Welcoming IU Fort Wayne to the family

As of July 1, IU Fort Wayne has joined the Indiana University system, with a focus on health science education.

The new regional education center is based in Neff Hall on the south side of campus. Most of the programs are housed in the basement and first floor of the building. Nursing remains on the third floor of the Liberal Arts Building. The IU School of Medicine still resides in its own building on the north end of campus.

Like IUPUC, IU Fort Wayne is under the administrative direction of IUPUI.

As IU Fort Wayne gets ready to welcome its first freshman class, here’s a look at the regional education center.

Enrollment

More than 300 incoming, first-year undergraduates are expected to attend IU Fort Wayne this fall, joining 150 students entering into the professional programs. These students will take general education classes with their Purdue counterparts, as the former IPFW campus is now shared between IU Fort Wayne and Purdue Fort Wayne. IU Fort Wayne students can use all facilities and services on the campus, and student housing will contain both IU and Purdue students. However, IU undergrads will not be able to compete in NCAA Division I athletics. 

Junior- and senior-status “teach-out” students in the IU-degree-allied dental and medical imaging programs and the Purdue degree nursing students will remain enrolled at Purdue Fort Wayne but will be taught by IU Fort Wayne faculty. 

Faculty and staff

IU Fort Wayne employs 44 full-time undergraduate faculty and 25 staff members, in addition to 16 full-time graduate faculty and several staff employed by the schools of social work and medicine. The regional education center also relies on hundreds of part-time and volunteer didactic and clinical faculty and specialists to deliver the best educational opportunities possible to its students. 

Programs

Nursing, medical imaging and dentistry make up the bulk of the undergraduate majors at IU Fort Wayne. Dentistry has hygiene, technology and assistant clinician programs.

“The dental laboratory technology program is the only one in the state and one of only 15 accredited programs in the country,” said Ann Obergfell, a professor and associate vice chancellor of academic affairs and operations. “We have the only one that offers a bachelor’s degree. Dental laboratory technicians are the professionals who design and build oral appliances such as dentures.

“We’re unique in the IU system because we are a health-science-focused-only campus,” Obergfell said. 

Graduate programs

The Master of Social Work program has about 50 students, while IU School of Medicine at IU Fort Wayne enrolls about 90 students. Nursing offers a master of science degree as well.

Facilities

A new Student Success Center and computer lab are being built in the basement of Neff Hall. At the beginning of June, IU Fort Wayne Student Central completed construction on the first floor of Neff Hall. The Student Central office is the “one-stop shop” for all student services, including admissions, advising, bursar, financial aid, registrar and scholarships. 

New labs are being built for dentistry and medical imaging classes, while nursing’s wing will be reconfigured with new equipment. 

100 years of IU in Fort Wayne

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, or the former IPFW, was formed in 1964, and the trustees for IU and Purdue voted in June 2017 to realign and separate the two schools. However, IU’s presence in the city was established in 1917-18. Purdue came in 1941, according to Obergfell. The programs were housed in downtown Fort Wayne before farmland was purchased to build the current campus.

Neff Hall namesake 

IU Fort Wayne’s headquarters is housed in the building named after Floyd R. Neff, director of the IU Extension Center from 1918 to 1951. Neff was a founding father for IU’s presence in Fort Wayne. The building – formerly known simply as “Building A” – was dedicated to Neff in 1973.

Future

Future expansion for graduate and undergraduate education would include additional health science degrees and certification programs. 

“IU Fort Wayne is focused on health science programs,” said Dr. Fen-Lei Chang, chair of IU Fort Wayne Executive Committee and associate dean and director of the IU School of Medicine-Fort Wayne. “Some of our emphases include interprofessional education, simulation exercises, competency-based curriculum, advanced technology, including telemedicine, and extensive clinical learning opportunities at our regional health care facilities. Our smaller class sizes also facilitate close learning relationships between students and faculty members.” 

Upcoming events

• July 20: Orientation for returning sophomores. This event will involve the 150 students accepted in the IU professional programs for the 2018-19 academic year. These students will be among the first to graduate as IU Fort Wayne students.

• Aug. 14: IU Fort Wayne and Purdue Fort Wayne partnership picnic.

• Aug. 17: First-year student orientation.

• Aug. 20: First day of classes.

Social media

IU Fort Wayne is on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the @IUFortWayne handle.