Daniels agrees to stick around Purdue as PRF chairman
Move puts Mitch Daniels in position to oversee development at Discovery Park District and a new campus in Indy as IUPUI splits. Plus, Tim’s Picks: Amy LeVere, Rick Mummey, Coldy Styles and more
Thanks to the Unitarian Universalist Church's Holiday Art Fair, sponsor of today’s Based in Lafayette edition. Visit the fair 5-9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. Purchase fine art – pottery, jewelry, ornaments, paintings, glassware, wood, fiber and more — from local artists. Enjoy live music, baked goods and gourmet food while you shop. More information and previews of artists on the fair’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UUArtFair
DANIELS AGREES TO STAY AS PRF CHAIRMAN AFTER STEPPING DOWN AS PRESIDENT
Mitch Daniels will stick around the university as chairman of the Purdue Research Foundation board when he steps down as Purdue president at the end of 2022, the university announced Wednesday.
According to a university release, PRF agreed to that arrangement by changing its bylaws Wednesday, at request of Mung Chiang, Purdue’s incoming president. Daniels will serve in a voluntary role, without pay.
PRF, a private nonprofit arm of Purdue, oversees development of Purdue's Discovery Park District, a booming live-work-play development west of campus and something Daniels has pressed forward during his 10-year presidency. PRF also deals with patents generated on campus, real estate deals and more, all in support of Purdue.
Daniels also will serve as liaison with state government as Purdue and IU work to split IUPUI and Purdue sets up its own campus in Indianapolis, something scheduled to happen in time for the 2023-24 academic year, according to the university.
“On one hand, I believe firmly that a person leaving a job like mine should leave completely, making certain never to intrude on his successor’s activities,” Daniels said in a university release. “I’ll be careful to observe that rule. But given what Purdue means to me and the strong urging of the president-elect and the trustees, I’m willing to extend for a time, as a volunteer, my PRF participation. Now and always, I’ll do anything Purdue asks of me.”
Chiang said in a university release that he’d approached PRF about the idea in October. Chiang was named the next president in June. Chiang said he plans to make Daniels PRF chairman – a role that typically goes to the Purdue president – when he starts on Jan. 1.
“As I continue past the midpoint of the six-month transition period, I am increasingly convinced, through the listening tour across a wide range of important topics, that I would like to dedicate the first year of my service as the president to the students, faculty and staff on our campuses,” Chiang said in Wednesday’s university release. “In the meantime, there are several other projects of significance and urgency, mostly in the purview of PRF.”
How long Daniels would stay in the role wasn’t clear. A university release mentioned that Daniels would remain for the foreseeable future.
Since announcing last summer that he would step aside as president, Daniels has been hinting at major announcements coming for Discovery Park District. Just a week ago, during groundbreaking for a neighborhood hospital by Ascension St. Vincent, Daniels hinted that the university was in talks about other, complementary health care interests for the micro-hospital.
“There’s every possibility that what you heard today is just the start,” Daniels said at the time.
By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette
Five choice ideas for your week in Lafayette/West Lafayette.
The Wizards of Winter, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, Long Center for the Performing Arts, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette — Don’t know what gift to get your favorite little progressive rocker for Christmas? Tickets for The Wizards of Winter will make them turn off their worn copy of “In the Court of the Crimson King” and go rushing to downtown Lafayette for this unique holiday concert. The Wizards offer a set of original, electric guitar-shredding holiday songs and instrumentals — along with some takes on Christmas classics. The show is bigger than Santa’s sack with several singers switching off while backed by a band that includes former members of The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Blue Oyster Cult, Trixter, Rainbow and Def Leppard. Bassist Greg Smith can be seen as part of Alice Cooper’s band when it appeared in “Wayne’s World,” and Smith has kept the low-end pumping for the likes of Billy Joel, Dokken and Alan Parsons. $14.50-$39. Tickets.
Mumfest, 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, The Arts Federation, 638 North St., Lafayette — Thousands knew his voice as a longtime on-air talent for WKHY and WAZY in the 1980s and ‘90s. After signing off from the airwaves, Rick Mummey stayed entrenched in the Lafayette scene as a supporter and performer, most notably as a vocalist and electric clarinet (!) player for eclectic music vets Dr. Fine & D’Gleet. Mummey recently had major back surgery and hospital bills have piled up. In classic Lafayette music scene fashion, Mummey’s musician friends joined forces to create Mumfest — a night of live music and good cheer, two of Mummey’s specialties. Dr. Fine & D’Gleet will perform along with Frank Muffin, The Brickler-Klein Project, The Velocity District and The Scratchthing. Mummey has been a purveyor of music for decades and it’s only fitting that music will help with his healing. $15. Tickets.
4 the Culture, hip-hop showcase, 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, Rat Pak Venue, 102 N. Third St., Lafayette — Indiana hip-hop will get the opportunity to captivate downtown Lafayette when 4 the Culture welcomes four emcees to share the spotlight and mic. Coldy Styles, AAND (An Artist Named Damon), Justin L. Mack and Black Shinobi will be joined by Rat Pak’s own DJ Sunn. $10. Tickets.
Amy LaVere with Will Sexton, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, People’s Brewing Company, 2006 N. Ninth St., Lafayette — One of the first live performers at People’s Brewing Company returns to the Lafayette brewery almost 10 years later. Amy LaVere will bring back her upright bass and tremendous Americana music for a hot show to help live music fans endure these cold temperatures. A Memphis, Tennessee, mainstay, LaVere’s talents are not just for brewery stages. She has appeared in several films and television shows including the Memphis-centric “Black Snake Moan” and “Walk the Line,” which she portrayed Wanda Jackson in a Grand Ole Opry scene. $12 in advance, $15 day of show. Tickets. SOLD OUT.
Greg Rekus with CoyoteBear, 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, The Spot Tavern, 409 S. Fourth St., Lafayette — Acoustic punk Greg Rekus returns to Lafayette to spread the love of “Death & Taxes,” the Canadian singer-songwriter’s latest album. With or without his band, The Inside Job, Rekus brings the energy wherever he goes along with powerful, politically laced lyrics. Lafayette’s own CoyoteBear opens.
Thanks, again, to the Unitarian Universalist Church's Holiday Art Fair, sponsor of today’s Based in Lafayette edition.
Tips or story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com. Also on Twitter and Instagram.
Give me a call re sponsor to advertise