Regular spring enrollment ends today
New students, transfer students and those returning to Purdue Calumet after an absence of two or more years must apply for university admission before they can register.
Prospective students can apply online at the Purdue Calumet Web site -- www.calumet.purdue.edu -- by clicking on the "Self Service Web" link and following directions. They also can do so in person at Purdue Calumet's Hammond campus in the Enrollment Services Center (Room 130) of Lawshe Hall, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For information, prospective undergraduate students also can phone 989-2213 or (800) 447-8738, Ext. 2213. Prospective graduate students can contact the Office of the Graduate School at 989-2257 or (800) 447-8738, Ext. 2257.
Students may register for classes offered in Hammond or at the university's Academic Learning Center in Merrillville. The spring semester class schedule can be viewed online at the Purdue Calumet Web site.
Prospective students who are unable to register for classes today may late-register Monday through Friday next week, but will be assessed a late registration fee of $8.50 per credit hour in addition to regular fees.
'Yesterday's Dream ...'
Purdue Calumet celebrates the life and contributions of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with a campus celebration next week featuring an exhibit and Convocation that includes a musical drama, dance performances and recitation of King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
"Yesterday's Dream, Today's Reality" is the theme of the celebration, which begins at 11 a.m. Monday with an exhibit focusing on the lives of King, Mohandas Gandhi and Daisaku Ikeda. The exhibit is on display through Thursday in the east concourse of the Student Union & Library.
Titled "Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace," the exhibit features photographs, inspiring quotes and factual information about the three historic figures. The exhibit was initiated by Lawrence E. Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at King's alma mater, Morehouse College.
According to Purdue Calumet Assistant Vice Chancellor for Educational Opportunity Programs/Director of the McNair Achievement Program Roy Hamilton, the exhibit is designed to provide attendees an opportunity to examine the lives and differing cultural paths of Ghandhi, King and Ikeda and apply their ideals of peace and nonviolence.
A Thursday convocation at 11 a.m. features the musical drama "Pieces of a Dream," which is intended to lead the audience through King's most heartrending experiences and encounters with violence and opposition from both sides of the racial spectrum. The convocation will be held in Alumni Hall on the third floor of the Student Union & Library.
Also scheduled during the two-and-one-half-hour presentation are dance performances by the Banneker Dance Troupe and the Joel Hall Dancers of Chicago.
Closing the convocation, students from Purdue Calumet's Voices of Hope will recite portions of King's "I Have a Dream" speech in Yoruba, Hebrew, Hindi, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish and English.
Admission is free for the exhibit and convocation, which are sponsored by the Purdue Calumet Cultural Awareness Advisory Committee and the Soka Gakkai International-USA, Northern Indiana with support from the university's Multi-Cultural Campus Council. Other information is available by phoning 989-2779 or (800) 447-8738, Ext. 2779.
First graduates of Capstone
Work place abuse, development of a stroke scale, and pressure ulcer assessment and treatment were among 15 topics and projects addressed by 47 Purdue Calumet nursing students last fall and subsequently identified for research follow-up by northwest Indiana hospitals.
The students were the first to complete the university's new Capstone Course in Nursing (NURS 498). The course, the last required for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, was introduced last fall as part of Purdue Calumet's recently implemented experiential learning initiative.
Purdue Calumet is one of few colleges and universities nationally to have adopted experiential learning -- the integration of traditional classroom and textbook learning with the applied learning that occurs within a work-related, real world experience -- as a graduation requirement for baccalaureate degree-seeking students. All incoming Purdue Calumet students pursuing a bachelor's degree, regardless of major, must enroll in at least two experiential learning courses/equivalents.
The Capstone Course in Nursing satisfies experiential learning criteria for nursing students. Other student research projects last fall involved campus topics of concern relating to sexual health, alcohol use and smoking cessation.
The nursing students worked in teams to identify a problem or concern and then developed an appropriate response. Each student team collaborated under the leadership of a project director from a local hospital and a Purdue Calumet faculty preceptor.
"The students worked with upper administration at the hospitals," Purdue Calumet Associate Professor of Nursing and Course Co-Coordinator Gail Wegner said. "Eight of the projects are advancing to a phase 2 stage for follow-up with the hospitals. In fact, there is a growing list of projects the hospitals want our nursing students to address. We are blazing a new trail in nursing education."
The other course coordinator, Associate Professor Ellen Moore, added, "We are excited about this new direction. The coordination and cooperation health care agencies have provided has been overwhelming. All the projects on which our students worked were considered 'high priority' initiatives by the hospitals."
Participating health care partners were: St. Mary Medical Center, St. Anthony Medical Center, The Methodist Hospitals of Northwest Indiana, St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers, St. Catherine Hospital and The Community Hospital.
Wes Lukoshus is assistant vice chancellor for Advancement/University Relations at Purdue University Calumet. He can be contacted on campus at 989-2217 or lukoshus@calumet.purdue.edu.