UNIVERSITY SENATE Fourth Meeting, Monday, 28 January 2013, 2:30 p.m. Room 302, Stewart Center AGENDA 1. Call to order Professor J. Paul Robinson 2. Approval of Minutes of 19 November 2012 3. Acceptance of Agenda 4. Remarks by the President President Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. 5. Remarks of the Chairperson Professor J. Paul Robinson 6. Résumé of Items Under Consideration by Various Standing Committees For Information Professor James S. Lehnert 7. Question Time 8. Senate Document 12-3 Change to Academic Regulations and For Discussion Procedures on Scholastic records- Duplicate Diplomas Professor Harold P. Kirkwood 9. Presentation by the Editor-in-Chief of The Exponent For Information Editor-in-Chief Matt Thomas 10. New Business 11. Memorial Resolutions 12. Adjournment 1
Transcript
UNIVERSITY SENATE Fourth Meeting, Monday, 28 January 2013, 2:30 p.m.
Room 302, Stewart Center AGENDA
1. Call to order Professor J. Paul Robinson
2.
Approval of Minutes of 19 November 2012
3.
Acceptance of Agenda
4.
Remarks by the President President Mitchell E. Daniels Jr.
5.
Remarks of the Chairperson Professor J. Paul Robinson
6.
Résumé of Items Under Consideration by Various Standing Committees
For InformationProfessor James S. Lehnert
7. Question Time
8. Senate Document 12-3 Change to Academic Regulations and For Discussion Procedures on Scholastic records- Duplicate Diplomas Professor Harold P. Kirkwood
9. Presentation by the Editor-in-Chief of The Exponent For Information
Editor-in-Chief Matt Thomas 10. New Business
11. Memorial Resolutions
12. Adjournment
1
UNIVERSITY SENATE Fourth Meeting, Monday, 28 January 2013, 2:30 p.m.
Room 302, Stewart Center
Present: President Mitchell E. Daniels Jr.; Professors J. Paul Robinson (Chairperson of the Senate, presiding), Pamela M. Aaltonen, Kirk D. Alter, Thomas W. Atkinson, Robert A. Barrett, Ebony M. Barrett-Kennedy, Saugata Basu, Stephen P. Beaudoin, Alan M. Beck, J. Stuart Bolton, Donald D. Buskirk, Joseph W. Camp Jr. (Secretary of Faculties and Parliamentarian),Bryce A. Carlson, Jean Christophe Rochet, Carlos M. Corvalan, Richard A. Cosier, Monica F. Cox, Marius D. Dadarlat, James R. Daniel, Beverly Davenport Sypher, Raymond A. DeCarlo, Jennifer L. Dennis, John P. Denton, Alphonso V. Diaz, Frank J. Dooley, Teresa T. Doughty, Hubert Dunsmore, Janusz Duzinkiewicz, Peggy A. Ertmer, Melissa E. Exum, Jose E. Figueroa-Lopez, Timothy B. Folta, Michael J. Fosmire, Jane R. Frankenberger, Kevin D. Gibson, April J. Ginther, Matthew D. Ginzel, Darryl E. Granger, John G. Graveel, James P. Greenan, Patricia Hart, Sally A. Hastings, Patricia Y. Hester, Michael A. Hill, William L. Hoover, J. Blake Hylton, Steven D. Johnson, Richard D. Johnson-Sheehan, Russell E. Jones, Patrick P. Kain, David L. Kemmerer, Harold P. Kirkwood, Stephen F. Konieczny, William G. Krug, Robert A. Kubat, Mark A. Lawley, James S. Lehnert, Morris Levy, Sandra S. Liu, Robert E. McMains, Craig L. Miller, Beau A. Moore, Rabindra N. Mukerjea, Douglas C. Nelson, James G. Ogg, David F. Pick, Zygmunt Pizlo, Darryl Ragland, Phillip L. Rawles, Jorge H. Rodriguez, Alysa C. Rollock, Charles S. Ross, Sandra S. Rossie, Marjorie Rush Hovde, Joseph W. Rust, Inigo Sanchez-Llama, David A. Sanders, Timothy D. Sands, Cleveland G. Shields, Glen G. Sparks, Paul W. Snyder, Keith M. Stantz, A. Charlene Sullivan, Harry R. Targ, Lynda J. Thoman, Marion T. Trout, Hong Holly Wang, Gabriela C. Weaver, A. Dale Whittaker, David Williams, G. Thomas Wilson, Steven R. Wilson, Fenggang Yang, Yuehwern Yih, Li Zhang.
