With affordability and accessibility at the forefront of Purdue University’s higher education mission and buoyed by record enrollment, a sound investment strategy and extremely low institutional debt yielding nearly unprecedented financial stability, University officials today (Dec. 3) announced a series of benefits for students, faculty and staff at its West Lafayette campus. The measures are an 11th consecutive year of tuition unchanged at 2012-13 levels; a 10th consecutive year with no increase in university residence hall rates; an appreciation award for West Lafayette faculty, staff and graduate student staff; and a 4% salary merit pool for West Lafayette faculty and staff for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2022.

The Purdue University Board of Trustees today (Dec. 3) ratified six professor positions and approved a new doctoral program, the change of several department names and resolutions of appreciation for friends of the university.

A Purdue building housing the University’s largest academic unit has a new name, thanks to a generous gift from an alumnus. Purdue’s Board of Trustees today (Dec. 3) approved the naming of the Electrical Engineering Building on campus as the Max W & Maileen Brown Family Hall.

President Mitch Daniels today (Dec. 3) provided trustees with a report on Purdue’s reputation from a variety of angles, including research, marketing, prestigious student scholarships, rankings and news media. On the latter topic, national broadcast media such as CNN and NPR reported on Purdue or Purdue research in more than 150 news stories in 2021. Purdue garnered nearly half as many broadcast stories a few years prior. In marketing, views of Purdue-created videos on YouTube increased by over 10% in 2021 despite a double-digit decline in the views of videos from Purdue’s peers. Daniels concluded by describing Purdue’s inclusion in Fast Company magazine’s list of "Brands That Matter." Purdue was the only university to make the list with national brands like Nike and McDonald's. According to Fast Company, Purdue’s inclusion was based on numerous Purdue initiatives such as affordability, Degree in 3, Purdue Polytechnic High School and The Data Mine.

Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture and professor of animal sciences, discussed the progress of Plant Sciences 2.0 in her presentation to the Board of Trustees. As one of the five strategic initiatives of Purdue’s Next Moves, Plant Sciences 2.0 seeks to make Purdue known for growing graduates, entrepreneurs and the ag-biotech industry to ensure a future where the environment and agriculture work hand in hand to both feed the world’s population and strengthen its ecosystems. Plaut also provided an update on the College of Agriculture, which has had the No. 1-ranked undergraduate and graduate programs in agricultural and biological engineering for 11 years.