IU, Purdue chart new courses in Indianapolis
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Purdue president Mung Chiang in Indy yesterday. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios
Next week marks the start of a new chapter for IU, Purdue and the city of Indianapolis.
The big picture: After more than 50 years, the universities' joint downtown Indianapolis campus officially splits on Monday.
- Both schools are launching new entities in the city: Purdue in Indianapolis and Indiana University Indianapolis.
Flashback: Leaders of both institutions announced the split nearly two years ago.
State of play: IU has been rebranding large swaths of campus and will take over the majority of programs and currently enrolled students.
- IU Indy Chancellor Latha Ramchand said she's focusing on building out the campus' capacity to meet regional workforce needs in life science, bioscience and the biotech industries.
The other side: Purdue is making a splash bringing black and gold to downtown for the first time and with big events like a Monument Circle takeover yesterday afternoon for a kickoff party with university, local, state and congressional leadership.
By the numbers: IU estimates it will have 20,000 students in 400 academic programs in the capital city.
- Purdue will have 2,500 students in Indianapolis this fall, including 850 freshmen.
How it works: While IU Indy will operate like a regional campus, with enrollment specific to the location, Purdue's presence will be treated as an offshoot of its flagship West Lafayette campus.
- Students will have the opportunity to study in both locations throughout their academic career, should they choose.
- Purdue president Mung Chiang said they intend to use Indianapolis as a place to grow their enrollment.
What they're saying: "We needed our own identity to be able to, frankly, bring this campus up to Purdue standards — both the faculty and students," said Mitch Daniels, who was Purdue president when the split deal was signed.