A plan to unify academic organizations of the emerging Purdue University Northwest into six colleges was approved on Friday (Oct. 9) by the Purdue University Board of Trustees.
Pending approval by the Higher Learning Commission, Purdue University Northwest will be established via the unification of Purdue University Calumet in Hammond and Purdue University North Central in Westville prior to the start of the 2016-17 academic year.
Purdue Northwest students will attend Calumet and North Central campuses, located 35 miles apart in northwest Indiana, and pursue baccalaureate and master’s degrees via programs offered within the following colleges:
Business
Engineering and Sciences
Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
Nursing
Technology
There also will be an Honors College.
“We appreciate the board’s approval and commend the very hard work and thoughtfulness by the faculty of our two campuses in furthering this plan,” said Karen Schmid, North Central vice chancellor for academic affairs and Calumet interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost.
The new academic organization represents a reduction from 11 in the total number of colleges currently at Purdue Calumet and Purdue North Central. Similarly, academic departments will be reduced from 29 to 16, with three schools.
The new structure of colleges includes the following departments and schools:
Business - Departments of Quantitative Business Studies and Managerial Studies and the White Lodging School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Engineering and Sciences - Departments of Biological Sciences; Chemistry and Physics; and Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, as well as Departments of Mechanical & Civil Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering organized within the School of Engineering.
Humanities, Education and Social Sciences - Departments of History and Philosophy; English; Political Science, Economics, and World Languages and Cultures; Behavioral Sciences; Communication and Creative Arts; and Psychology, as well as the School of Education and Counseling.
Nursing - no departments.
Technology - Departments of Construction Science and Organizational Leadership; Computer Information Technology & Graphics; and Engineering Technology.
As unified Calumet and North Central campuses, Purdue Northwest would become a university of some 15,000 students, fifth largest in Indiana. The emerging Purdue Northwest also is intended to provide enhanced opportunities for students in programs of study, a wider variety of shared online courses and more options for community engagement and professional development.