Trine Extends President’s Deal
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Trine University Board of Trustees has agreed to add two years to the contract of President Earl Brooks. He has been with the Angola-based school since 2000. The new deal goes through 2021. October 21, 2013
News Release
ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University Board of Trustees is eager to continue the momentum of recent years by extending the president’s contract for an additional two years through 2021.
The board credits Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., Trine president, with institutional growth during his tenure that began in 2000 when he became the 16th president.
“Trine has completed one of its most successful year's in the institution’s history and as a result the Trine University board has unanimously agreed to extend the contract of the president,” said Rick L. James, board chair. “President Brooks' dedication to Trine is immeasurable and his vision keeps moving Trine forward.”
Trine dedicated its newest building, the $6 million Jim and Joan Bock Center for Innovation and Biomedical Engineering, on Oct. 4. This nearly 25,000-square-foot building has myriad laboratories to support Trine’s Allen School of Engineering & Technology and Innovation One, an incubator for technology and business to help spur economic development in the region. Innovation One was launched last year and has successfully collaborated on more than 30 projects with companies in Michigan and Indiana.
A $6.5 million renovation and expansion project began in March on the 750-seat T. Furth Center for Performing Arts (trine.edu/furth), and it is scheduled for completion in May. Also, in spring 2014, Trine will begin a $4.5 million renovation of Ford Hall (its former library) to serve as the home for its Ketner School of Business.
In all, under Brooks’ leadership more than $85 million in physical plant improvements have taken place, including its hallmark University Center and new apartment-style residential facilities along with upgrades to athletic facilities, laboratories and technology.
“One of the greatest honors in my life has been to lead Trine University,” Brooks said. “I'm elated for the vote of confidence, but I can't take all the credit. Alumni, trustees, faculty, staff, friends and supporters have caught the vision to make Trine even better and the result is what you see in our beautiful campus and talented students.”
Brooks’ drive for campus improvements is ongoing as he announced Trine’s $75 million Invest in Excellence capital campaign. When Brooks made the announcement Oct. 3, the university was already past the halfway mark with $40 million. Invest in Excellence will build endowment, finance campus upgrades and benefit the Trine Fund. The Trine Fund supports Trine’s highest priorities, including financial aid and scholarships for students. Trine successfully wrapped up its last campaign, the $90 million Vision for the Future, in 2009, which provided assistance to help transform the university.
With Brooks at the helm, enrollment has grown from 1,300 students to 2,500 students, residential capacity has more than doubled from 450 to 1,100, graduate programs have been added, athletics have transitioned to NCAA Division III competition and branch education centers and regional campuses have blossomed to nine in Indiana and Michigan along with a new campus in Peoria, Ariz. (trine.edu/Peoria). The City of Peoria, approximately 15 miles northwest of Phoenix, is partnering with Trine to bring its renowned programs, such as engineering, to the West Valley region.
Earlier this year, Trine added the School of Health Sciences, its sixth school, and its emerging Doctor of Physical Therapy program (trine.edu/dpt) is on track to be offered in fall 2014.
Job placement for graduates continues to be a highlight of the institution with 92 percent of 2012 graduates working or in graduate school within six months of commencement. The Franks School of Education has a perfect 100 percent placement rate and the Allen School of Engineering & Technology boasts a 95 percent placement rate. The national average for job placement is 63.6 percent.
Graduation from a physical therapist education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; phone; 703-706-3245; accreditation@apta.org is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states.
Trine University is seeking accreditation of a new physical therapist education program from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, www.ncahlc.org. and CAPTE. The program will submit an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status.
Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status is required prior to implementation of the professional phase of the program; therefore, no students may be enrolled in professional courses until Candidate for Accreditation status has been achieved. Further, though achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress toward accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation.
Trine University, an internationally recognized, private, co-educational, residential institution, offers associate, baccalaureate, and master degrees in programs to students in engineering, mathematics, science, informatics, business, teacher education, communication, criminal justice, golf management, social sciences, and various other fields of study. Trine is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and offers 21 varsity sports. Its golf program includes the university-owned 18-hole championship Zollner Golf Course. Founded in 1884 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org), Trine operates a 450-acre main campus in Angola, Ind., and education resource centers throughout Indiana, Arizona and Michigan.
Source: Trine University