Absent: Professors: Walid G. Aref, Danita M. Brown, Stephen R. Byrn, William A. Crossley, Levon T. Esters, Michael R. Gribskov, Peter M. Hirst, Christine A. Hrycyna, William J. Hutzel, Chad T. Jafvert, Cheng-Kok Koh, Charles M. Krousgrill, Eric P. Kvam, Michael Levine, Martin A. Lopez-de-Bertodano, Michael James Manfra, W. Gerry McCartney, Joanna C.R. Scott- Moncrieff, Thomas H. Siegmund, Mark J.T. Smith, Ronald Sterkenburg, Thomas J. Templin.
Guests: Richard Buckius, Spencer Deery, Luis Lewin, Mike Loizzo, Valerie O’ Brien, Chris Sigurdson, Jake Sohn, Matthew Thomas, Eric Weddle, Howie Zelaznik.
1. The meeting was called to order at 2:35 p.m. by Chairperson J. Paul Robinson.
2. The minutes of the meeting of 19 November 2012 were approved as distributed.
3. The agenda was accepted as distributed.
4. President Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. presented remarks to the Senate. In his first address to
the University Senate, President Daniels presented areas of focus for Purdue, including continuing work on the trimester initiative, reviewing and defining what institutional excellence means at Purdue and supporting entrepreneurialism and technology transfer. Other key areas were affordability and resource allocation, and measurement of student growth and the value Purdue brings to students' intellectual talent and critical learning. President Daniels stated that Purdue could make great progress in these areas but only with the involvement of faculty, staff and students.
5. Professor Robinson presented the report of the chairperson (see Appendix A).
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6. Professor James S. Lehnert presented, for information, the Résumé of Items under Consideration (ROI) by Various Standing Committees (see Appendix B). Each chair of the standing committees took the opportunity to describe the charge to her/his committee and the topics that were currently under consideration by their respective committees.
7. At “Question Time” President Daniels answered questions from the Senators. Senator
Joseph Rust asked the President about the appointment of the first University Legal Counsel in Purdue’s history. President Daniels explained that we were the only Big 10 University that did not have an official University Legal Counsel and it seemed like a common-sense step to appoint one. In addition, this will help reduce costs accrued when using outside legal counsel. When necessary, outside counsel will be retained to handle specific legal issues. President Daniels stated that one of the first tasks he has assigned to the University Counsel is to review the rules, regulations and policies of the University to determine which was are still needed, which need revision/modification and/or which are no longer needed to help run the University.
Professor Charlene Sullivan mentioned that we have all spent significant amounts of time and effort in the past creating strategic plans for the University and the Colleges/Schools. She asked President Daniels for his thoughts on strategic planning. President Daniels stated that he was unlikely to ask the various units of the University to undertake the type of extensive bottom-up exercises that have been performed in the past. In his career in government and industry he has been involved in these exercises and is dubious as to their value to the given institution. He believes that they can become too all-inclusive and too extensive and, in these times of limited resources, it may be impossible to do everything outlined and recommended in a strategic plan. He prefers to consider specific strategic issues that will move the University forward, such as the proposed increase in faculty members in the College of Engineering. He envisions focusing on these important strategic issues and expending energy and resources on these issues.
Professor Sally Hastings noted that in the most recent accreditation report from the Higher Learning Commission it was suggested that Purdue needs to deal with student outcomes assessment. The President has not had time to familiarize himself with this specific issue, but he said that it would benefit Purdue if we develop our own assessment instruments specific to the University and its students.
Professor Michael Hill asked the President for his thoughts on garnering adequate state funding for Purdue University. President Daniels believes that the legislators want to have a premier institution, such as Purdue University, in Indiana and will support it appropriately. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education views the state colleges and universities as a tiered system with the Ivy Tech system at the base and Purdue University and Indiana University in the top tier. He believes that the state leaders will desire to keep the flagship universities among the best in the nation.
