Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is now President of Purdue University, a state supported Hoosier university. He has done two things since becoming president of Purdue. One, froze in-state student tuition at it current level for two years. Two, he has implement "money saving" organizational changes that are specifically aimed at hurting Hispanic and African-American Hoosier students who are attending Purdue University.
First, I am not anti-Purdue. I have three degrees from Purdue and am employed there. My wife has three degrees from Purdue. My father got his PhD from Purdue and taught there for almost twenty years. Second, I am not anti-Mitch Daniels. I supported Mitch Daniels as Governor of Indiana for both of his elections to the office.
But, Mitch Daniels is now president of all Purdue University and nothing goes to the Trustees without his approval. So he is the captain of the ship and is responsible for ALL that occurs.
Purdue University Calumet (PUC) is a regional campus of Purdue University under President Mitch Daniels. This regional campus has the most Hispanic Hoosier students in absolute numbers of ANY campus in Indiana. If this is not also true for African-American Hoosier students, it is a close second. Daniels tuition freeze does not apply to PUC.
So not only will the campus serving the most minority students force them to pay more; Purdue has also slashed all the instructional budgets for them so they could pay for more administrators, (most of whom are white). Any questions so far? Do you all follow what the question is?
This coming summer school (2013), PUC has reduced its summer offering by one half. With only approximately one half of the classes available in the summer, it will force Hispanic and African-American students to take longer to graduate and to spend more money, or borrow, at Purdue University. PUC has fired all its adjuncts and continuing lectures to reduce its academic costs. It will also reduce the offerings available to minority students, never mind all students at PUC. Starting in the fall of 2013, PUC will only spend $1 our of every $4 on academic instruction. The white administrators will take all the remaining money. That is only 25% of PUC's $80 million+ budget will go to instruct students. What was its mission again?
Where is Teresa Lubbers and the Indiana Commission of Higher Education?
Why is this happening? It is not because enrollment is down. PUC reached a high of over 10,000 students in 2009; but, today, it is down to where it was in 2008 at over 9,800 students. When Howard Cohen took over as Chancellor in 2001, PUC had an enrollment of 9,100. As you can see, this is only a monetary attack on PUC academics so that minority students higher education will be damaged.
The Hoosier State Legislature must immediately step in and demand a forensic audit to determine where the money the tax-payer is forced to give to Purdue is being used. By the way, under Chancellor Cohen, $3.5 million went missing when the Vice Chancellor left the country; now under Chancellor Keon there is a claim that an additional $3.5 million is "missing."
Mitch Daniels, although I have no first hand knowledge of his direct involvement, is loosing all credibility as the leader of a diverse institution of higher education.
