PNW Pridecast: Welcome Back for the 2023-24 Academic Year

September 7, 2023

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Episode Script

Greetings, Purdue Northwest colleagues!

The PNW Pridecast is back! I’m Kale Wilk, Communications Specialist in the office of Marketing and Communications, serving as your host and helping share university faculty and staff news.

Continue listening as we offer a recap on highlights from the Year Ahead address; the opening of the University College academic unit; and a review of several employee and university highlights from the summer.

The Year Ahead

Chancellor Keon and Provost Holford informed faculty and staff on the university’s direction and future during the 2023 Year Ahead address. The session detailed several significant topics that overall emphasized the university’s importance as a high-quality academic destination for our metropolitan area.

Chancellor Keon spoke on several steps aimed at continuing to enhance students’ experience. Of note was PNW’s impending designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution due to the university’s intentional efforts to support Latino students at the university, who make up more than 25% of the undergraduate population. Chancellor Keon pointed to staff members in Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, bilingual admissions and financial aid materials, cultural celebrations, student clubs and professional association memberships all aimed at providing accessibility to Latino students and their families.

I think many of you know and understand that my sense is that the universities that will last into the future will be those universities that are perceived to be of high quality.

PNW Chancellor Thomas L. Keon

Chancellor Keon also touched on the university’s facilities plan, Envisioning Excellence: a Blueprint for PNW’s Future Campuses. The plan envisions significant physical space updates to the campuses. A new marquee digital sign has been added to the Westville branch campus. Students are enjoying a newly renovated area called the “Mane Zone” inside the Classroom Office Building that incorporates an open lounge area, space for student organizations to meet, and new office areas for Student Life staff members.

“I think many of you know and understand that my sense is that the universities that will last into the future will be those universities that are perceived to be of high quality,” said Chancellor Keon. “As we look at quality, we have to look at every piece of the university, whether that’s service to our students, our physical facilities and, of course, our faculty and staff.”

Provost Holford highlighted the major strides in academic quality with new programs, sponsored research and faculty accomplishments.

He made note of PNW’s pending addition of a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), which will mark the third applied doctoral program offered by the university. In turn, this will mark a change in status for the university as a doctoral-granting institution by the Higher Learning Commission.

We have put ourselves in an amazing position, and I certainly hope we can capitalize on that.

PNW Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Kenneth C. Holford

Provost Holford also drew attention to the nine endowed professorships at PNW, which is significant for a regional institution of our size.

Finally, he took time to emphasize the significant impact and status of external awards and sponsored research for PNW. Just in fiscal year 2022-23, PNW received $10.8 million in research awards. Based on National Science Foundation Higher Education Research Development rankings, PNW is way above and beyond comparable regional institutions and in the ballpark of larger universities in terms of its sponsored research activity. Provost Holford stated this, along with other academic achievements, mark just how far PNW has come and the trajectory of where it has yet to go.

“I stand before you today months away from us being reclassified as a doctoral-granting institution,” said Provost Holford. “The campus I arrived at had individual scholars struggling to do research — there were no labs, there was no equipment, they were doing things to get it done — to a campus today that’s ranked amongst the higher level mid-size campuses in the state of Indiana.

I can only imagine what we are going to look like as an institution five years from now. We have put ourselves in an amazing position, and I certainly hope we can capitalize on that.”

University College Serves as New Home for Undecided and Undeclared Students

The newly established University College academic unit is set to offer a welcoming, engaging and supportive experience to many first-year PNW students discovering their interests or shoring up their academic requirements for certain programs.

Many undergraduate students not retained at the university after their first semesters at PNW were undecided or undeclared students. In an effort to enhance engagement and outcomes with this particular segment of the student population, a collaborative effort has instituted University College to be a formative home for these students before they transition into degree paths of choice.

Furthermore, University College is intended to be an inclusive community for its students. By strengthening a sense of belonging with peer connections and activities, student outcomes and retention are expected to positively increase as the students ready to join their future academic communities.

The idea is to give them a support structure of a dean, a college, a staff and advisors that will work together to develop programs and to develop support structures that can help them succeed.

Jonathan Swarts, Dean of University College and the Honors College

Jonathan Swarts will serve as dean of University College, as well as continue his role as dean of the Honors College. Here he is with more:

“If you’re admitted into the College of Engineering and Sciences or the College of Nursing (for example), you come into campus on day one, you are being welcomed into a college, you have a dean, you have a support network there behind you, you probably have events that welcome you onto campus, you probably have a new student orientation…you have an institutional home from day one.

“The exploratory students, the University College students, haven’t had that until now. They come in and they are in this little bit of institutional limbo. The idea is to give them a support structure of a dean, a college, a staff and advisors that will work together to develop programs and to develop support structures that can help them succeed.”

