Recapping summer 2024 at Purdue University Northwest
During summer 2024, Purdue University Northwest engaged its neighboring communities with impactful programming that celebrated and uplifted cultures, educated young children with hands-on activities and provided important school resources for families.
PNW students also excelled in national competition and the university received more recognitions for its standout academic programs.
Read on to catch up on the exciting events that marked summer 2024 at the region’s premier metropolitan university!
PNW earns designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution
PNW Latino graduates are eligible to receive affinity stoles from PNW’s office of Hispanic-Serving Institution Initiatives to wear as a part of their commencement regalia. PNW has been designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is the largest HSI in Indiana.
Purdue University Northwest was granted official designation by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). This designation makes PNW the largest HSI in Indiana.
Furthermore, PNW serves the most Latino students among all Northwest Indiana higher education institutions.
Read More About the HSI Designation
PNW unveils plan to establish major quantum commercialization center within the Roberts Impact Lab
A rendering of the exterior of the PNW Roberts Impact Lab is shown.
Purdue University Northwest is joining the Chicago region’s Bloch Tech Hub, a coalition of industry, academic, government and nonprofit stakeholders led by the Chicago Quantum Exchange.
Also, the university will collaborate with Bloch partners on a quantum commercialization center as part of the Roberts Impact Lab, a regional technology transfer and commercialization hub under development by PNW.
Read More About the Roberts Impact Lab
PNW Civil Engineering students repeat as champs at national competition
Purdue Northwest Civil Engineering students, from left, Dylan Barthel, Natalia Briggs, Quinton Pender and Krish Zalavadia, pose together with their first-place trophies from the ASCE UESI Surveying national competition.
A team of four Purdue University Northwest Civil Engineering students with the university’s American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) chapter repeated as national champions in the ASCE Utility and Surveying Institute (UESI) Surveying collegiate competition.
The students competed alongside 15 other qualifying teams, beating out Clemson University and Penn State University for the top spot.
Read More About the Students’ Victory
PNW redesignated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense
PNW students work in a classroom space with Ying Luo, associate professor of Computer Information Technology.
Purdue University Northwest, through the College of Technology, earned redesignation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the U.S. National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security.
The recognition underscores PNW’s sustained commitment to a well-established cybersecurity program and high standards for education, research and future workforce development.
Read more About the Joint Recognition
Over 900 local children supported through PNW’s community backpack giveaways
Purdue University Northwest distributed more than 900 backpacks to local K-12 students at its Hammond and Westville campuses.
Purdue University Northwest hosted community backpack and school supply giveaways to support region K-12 schoolchildren’s education journeys with important school supplies.
With generous support from PNW campus community members and local for- and non-profit organizations, PNW benefited families with new backpacks, notebooks, folders, writing utensils and other core items.
PNW cultural celebrations mark Juneteenth and Pride Month
PNW hosted Pride Fest during June 2024, with activities including tie-dyeing, bingo, trivia and more.
Partnering Purdue University Northwest campus units and external community organizations joined together to celebrate Juneteenth and PNW’s Pride Fest.
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the end of chattel slavery in the U.S. and offers a chance to reflect on collective efforts to address systemic oppressions.
Pride Fest, hosted in recognition of Pride Month (June), celebrated LGBTQ+ community members and their history, legacies, struggles and activism.
PNW summer camps engage local kids in active lessons
Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest hosts several summer camps offering K-12 students hands-on experiences in nature.
Purdue University Northwest offered more than 20 summer camp programs for local K-12 students. Children were able to participate in a range of activities centered on lessons involving robotics, artificial intelligence, forensics, nursing, environmental sciences, psychology, sports and more.