As Rick Cosier’s tenure as dean of Purdue University’s MBA program nears an end, expect the program to continue turning
out top "Quant Jock" operations managers–people who relentlessly figure out how to manufacture
things better and cheaper.
Myles Brand was best known as the man who fired Bob Knight and as president of the NCAA, but he left a legacy at Indiana University
much broader than the world of athletics.
Ivy Tech Community College says a record of nearly 110,000 students were enrolled before fall semester classes started this
week.
Only one in 12 Hoosiers has an associate’s degree. That’s a big problem because nearly half of all jobs expected
to be offered in the next decade and beyond will be middle-skill jobs—which require at least some post-secondary credential,
like an associate’s degree, but not a four-year bachelor’s degree.
Classes start this week at Ball State University, and other colleges and universities across the country. For many, it is
a bittersweet moment, as parents say goodbye to their now young adults, handing them over to professors and scarily youthful
resident hall assistants for safekeeping.
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.
Franklin College filed a lawsuit today alleging trademark infringement against Ohio-based Franklin
University, which will open a campus in Castleton this fall. The liberal arts college south of Indianapolis
said the newcomer’s marketing blitz has been too close to Franklin College’s own branding.
Only North and South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin have smaller proportions of lawyers within their working populations.
Experts point to the state’s shrinking base of corporate HQs, the exodus of law school graduates, and a less litigious climate
overall.
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.
There’s reason to believe serious progress is coming, due to the people in leadership positions for the state in three key
areas: the Department of Education, the Commission for Higher Education and Ivy Tech Community College.
A little-known federal program provides support for retraining to workers whose employers were hurt by foreign trade. The
Trade Adjustment Assistance Act also offers income replacement and health insurance benefits.
Folks from all sorts of professions are trying on teaching, to survive the recession or to give back to the community. Or
both.
Fall Creek Academy is among a growing number of high schools that enroll their students to take classes at colleges, earning
credit toward both a high school and a college degree.
College affordability has gained a lot of attention over the past few years, but I am not sure that the simple focus on costs
is the right way to think about the
problem.
Your Dec. 8 editorial, "State flunking affordability test," quotes liberally from the National Center for Public
Policy and
Higher Education’s recent report, which concludes that 49 of 50 states—including Indiana—deserve an "F"
for their
affordability
efforts. Unfortunately, this grade is based on an analysis that dramatically overstates college costs in Indiana—or at
least
those costs incurred by Hoosiers attending Indiana University.
Business leaders and educators agree on what’s needed to improve Indiana’s economic health and enhance its place in the global
economy: a larger pool of skilled workers. Toward that end, a group of notfor-profits is expanding a program to get more low-income
Indianapolis students to further their education after high school.
With demand for welders outstripping supply, manufacturers, road and bridge builders, and other construction company owners
are all hurting. Despite a willingness to increase hourly wages and even offer signing bonuses, the search for welders is
getting more desperate.