An unidentified Senator asked the President how we can reconcile the broad educational experiences a student receives when in residence versus the more narrow, focused online educational experience. President Daniels stated that only one-in-five current college students fit the description of a traditional college student. Hence, he is excited by our ongoing experiments with the blended, hybrid and/or flipped education models as they may appeal to the students that are non-traditional in nature.
Professor David Williams noted that as Governor, President Daniels appointed an IU faculty member to their Board of Trustees (BoT). We at Purdue University would also
3
like to have a faculty member or emeritus faculty member on our Board of Trustees. Professor Williams asked the President for advice on how to achieve this goal. President Daniels mentioned that there are options for achieving this goal including working with the alumni groups as state statute requires a certain number of alumni be members of the BoT. In addition, he recommended that we work together to find ways to get the faculty voice heard more even before a faculty member is appointed to the BoT.
Professor William Hoover expressed concern about recently passed legislation that mandates a maximum of 120 credit hours for undergraduate degrees. He suggested that there are nuances such as students who want to minor in a subject or double major that will entail earning more than 120 credits hours in order to graduate. President Daniels explained that the legislation was not a mandate and that it was designed to be flexible. For example, any degree that requires more than 120 hours to meet accrediting requirements is automatically granted permission to do so. If other majors require more than 120 credit hours, the appropriate administrators merely need to meet with the ICHE and show cause to get a waiver. The primary intent of the legislation was to help reduce the ever-increasing cost of education by shortening the time the students spend in college.
8. Professor Harold Kirkwood, chair of the Educational Policy Committee (EPC), introduced
Senate Document 12-3, Change to Academic Regulations and Procedures on Scholastic Records- Duplicate Diplomas, for Discussion. He explained the rationale for the proposed change. The proposed change creates a process for students to request duplicate diplomas. The current policy only addresses replacements for lost or damaged diplomas. Various Senators raised questions about the need for making the change and/or asked if the new paragraph was redundant. Some also raised concerns about fraudulent copying of diplomas. Registrar Robert Kubat answered the concerns of the Senators to the satisfaction of most, if not all, members. For example, the proposal states that all duplicates would be marked as such “In plain sight” to help avoid fraudulent use of a duplicate as the original diploma. One Senator noted that students might not like to receive a diploma with “Duplicate” printed on it, but Registrar Kubat said that the word would be placed at the very bottom of the diploma. If the diploma is framed, there is a very good chance the frame will cover the word based on its placement at the bottom of the diploma.
9. Matthew Thomas, Editor-in-Chief of The Exponent presented a brief presentation to the
Senate. The staff of The Exponent wants to improve its interactions with the faculty and address concerns that some faculty members have had when they are quoted for stories.
10. There was no New Business.
11. Memorial resolutions had been received for Professors David Howard Bache, Dmitri N.
Breschinksy, James R. Carson, Li Fu Chen, Leslie Hafen, John V. Osmum, John Charles Rogler and Lester Hurlin Smith. To honor their departed colleagues, the Senate members stood for a moment of silence.
12. The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
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SAVE THE DATE Appendix A
Forum on Collaborating for Student Success at Purdue
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013 Jared Tippets, 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Fowler Hall, Stewart Center
Continuation of the Foundations of Excellence
Nov 19 Senate meeting
• This is part of what I said at the November meeting
Request for Public Documents “I request copies of all invoices identifying legal costs for Purdue University or (identify the source as PRF if PRF funds were used) for any legal issues resulting from administrative action against any staff or faculty member in the past 18 months from February 1, 2011 to the present time. This will not include legal costs related to property purchases, building costs, or costs associated with legal advice regarding hiring the next president. I understand that Purdue has engaged multiple firms for actions related to administrative action during the above period. I understand the university has hired at least the following firms: a firm in Italy, Stuart & Branigin, DeFur Vorgan LLP, Ice Miller, and any other firm engaged in any above action. This request includes any university college as well as the central administration. This request is for identified legal costs, whether yet paid in full or not. I request a detailed identification of the sources of funds used to pay each legal fee.”
81 days later
106 pages of numbers!!!
Material deleted …………………………………………………………………..…
Data represent billing from April 2011 t0 Dec 2012 $1,581,491.41
FEES$1,581,491.41LEGAL
Other documented lost university funds related to these issues
$330,000.00
$1,911,494.41
One administrator response to my recent J&C editorial
“The only way we are going to know whether we are "bloated" or not is to agree on definitions and be honest about reporting them.”
