 after serving 17 years as a Republican state
senator from Indianapolis. She says every Hoosier needs some college-level training. Lubbers got a running start on her new
job, having served as chairwoman of the senate education committee
for years. She also worked frequently at the commission’s downtown offices during May and June—after her predecessor
had
left but before the Legislature returned for a special session to pass a budget. Her new staff dubbed her SenComm.
Gov. Mitch Daniels failed to get the legislature to bite on his plan to lease out the Hoosier
Lottery in order to pay for two-year college scholarships. So he’s now he’s using $31 million in federal stimulus funds
to create a similar program for about 9,000 Hoosiers.
Fledgling attorneys face a legal industry in defensive mode, resulting in drooping employment figures.
Life has changed in higher education and changed very rapidly. The value of most endowments, just like our portfolios and
401(k)s, has plummeted. Today, institutions with the strongest bottom lines are likely to be those with strong management
and business plans that work in today’s economy.
Students going into and out of Indiana’s teacher education programs tend to score below average on standardized test scores.
And national data indicate the gap is entirely attributable to those headed into elementary education.
Most fund-raisers stumble into the profession, but within a decade the field could be populated by recent college graduates
who hold degrees in philanthropic studies.The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University soon will roll out a bachelor’s
degree that would be among the first of its kind. If all goes as planned, IUPUI would begin marketing the degree, granted
by the School of Liberal Arts, for the fall of 2010.
Ohio-based Franklin University’s move into the Indianapolis market sets up the potential for significant name confusion with
Franklin College, the liberal arts school 30 minutes south of Indianapolis.
Two-thirds of college-age Americans say health insurance is as important as salary when looking at jobs. Yet just as many have made no plans to obtain health insurance once they graduate from school this month.
With enrollment surging in vocational schools around the country, Indiana Business College has launched an expansion into
Ohio and likely into other states as well. The Indianapolis-based for-profit school also is changing its name.
Education is empowermentâ??not just for the community but for the individual.
At Purdue University, the quest for a new missile and spacecraft fuel has
brought together an oil-and-vinegar mix of rocket scientists and food scientists.
Indiana’s CollegeChoice 529 Plans offer a number of great investment options to save for children’s college costs.
When I read the year-end statements from the 529 College Saving Plans I had established for the benefit of my grandchildren, I felt lower than a snake’s belly.
NASA begins to award more grants to Indiana firms and universities.
Colleges must control costs so that students, particularly those from low-income families, can afford higher education without
going into tremendous debt.
Unfortunately, there’s a major stumbling block to education beyond high school — too many people in the state simply
can’t afford it.
Most colleges and universities in central
Indiana are being especially frugal because the value of their university endowments has plunged along with the market,donations
may decrease, and enrollment may decline, due to lack of student loan availability.
If certain people in Hancock County have their way, one of the fastest-growing new industries here could be adult education.
