IU receives $5.5 million from endowment

INDIANAPOLIS -- Grants totaling $38.9 million will target Indiana's prolonged "brain drain" by encouraging graduates from the state's colleges to remain in the state, lured by the prospect of internships, degree programs and job opportunities.\nThe Lilly Endowment announced the grants Friday to Indiana's seven public universities and 31 private colleges -- money that is likely to benefit thousands of college students.\n"The ultimate goal is to produce people who can find good jobs in Indiana and to encourage students to not go running off, and help them be aware of what's available here," said Gretchen Wolfram, spokeswoman for the Indianapolis-based endowment.\nThe grants, which were awarded based on enrollment, range from $5.5 million for IU to $685,300 for St. Mary-of-the-Woods in Terre Haute. The endowment had asked colleges to make proposals last June for a three- to five-year period.\nOnly Earlham College, a private school, did not receive a grant.\nHans Giesecke, president of Independent Colleges of Indiana, said he believes the efforts will have a significant impact because research has shown that if a student has an internship with an organization or business, that student is much more likely to get a job there upon graduation.\n"This is going to address our students' top concern: 'What happens to me after I graduate?'" he said.\nAccording to state estimates, Indiana loses about 10,000 college graduates a year to out-of-state employers. And the 2000 census found that only 19.4 percent of Indiana residents older than 25 have college degrees.\nThe grant program is one of many Lilly has funded in the past few years toward the goal of strengthening Indiana's colleges. It awarded $246 million to education initiatives in 2002.\nIU President Adam W. Herbert said the endowment's continued focus on retaining Indiana's brain power "is an essential element of a statewide, comprehensive economic development strategy."\nAmong the initiatives funded by the grants:\n• IU will use its $5.5 million on all of its campuses to strengthen internship and job placement programs, hire project directors and business liaisons and help students acquire skills to start their own businesses.\n• Purdue University, with $3.5 million, intends to provide internships at Indiana startup companies, offer grants to startup companies, subsidize teams of interns and offer entrepreneurship training workshops.\n• Ivy Tech State College will spend $2.5 million to develop associate degree programs in biotechnology. Funds primarily will pay for faculty and laboratory equipment.\n• Ball State University will use its $1.5 million to create a business fellows program that will provide opportunities for students to work with faculty directly in a business or industry for a semester or summer project.