Purdue University Fort Wayne

In 1941, Purdue University permanently established the Purdue University Center in downtown Fort Wayne to provide a site for students to begin their undergraduate studies prior to transferring to the West Lafayette main campus to complete their degree. Twenty-four years earlier, Indiana University also began offering courses in Fort Wayne. From 1958 to 1964, both universities began the process of combining the two extension centers into one joint university, known as Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). IPFW opened on September 17, 1964, following nearly two years of construction on a site northeast of downtown Fort Wayne. It awarded its first four-year degree in 1968. Eight years later, in 1976, IPFW absorbed the Fort Wayne Art Institute, an art school that had served the Fort Wayne community since 1897. In 1998, this academic unit was renamed the School of Fine and Performing Arts, later becoming the College of Visual and Performing Arts. After several years of talks between IPFW, Purdue, and IU, IPFW was divided into two universities on July 1, 2018: Purdue University Fort Wayne, and Indiana University Fort Wayne. The division moved all departments involved in health care to Indiana University Fort Wayne, and all others into Purdue University Fort Wayne. The Philosophy and Geosciences departments, along with academic programs in French and German, were closed on January 1, 2017. ==Campus==

, connecting the former McKay Family Farm with the Main Academic Campus. The Purdue Fort Wayne campus is , encompassing four main campus areas, including 40 buildings which cover . with the land donated between IPFW and Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. The former McKay Family Farm, located on the western bank of the St. Joseph River, is bounded by East Coliseum Boulevard to the south, St. Joseph River to the east, and development to the north and west. The Plex indoor soccer facility, Hefner Soccer Complex, Holiday Inn hotel, and Steel Dynamics Keith E. Busse Alumni Center are located on this portion of the campus, connected to the main academic campus via the pedestrian-only Ron Venderly Family Bridge. The Holiday Inn operates on property leased from the Indiana–Purdue Foundation, and is affiliated with Purdue Fort Wayne's Hospitality Management Program. ==Administration==

Purdue Fort Wayne is governed by the Purdue University Board of Trustees and the Purdue Fort Wayne Faculty Senate. The Indiana–Purdue Foundation owns most of the land that constitutes Purdue Fort Wayne and has entered into a 99-year lease with Allen County for additional land for $1. ==Academics==

Purdue University Fort Wayne is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers more than 200 academic options. The university's academic programs are divided into several colleges, divisions, and schools: The library has four floors, with the second floor being Learning Commons. It gives students and staff access to Walb Student Union and Hilliard Gates Sports Center through a glass-enclosed elevated walkway. The learning commons include librarian research consulting, the Writing Center, IT services, and places to study in groups or individually. The Helmke Library also provides spaces for students and faculty to connect with such as the Digital Arts and Humanities lab, group study rooms, instructional spaces, and meeting spaces. Academic journal Purdue University Fort Wayne publishes an academic journal entitled "Clio: A Journal of Literature, History, and the Philosophy of History." It is "a double-blind peer-reviewed international interdisciplinary journal, that publishes scholarly essays" three times per year. ==Athletics==

Purdue Fort Wayne student athletes, known as the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, compete as a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I school in the Horizon League, and in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association for men's volleyball. The university participates in 14 men's and women's sports. ==References==