Students in University College will have opportunities to meet with first-year advisors, who will be specifically tasked with advising the first-year student population before they matriculate into the other programmatic colleges. Students will hone their interests and work toward admission into the major or program they are most drawn to. They will also have opportunities to attend University College-specific activities to network and build relationships with other students.

For more information, visit pnw.edu/university-college.

Summer 2023 Accomplishments

Finally, summer 2023 had a significant collection of honors and accomplishments for PNW employees and university academic programs. Let’s go through a rundown of those mentions.

The Northwest Indiana Influential Women Association announced its 2023 Influential Women Award Finalists, which include four PNW faculty and staff members. Finalists for Influential Woman in the “Education” category include Iris Sanchez, director of Hispanic-Serving Institution Initiatives, and Libbie Pelter, associate professor of Chemistry. Catharine Olsen, director of Academic Operations and Strategic Initiatives in Academic Affairs, is a finalist for “Up and Coming” Influential Woman in the Education category.Debbie Bachmann, administrator of Honors Student Leadership and Programming, is a finalist in the “Service and Tourism” category. Award winners will be recognized at the NWI Influential Women Awards Banquet on Sept. 28.
Nicky Jackson, professor of Criminal Justice, is being recognized with the Heart of Indiana award by the Indiana Commission for Women. The annual recognition is provided to an honoree who has demonstrated an open heart and mind to the needs of humanity, and shown a commitment to philanthropy, social change and the spirit of hope. Jackson is particularly recognized for her work as a victimologist and helping remove social barriers for women. She will be honored during the 2023 Torchbearer Awards ceremony on Sept. 27.
Beth Voterro, professor of Nursing, was announced as a 2023 National League for Nursing Class of Fellows member to be inducted into the prestigious Academy of Nursing Education. Vottero joins 23 other nursing educators in being recognized by the league and academy for enduring and substantial contributions to the discipline as expert teachers, mentors, scholars, public policy advocates, practice partners and administrators.
Lisa Goodnight, vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement, chief of staff and professor of Communication, was announced as one of five new board members for Legacy Foundation. The foundation is a key region organization with a mission to transform Lake County through strategic leadership and impactful philanthropy to create equitable opportunities for local communities. Among its many functions, the foundation helps donors invest and manage charitable assets, provides grants to organizations serving Lake County and awards scholarships to county high school and college students.
Shontrai Irving, clinical associate professor of Business Law, was awarded a 2023 system-wide Purdue Special Boilermaker Award. Typically between two to four faculty or staff members are honored each year that have contributed to the improvement of the quality of life or the betterment of the educational experience for a substantial number of students. Irving will be honored on Sept. 22 on the field at Ross-Ade Stadium during Purdue’s football game against Wisconsin.
Undergraduate and advanced degree programs in PNW’s College of Business earned reaffirmation of academic quality and preparation through accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB). The accrediting body ensures the academic programs meet quality standards and graduate students who will become leading business professionals in their respective disciplines.
PNW’s undergraduate program in Elementary Education was recognized by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) for its rigorous preparation of future educators in teaching “the science of reading.” This pedagogy entails a range of evidence-based strategies and instructional approaches that have been proven to be effective in teaching children how to read. PNW received an “A” grade in NCTQ’s “Teacher Prep Review: Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction” report, and was among 23% of higher education institutions to earn the grade for meeting high academic quality standards.
A total of 88 administrators and staff from Academic Affairs, EMSA, Institutional Advancement, and IS earned microcredentials centered on cultivating inclusive and welcoming environments through the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). Participants learned actionable practices to help ensure all members of the PNW community feel a sense of belonging.
Finally, Neeti Parashar, professor of Physics, helped open and facilitate the 56th annual Fermilab Annual Users Meeting, which included approximately 460 attendees. Parashar, who participates in research at the Batavia, Illinois-based facility, welcomed Lia Merminga, director of Fermilab, and introduced the session as chair of the public engagement committee of the Fermilab Users executive committee. Research Parashar completed with Atanu Pathak, postdoctoral research associate, was shared by Merminga with the audience. The annual meeting showcases cutting-edge scientific advancements and discoveries at Fermilab and contributions to theory.

We ran through a lot, but it’s time to close out for this episode. Past installments are available at pnw.edu/pridecast.

I also want to share the reminder that you can help contribute to Pridecast by sharing your faculty and staff news with us. Whether it’s a campus initiative, a fascinating piece of research, or something else you feel is important to share with your colleagues, we are open to your suggestions. Our Qualtrics form is available, again, at pnw.edu/pridecast.

I’m Kale Wilk, bidding “see you later,” or perhaps “talk to you later,” and I’ll reconnect with you in a few weeks.