Ivy Tech Community College president Sue Ellspermann signs a partnership with Purdue University to create the Green 2 Gold program.
Mark Webber | The Republic
The (Columbus) Republic
A first-of-its kind program for Indiana that will begin here in Columbus next year is an excellent example of how innovation in education is providing new horizons for local students and nurturing talent in our community.
The Republic’s Mark Webber reported on the Green 2 Gold partnership between Purdue University and Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus that was announced last week.
In the last generation or two, educators have emphasized STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — to help students pursue fields that will be in demand for many years to come. And of course, Purdue is the gold standard in higher education when it comes to STEM.
The Green 2 Gold program will begin next year with a cohort of 20 students who will be recruited to begin their engineering education at Ivy Tech. If they earn an associate’s degree within two years, they will be directly admitted to Purdue’s College of Engineering.
This program is innovative, yet it’s also in keeping with both schools’ traditional missions, especially Ivy Tech’s traditional role as a provider of locally focused vocational education.
“What we are really trying to do is address a great challenge at a time when the state and nation need many more engineers,” said Arvind Raman, dean of Purdue’s College of Engineering.
As Webber wrote, “During their time at both Ivy Tech and Purdue, the Green 2 Gold students will be given opportunities to work in internships and co-op programs with private companies,” said Sue Ellspermann, president of Ivy Tech Community College.
“‘We know the statistics are overwhelming that when a student is engaged in an internship or co-op experience, the vast majority stay with those employers,’ Ellspermann said. ‘They become ever more ingrained into our communities, so the sooner we can have that future engineer begin working at Cummins or any of our esteemed companies, we have a much higher probability of keeping that talent.’”
And indeed, Columbus-based Cummins is fully on board with the program. Steve Ferdon, Cummins’ director of material science and engineering and husband of Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon, is a talent recruiter for the company.
He told Webber the Green 2 Gold program is “designed specifically to train and develop students along an academic track that will lead to real world, locally available career paths. … It addresses our urgent need as an employer for well-prepared, work-ready engineers.”
Extending novel and relevant opportunities such as this to students who likely want to make their careers here also benefits our community. As Ellspermann noted, 93% of Ivy Tech grads stay in the local area. And the ingenuity of engineers whose hearts are in their community can pay incalculable future dividends when their spark of genius leads to inspiration, invention and innovation.
We applaud leaders at Ivy Tech, Purdue and Cummins for launching a promising program.
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