Ronald Elsenbaumer, the new chancellor at what is soon to become Purdue University Fort Wayne, comes from a background in science, technology, research and corporate management.
So it’s not unusual that he tends to refer to what the Fort Wayne campus does in those same scientific, technological and business terms.
In education, as in science, “Theory is always important, but then how do you translate that theory?” Elsenbaumer said during a Dec. 5 interview with Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly. “We always talk about critical thinking, communication skills, understanding and developing knowledge, but then there’s always the application of knowledge, and that’s the part the translational part, that often gets missed in higher education.
“The foundational components are very, very important, but if you don’t know how to take those and apply them in real life, they only have value to you as an individual. They don’t have value to your community.”
Originally from Allentown, Pa., Elsenbaumer received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Purdue and a doctorate from Stanford University. He came to Fort Wayne from the University of Texas at Arlington, and worked previously at Allied-Signal Inc., a multinational corporation headquartered in New Jersey. He also holds 35-plus patents.
He started his job as chancellor here on Nov. 1. That will make Elsenbaumer the 10th and last chancellor of Indiana University — Purdue University Fort Wayne and the first chancellor of Purdue University Fort Wayne, effective July 1.
The decision to split the two universities who have shared a campus and resources for more than 50 years was not without controversy. According to the plan, the medical, nursing and other health care programs will become an outpost of Indiana University’s Indianapolis operations, and the everything else will become Purdue.
Elsenbaumer believes that the controversy over the restructuring, for the most part, is over and the new plan has been accepted by students, faculty and community.
“I think that’s behind us now. I think we have a clear path forward. I think that’s no longer an issue,” he said.
“I think what is an issue is communication: who are we and what are we planning to do and how are we going to help the community in general? How are we going to partner with the community as a trusted partner and help this economy continue to flourish?”
The last approval needed to make that happen is expected from the Higher Learning Commission in March. In the meantime, efforts to rebrand the Fort Wayne campus are underway and the community should begin to see the visual aspects of that rebranding after the commission’s stamp of approval.
Elsenbaumer already announced that the Fort Wayne campus will abandon its blue and white school colors to take on the black and gold colors of Purdue. It will not, however, rename its teams after the Boilermakers. The Mastodons are here to stay, he said.
Branding may be dismissed by some as unimportant or inconsequential, but it the corporate world branding means everything to the growth and sustainability of a business, Elsenbaumer noted.
“The Purdue brand is very strong. It’s international…You don’t have to tell anyone, anywhere in the world, what Purdue is. You never have to explain it,” he said. “Our job now is to explain how we are part of the Purdue system and what that means to our students in this region and the state of Indiana.”
Establishing the brand may take some time, some reinforcement, “so communication, the visuals, those are all things that are going to be important for us for this campus,” he said.
Beyond that, the brand will depend on the campus showing people what its work product is — “and that’s our graduates,” Elsenbaumer said.
“Reputations are built, not because you say it but because you do it, and our graduates are the ones that really drive our reputation.”
In a region that is begging for qualified workers, the Purdue brand can also be an important aspect of workforce attraction efforts by bringing new residents to the area.
“What we can do is start attracting students from other regions, get them here, make connections so they get jobs here, provide pathways to get jobs,” he said. “We’re here to be that pipeline.”