Welcome to an Exciting New Academic Year

August 22, 2022

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Welcome to a promising new academic year at Purdue Fort Wayne! Following two-and-a-half years of challenges related to COVID-19, your perseverance and dedication have paid off, and we’re delighted to have all of you here, in person, on campus.

This is the first of two messages you will receive from me this week. I’ll also be sharing important information about your safety, security, and well-being in a message tomorrow morning.

If you’re new to the university this fall as a first-year, transfer, graduate, or international student—or if you’ve joined us as a new member of the faculty or staff—welcome to Purdue Fort Wayne. You are now part of a thriving university community, and we are committed to helping you settle in, feel included, and have a great start.

We are especially pleased and honored to welcome our newest faculty members to Purdue Fort Wayne. This includes 15 tenure-track faculty, five clinical faculty, one lecturer, and 22 new or returning visiting faculty. Our new colleagues possess outstanding credentials, having earned experience and degrees from respected institutions around the country. I hope everyone will make an extra effort to help them feel welcome, connected, and part of the fabric of our community of scholars.

To our returning students, faculty, and staff, welcome back. It’s wonderful to have everyone together on campus.

As we continue to activate and implement the university’s strategic plan, this year an overarching focus for our campus will be the Quality of Place pillar that is central to the plan and that became even more relevant and urgent during the pandemic. For instance, today we launch Campus Kickoff, a two-week celebration chock-full of events, activities, food, and festivities to get the semester started in grand style for our students. And, beginning this Thursday, look for a new weekly feature in Inside PFW—Dedicated People, Positive Progress—that will profile faculty and staff who work tirelessly to help make the university such a special place to work, learn, and flourish. Stay tuned for more information about our Quality of Place initiatives as the academic year unfolds.

In addition to these initial activities, we also take great pride here at PFW in the wealth of events and activities we offer throughout the year that fuel our curiosity, entertain us, and contribute to our sense of community. Whether it’s a Mastodon sports competition; a Student Life activity; a lecture or seminar in one of our colleges or schools; or an Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program, there’s always something interesting going on around campus. Just visit our comprehensive calendar of events to learn more about what’s happening and when.

A prime example is the longstanding Omnibus Speaker Series, which launches with PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff on September 14 and concludes with actor and social justice activist George Takei in April. Two exciting new aspects of this year’s speaker series include reintroducing a course designed specifically for Honors Program students, as well as some opportunities for all students to earn credit toward the new Civics Literacy requirement. We hope you’ll take the opportunity to attend these timely and thought-provoking presentations. The full schedule is available here.

As you’ll quickly come to realize, we place a high value on communications within our university community, and we share important campus news and information via several communications platforms. Inside PFW, our faculty and staff newsletter, is delivered to email in-boxes every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Don Life, our student newsletter, is delivered to all student email in-boxes, including Indiana University Fort Wayne student in-boxes, every Wednesday morning. You’ll also hear from me from time to time on matters of interest or importance through messages like the one you’re reading now.

News and information also are available in real time via the university’s official social media platforms: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. We encourage you to follow us now so that you don’t miss out.

There’s a great sense of optimism and anticipation as we begin this new year and embark on new experiences together. I want to take this opportunity to wish each of you a very productive and fulfilling fall semester. Please know we’re here to encourage, support, and cheer you on in every way possible.

I look forward to seeing you around campus!

Sincerely,

Ron Elsenbaumer
Chancellor