Purdue Fort Wayne and Boys & Girls Clubs formalize expansion of community partnership

Photographers working in various capacities jockeyed for position Wednesday morning to visually document the signing of a memorandum of understanding to formalize a growing community and academic partnership between Purdue University Fort Wayne and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne. As a result of the agreement, the Boys & Girls Clubs will gain greater access to the Purdue Fort Wayne campus, its faculty, staff, programming, and additional resources. 

The hustle and bustle to get a great shot of Joe Jordan, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs, and Chancellor Ron Elsenbaumer of PFW signing the paperwork to officially usher in this next chapter of collaboration reflected the high level of enthusiasm shared by those in attendance. 

Among the multiple opportunities Jordan and Elsenbaumer described at the event was an overarching desire by both entities to promote the enrichment of their teaching and learning, research and discovery, and engagement missions to serve a larger number of children in northeast Indiana. The partnership is also designed to open new pathways to student achievement that may have been invisible before.

“Hope provides determination; determination leads to success,” said Elsenbaumer.  

A highlight of the partnership that began to roll out earlier this year is the transition of the management and hosting of the Young Scholars Academy from PFW to the Boys & Girls Clubs to reach a larger number of students. Richard D. Waterfield, founder and sponsor of the YSA, and a handful of Boys & Girls Clubs students were also recognized at the ceremony, which took place at the Jim Kelley Career Pathway Center on Fairfield Avenue.