“…numbers that we can all agree on. Otherwise, we will continue to waste time and money arguing over bad data…something I'm sure you would not tolerate in the context of your research.”
Premise
Purdue University Publishes accurate data and we can rely on it
We make an honest attempt at reviewing those data
13.7 x 2763 = 37,853
39,697 students listed on the Fastfacts
....,...,\\"EST LAFA'lEITE
201 -2012
2011·12 s,tudents to Faculty Ratio
Faculty and staff Headcoun1Fall2011
Adjl.Ulct Facu[ty Managemen (Execu ·e & Supervisory Sta Administrative ana Professior.alSta Clerical and Servlce Sta Extenskln Edur.ators Gradua e student Staff Total
14 to 1
550 3,270 3,623
286 4,626
15.376
1etai/ of Faculty and Staff Headcount PURDUE WEST LAFAYE11E
>r Fall in Academic Years 2002-03 through 2011-12) u NIv E R s I T y DATA DIGEST 2011-2012
Facult Post Docs; Co1ntinuing and Limited Term Lecturers 1666 679 740 809 863 892 853 845 865 855Adjunet F acuI t 270 247 246 242 262 259 295 330 329 339
The mysterious “7% increase in administrators” Presented at the last senate meeting 513 To 550 = 37 = 7.2%
530 + 1480 + 1783 = 3793
Official Purdue produced Document on Administrative Bloat Purdue University
I PEDS Comparison of Administrative Staff to Peer I nstitutions*
(ordered by 2009 Administrative FTE)
1999 2005 2009
r--·
2010
. , 1999 to 201.0 % Change
Adm.per Adm.per Adm.per Adm. per Adm.per Adm./ Adm. per Adm./ Adm. per
100 1,000 100 1,000 100 1,000 100 1,000 Adm.per 1,000 Insti tuti on Adm. Faculty Students Adm. Facul ty Students Adm. Faculty Students Adm. Faculty Students 100 Facul ty Students
Ohi o State 7,255 206 171 6,309 196 137 12,320 335 248 12,860 341 253 65.7% 48.0%
Administrators- 2009-2849 2010-2797 a reduction of 52 administrators
+
+
etail of Faculty and Staff Headcount PURDUE DATA DIGEST \VESTLAFAYEr Fall in Academic Years 2002-03 through 2011-12- continued) U N I V E R S I T Y 2011-2012
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2008-09 Management (non-faculty)' NA NA NA N 513 517 Administrative Support/Operations Assistants 1,334 1,401 1,515 1,347 1,426 1,471 1,480 1,507 ProfessionalSupport/TechnicalAss1stants 1,878 1,934 1,926 1,805 1,774 1,780 1,783 1,763
Graduate Teaching Assistants 2,039 2,068 2,011 1,905 1,875 1,830 1,830 1,765 1,699 1,670Graduate Lecturers• NA NA NA 6 16 20 27 26 36 32Fellow Administered as Assistantship' NA NA NA NA NA 99 114 131 142 144Graduate Research Assistants 2,017 2,128 2, 231 2,351 2,342 2,331 2,361 2,401 2,527 2,539
Official Purdue produced Document on Administrative Bloat Purdue University
I PEDS Comparison of Administrative Staff to Peer I nstitutions*
(ordered by 2009 Administrative FTE)
1999 2005 2009
r--·
2010
. , 1999 to 201.0 % Change
Adm.per Adm.per Adm.per Adm. per Adm.per Adm./ Adm. per Adm./ Adm. per
100 1,000 100 1,000 100 1,000 100 1,000 Adm.per 1,000 Insti tuti on Adm. Faculty Students Adm. Facul ty Students Adm. Faculty Students Adm. Faculty Students 100 Facul ty Students
Ohi o State 7,255 206 171 6,309 196 137 12,320 335 248 12,860 341 253 65.7% 48.0%
Figure 6. Misrepresentation of image data. Cells from various fields have been juxtaposed in a single image, giving the impression that they were present in the same microscope field. A manipulated panel is shown at the top. The same panel, with the contrast adjusted by us to reveal the manipulation, is shown at the bottom.
