CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Purdue University Global held its first graduation ceremony at the Rosemont Theater outside of Chicago, at which more than 9,000 online graduates were recognized for their academic accomplishments.
Purdue Global became Indiana’s newest public institution of higher education earlier this year, when it officially acquired Kaplan University, expanding Purdue’s land-grant mission by providing access to higher education for the tens of millions of working adults who started but did not complete a college degree and for others unable to attend a traditional college campus.
Andrew S. Rosen, Chairman and CEO of Kaplan, Inc., gave the commencement address, and Purdue President Mitch Daniels offered his commendations to the graduates at this historic ceremony. Both individuals were instrumental in creating this new institution, which places Purdue as one of the largest online degree-granting systems in public higher education.
Mr. Rosen’s message to the more than 650 graduates attending the ceremony in person focused on the importance of their individual academic accomplishments achieved at a time in their own lives, when most are also juggling full-time employment and family obligations.
"There is a long history in American higher education of incumbents resisting the expansion of access to higher education, but an equally remarkable history of the new institutions overriding that resistance and adding to the strength of our system," Andrew S. Rosen, Chairman and CEO of Kaplan, Inc., explained in his remarks to the assembled graduates. "There is something so fitting that this new university was forged from two institutions that were part of different waves of innovation in America’s higher education history, each of which overcame traditionalist skepticism by delivering consistent excellence over time. Our graduating class today is largely made up of people the traditional education system still often ignores."
Graduate and undergraduate degrees, including Doctoral degrees, were awarded from the Schools of Business and Information Technology, Education, Health Sciences, Nursing, Open College, Concord Law School and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Dr. Betty Vandenbosch, Chancellor of Purdue University Global, conferred the degrees.
About Purdue University Global
Purdue University Global is the extreme personalization online university. It offers a hyper-tailored path for each student to earn an associate, bachelor, master or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits, and other considerations no matter where they are in their life journey.
Purdue Global serves more than 30,000 students, most of whom earn their degree online. It also operates 14 locations in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Maryland, Maine, Missouri and Wisconsin. Purdue Global is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, and operates as a non-profit, public benefit university, affiliated with Purdue University, a top public research institution. Purdue’s flagship campus is in West Lafayette, IN. It also operates two regional campuses in Fort Wayne and Northwest, Indiana, as well as serving close to 6,000 science, engineering and technology students at the Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPU) Indianapolis campus.
Purdue Global is the world-class online university to offer an extremely personalized approach to earning a prestigious degree, providing students the competitive edge to advance in their chosen careers.
For more information, please visit www.PurdueGlobal.edu.
