The Purdue board of trustees approved the 2014 medical plan options and premiums at its July 19 meeting. Benefit administrators will conduct Purdue 2014 benefit general sessions beginning in September.

IPFW benefit administrators held pre-enrollment open forums to communicate the changes. View PowerPoint presentation (PDF). Human Resources is excited to be able to deliver the information early in the process this year so that staff and faculty can make the best decision for themselves and their families. Please direct questions to Tina Grady at 481-6684 or Tina Sullivan at 481-6683.

The construction of three new bicycle parking areas to complement the bicycle parking built last summer is nearly complete. The parking pads, located adjacent to Kettler Hall, the Science Building, and the fieldhouse, will accommodate approximately 32 bicycles each.

These new areas are a continuing part of the overall plan to place concentrated areas of bicycle parking in strategic locations around campus and is a separate project from Sculpture with Purpose, which is part of the 50th anniversary celebration. The parking areas' placement will grant easy access to those buildings most used by bicyclists while maintaining the aesthetic of the campus with screened and landscaped installations. The vendor building the new parking areas will be installing the racks and landscaping this week and should have them ready to use sometime the week of September 2--6.

The new Modular Classroom Building (MCB) will enjoy its first semester of full use this fall and will house multiple groups. The 21,000 square-foot modular building was acquired by the university last year and was moved to its location adjacent to Parking Garage 3. It opened in April 2013 and accepted its first tenant, ELS Language Center. The MCB will soon house a new lab for the Center of Excellence in Systems Engineering. It also contains eight general classroom spaces, as well as a lounge and restrooms.

The university is currently finishing construction of new art studio spaces for use by the Department of Visual Communication (VCD) and Design and the Department of Fine Arts.  Fine Arts will have painting studios and a critique space and VCD will use another space for 2D design and drawing classes. Both spaces are expected to be in use shortly.