SOUTH BEND, IND. (Feb. 7, 2007) –Purdue University President Martin C. Jischke, Ph.D. will speak at Ivy Tech Community College’s 2007 commencement Friday, May 4 at the Century Center in South Bend.

Nearly 500 graduates from the South Bend, Elkhart and Warsaw campuses will receive associate degrees and technical certificates at the event. 

Jischke, who is retiring at the end of the current academic year, became Purdue University's tenth president in August 2000.  A Chicago native, he received his bachelor's degree in physics with honors from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and earned his master's and doctoral degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A prominent American higher-education administrator and advocate, he formerly was president of Iowa State University, chancellor of the University of Missouri-Rolla, and faculty member, director, dean and interim president at the University of Oklahoma.

In 2006, Jischke was appointed by President George W. Bush to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He has held numerous national leadership roles in service to colleges and universities. He has served as president of the Global Consortium of Higher Education and Research for Agriculture.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, Campus Compact, the Association of American Universities, Big Ten Conference and a Council Member of the National Academies Government University Industry Roundtable.        

About Ivy Tech Community College

Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s second largest public post-secondary institution with over 100,000 students enrolled annually.  Ivy Tech has 23 campuses throughout Indiana.  It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana.  It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

The North Central Region serves students and employers in St. Joseph, Elkhart, Kosciusko and Marshall counties.  The region’s campuses in South Bend, Elkhart and Warsaw annually enroll more than 10,000 full- and part-time students.