Retracted Paper: Author charged with Fraud
Lecture 11: BMS 524: Introduction to Confocal Microscopy and Imaging
Ref: The Journal of Cell Biology Volume 166, Number 1, 2004
Appendix B
28 January 2013
TO: University Senate FROM: James Lehnert, Chairperson of the Steering Committee SUBJECT: Résumé of Items under Consideration by the Various Standing Committees
The primary responsibility of the Steering Committee is the organization and distribution of the agenda for each meeting of the University Senate. This committee also receives communications from any faculty member or group of members and directs such communications to appropriate committees or officers for attention.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE J. Paul Robinson, Chairperson of the Senate
The responsibility of the University Senate Advisory Committee is to advise the President and/or Board of Trustees on any matter of concern to the faculty.
The Nominating Committee is responsible for presenting nominations for the University Senate and University committees. In filling committee vacancies the Nominating Committee seeks to have all interested Senators serve on at least one committee.
EDUCATIONAL POLICY COMMITTEE Hal P. Kirkwood, Chairperson
1. GPA requirements after readmission 2. Transfer credit 3. Academic Year and Calendar Policy 4. Changes to Academic Regulations and Procedures - Add and Drop Deadline Policy, Grades and Grade Report Policy,
and Scholastic Records Policy, Degrees and Requirements Policy
FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE A. Charlene Sullivan, Chairperson [email protected]
1. On-line Course Evaluation 2. Clinical Faculty 3. Assessment of the results of the COACH Survey
UNIVERSITY RESOURCES POLICY COMMITTEE Richard Johnson-Sheehan, Chairperson [email protected]
1. Enrollment Trends 2. The use of LEED standards at Purdue
Chair of the Senate, J. Paul Robinson, [email protected] Vice Chair of the Senate, David Williams, [email protected] Secretary of the Senate, Joseph W. Camp, Jr., [email protected] University Senate Minutes; http://www.purdue.edu/senate
University Senate Document 12-3 28 January 2013
TO: The University Senate FROM: The Educational Policy Committee SUBJECT: Change to Academic Regulations and Procedures on Scholastic Records-
Duplicate Diplomas DISPOSITION: University Senate for Discussion REFERENCE: Purdue University Academic Regulations RATIONALE: Update regulations to allow students to request duplicate diplomas.
Current
Academic Regulations and Procedures
Scholastic Records
F. Replacement of Diplomas
(Board of Trustees minutes, July 10, 1975)
A replacement diploma shall be issued to the original holder, upon his/her affidavit, certifying to the loss or damage of the original diploma and upon payment of the cost of reproducing the diploma in its original format.
Proposed
Academic Regulations and Procedures Scholastic Records
F. Replacement of Diplomas (Board of Trustees minutes, July 10, 1975)
A replacement diploma shall be issued to the original holder, upon his/her affidavit, certifying to the loss or damage of the original diploma and upon payment of the cost of reproducing the diploma in its original format.
A duplicate diploma shall be issued to the original holder of the diploma upon payment of the cost of reproducing the duplicate diploma. The duplicate diploma will be marked as “Duplicate,” in plain sight.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Purdue University Senate Educational Policy Committee,
Harold P. Kirkwood Chair, Educational Policy Committee Purdue University Senate
Approving: Disapproving: Absent: Danita M. Brown James R. Daniel Jennifer L. Dennis Frank J. Dooley Teresa Taber Doughty Peggy A. Ertmer Evangeline Flick
Christine A. Hrycyna Harold P. Kirkwood Robert A. Kubat Martin A. Lopez-de-Bertodano Craig L. Miller Lindsey Payne Kyle Pendergast Teri Reed-Rhoads Thomas H. Siegmund A. Dale Whittaker
MemorialResolutionFor
Associate Professor of Russian Dmitri N. Breschinsky
Our longtime colleague Dr. Dmitri N. Breschinsky, Associate Professor of Russian, passed away suddenly on October 4, 2012, at St Elizabeth Central Hospital in Lafayette.
Professor Breschinsky was born in Beijing in 1938, the son of émigrés who had fled Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution. His family left Beijing in the following year, for the second time fleeing a Communist uprising. They settled in New York, where Dmitri attended Columbia College as an undergraduate; he later received his MA in Russian from Indiana University and his PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Vanderbilt.
He joined the Purdue faculty in 1972, and until the time of his passing taught Russian language, literature and culture in the School of Languages and Cultures. His primary areas of research were Old Russian literature as well as Russian authors of the nineteenth century.
As an avid lover of nature, Professor Breschinsky devoted much of his scholarship to interpreting and disseminating the views of the American naturalist and environmentalist Loren Eiseley, whom he introduced to the Russian public in a two-volume series of translations of Eiseley's writings. Professor Breschinsky also became an established Eiseley scholar, publishing articles on him in English, as well as numerous translations of his works.
He served for two terms as Chair of the Russian program, and was actively engaged in Russian Study Abroad, the Purdue Russian Club, and in the Beta Gamma chapter of Dobro Slovo, the National Slavic Honor Society. As a two-term member of the university Architecture and Landscape Design and Planning Committee, he successfully worked to rescue Purdue's Forestry Building from demolition. It still stands there on Marsteller Street.
A true bilingual, Professor Breschinsky felt at home in both languages and cultures, and on dozens of occasions he lent his expertise in the service of the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Information Agency, along with the Department of Energy and the Customs Service, acting as a simultaneous Russian/English/Russian interpreter in delegations, workshops, and ministry-level negotiations.
He is survived by his wife, Dr. Zinaida Breschinsky, Associate Professor of Russian in the School of Languages and Cultures; by his brother- and sister- in-law, Nicolas and Gail Zukov; and by his nephew Michael.
Dr. Li Fu Chen died June 24, 2012, at the age of 68, from complications of stomach cancer. Dr. Chen was born and raised in Taichung, Taiwan. He studied at National Chung Shin University in Taichung, receiving a bachelor's degree in Soil Science. He traveled in 1968 to the United States to pursue a Masters and PhD in Food Science at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. There he met his wife of 37 years, Vineta, of Beloit, Wisconsin. They married in 1975 and then relocated to West Lafayette where he first did post-doctoral research within the Chemical Engineering and Horticulture Departments. He then served as Group Leader of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering at Purdue from 1979 to 1982. He became a faculty member in the Department of Horticulture in 1981, then his appointment was transferred to Food Science when that department was formed in 1983.
During his 38 years at Purdue, Dr. Chen pioneered research in food bio- processing -- most notably developing a method to convert corn biomass to ethanol and other valuable co-products, in an environmentally safe, zero-waste process. Forever the scientist and creative inventor, he consistently found simple, elegant solutions to complex agricultural problems. Dr. Chen served as a consultant to food and pharmaceutical industries, and as an advisory for the Chinese government on utilization of agricultural products and byproducts, and on food safety training programs.
At home, Li Fu was a devoted father, caring for his daughter Julie, who has Rett Syndrome. He also gave unwaveringly support to his other daughter and son in their various goals and pursuits. He enjoyed spending time outdoors, gardening, and playing the violin. In every aspect of his life, he embodied curiosity and courageousness.
Li Fu is survived by his wife Vineta; his children, Stephanie Chen, Julie Chen, and Andrew Chen. He is also survived by his mother; four brothers, sister, and many other close relatives in Taiwan.
Professor Emeritus of Entomology February 22, 1918-October 12, 2012
John V. Osmun passed away at Westminster Village on October 13, 2012 at the age of 94. He was born and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts on February 22, 1918 to Albert V. and Lena Lattimer Osmun. He married Dorothy “Dottie” Morley Osmun on July 11, 1942, and later adopted a daughter. Dottie preceded him in death in 1999.
John earned a BS from Massachusetts State College (now the University of Massachusetts) in 1940, an MA in biology in 1942 from Amherst College, and a PhD in Entomology from the University of Illinois in 1956.
He joined the US Army in 1942 where he served as an Entomologist, and for 3 years was the Chief Entomologist in the First Army Command stationed in Governor's Island, NY. Following the war, he worked for Merck Chemical Company as a research entomologist developing and testing new insecticides. This brought him into contact with Bill Buettner who owned a pest control company and served as the executive secretary of the National Association of Exterminators and Fumigators (later the National Pest Management Association).
In 1948, he began his association with Purdue University as an Assistant Professor of Entomology thanks to Bill Buettner who knew J.J. Davis, head of the Department of Entomology at Purdue University. John was hired to develop a new curriculum in Urban and Industrial Pest Management, the first in the US, and teach the courses. He become department head after finishing his PhD in 1956 and served in that capacity until 1972. During his tenure as department head, the department experienced tremendous growth and laid the foundation for the department we have today.
He took leave from Purdue from 1972-74 to work in Washington, DC first with the USDA Cooperative States Research Service, then as director of operations in the Office of Pesticide Programs for EPA. He returned to Purdue in 1975 as Professor of Entomology and served as the coordinator of the Purdue pesticide programs until he retired in 1987 as Professor Emeritus.
Few can claim to have had so much impact on the department, the discipline of Entomology and the urban pest management industry. It was somehow fitting that the national pest management association held their annual meeting the same week as John’s funeral. He leaves a legacy in many areas, but his attention and dedication to students and alumni was exceptional.
Soon after he started at Purdue, a couple of his students, William Brehm and George Gilmore started B&G Equipment Company in 1949. Neither Bill nor George is with us
today, but their company is. B&G is a multi-million dollar operation that distributes novel spray technology throughout the world and is a leader in supplying specialized spray equipment for the Pest Control, Industrial and Consumer markets. B&G attributes their success to innovation, design, and quality of construction – attributes learned by William and George from John while at Purdue.
The early graduates in urban pest management started a fraternity for pest control professionals called Pi Chi Omega (a clever way to capture the acronym PCO for “Pest Control Operators” which is what pest technicians were called at the time) in 1950 under the guidance and mentorship of John. Today the fraternity is comprised of nearly 450 members from 38 states and 4 foreign countries. These members are some of the most distinguished, dedicated, and talented professionals in the pest control industry – something John was especially proud of.
John’s fondness for our alumni spawned our annual alumni recognition award known as the “John V. Osmun Professional Achievement Award in Entomology”. It was established in 1987 to honor John’s long career, professionalism, and great respect for entomology alumni. The week John passed away, we honored the 22nd recipient of the award.
During his career, he served on and led many national committees, task forces and commission associated with pesticide education and training. Some of these included the National Task Force on Pesticide Assessment, the EPA Task Group on Applicator Certification and Training, and the planning council of the National Pest Control Association. He was also the Project Leader for the EPA Grant on Pesticide Technician Training, and Chairman of the Commission on Pesticide Training and Education, which developed and implemented training and certification programs throughout the United States for private and commercial persons applying pesticides.
He was a member of the Entomological Society of America, a founder and member of the American Registry of Professional Entomologists (President, 1978), founder and member of Phi Chi Omega (President, 1958), the National Pest Control Association, and a Fellow of the Indiana Academy of Science.
He was elected Fellow, Entomological Society of America, named Professional of the Year by Pest Control Technology magazine in 1991, and received the University of Massachusetts Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award in 1995. He was an inaugural inductee into the Pest Control Hall of Fame in 1997.
John was an entomologist and a Purdue man who loved the University and his community. He was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Xi. He became a member of the local Rotary Club where he served on the Board of Directors and as President. He received the Sigma Delta Chi Best Teacher Award in 1969, and was an honorary member of Iron Key. He was a founder and member of Covenant Presbyterian Church in West Lafayette.
John is survived by his second wife, Dortha Parker Osmun, and his daughter, Jodi Pickart, but was preceded in death by a brother, Kenneth Osmun, and granddaughter, Jill Suzanne Pickart.
The Department of Entomology celebrated our centennial the week John passed away, and was reminded that his connections with the department/Purdue spanned more than half a century; he was the last living faculty member in Entomology with direct connections to the 1940s and 1950s. I would like to think John knew there would be alumni coming to town for the centennial celebration, and gave those who dropped by a precious last chance to say goodbye the day before he passed away.
I only got to know John these past dozen years. He became a friend and someone I always enjoyed spending time with. He had lots of stories, an incredible knowledge and memory about Purdue and the Department of Entomology, and a sincere interest in the future of the discipline and the department. John was an icon in Entomology and a unique figure in our history as a department. Many got to know John over the 64 years he was associated with Purdue. Many more will learn about his legacy in the future. John will be missed, but never forgotten.
Steve Yaninek December 5th, 2012
John Osmun 1918-2012 (adopted in part from the obituary published in the Journal and Courier on October 15th, 2012)
