Westville Pilot and Interim Leadership

Dear Colleagues:

As announced at the Year Ahead and Friday’s Faculty Senate meeting, I am delighted to share we have launched a pilot project to provide dedicated academic and administrative leadership for the Westville campus, charged with fostering a unified vision to advance high-impact growth practices, enhance student success and elevate our presence in the local communities, particularly in LaPorte and Porter Counties.

Recognizing the Westville campus as a vital educational and community resource, earlier this summer Chancellor Holford tasked me with developing a proposal for this purpose without increasing the total number of academic administrators. Exploring examples at other institutions across the country (including The Ohio State University), we decided upon the current pilot structure.

Jonathan Swarts

I am pleased to report that Dr. Jonathan Swarts has agreed to serve as Interim Dean and Director of the Westville Campus with the start of the semester.

In this role, Dr. Swarts will oversee the routine academic operations of the Westville campus and provide leadership in advancing teaching and learning, community engagement, student support services, enrollment initiatives and strategic partnerships. In addition, through collaboration across PNW, he will lead efforts to elevate the Westville campus as a vital anchor institution in the region.

I am also pleased to announce that Dr. Raida Abuizam has agreed to serve as Interim Dean of the Honors and University Colleges while continuing to serve as Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Raida Abuizam

Dr. Abuizam has been an invaluable member of the Academic Affairs Leadership Team and plays a key role in advancing academic initiatives, student success and collaboration across the university. In her interim role, she will provide leadership for Honors College and University College, ensuring continuity in the programs, services and academic support structures. Her experience and commitment to our students will serve these units exceptionally well.

This pilot project supports our continued commitment to student success, academic excellence and regional engagement to serve Northwest Indiana in its entirety. We are developing metrics and benchmarks to gauge the success of this project, which will ultimately help us determine future initiatives and actions, including as we continue implementing our strategic plan, Excellence Evolving: PNW 2025-30.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Swarts and Dr. Abuizam on their new interim appointments and thanking them for their willingness to serve in these important leadership capacities. I am grateful for their continued commitment to Purdue University Northwest, especially to our students and I look forward to working with them in these roles.

Sincerely,

Marie T. Mora, Ph.D.

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs