WEST LAFAYETTE – Purdue University has begun an effort to increase its College of Engineering faculty by 30 percent over the next five years. The additional faculty will allow the college to increase enrollment and expand the breadth and depth of its research.

“This move will provide an economic benefit to the country as we educate more engineers with the Purdue credentials that are highly valued by industry, government and academia,” said acting President Timothy Sands.

Between 2006 and 2011, undergraduate enrollment was up 17 percent and graduate enrollment 28 percent. To meet that increase, Purdue wants to increase its faculty from 358 to 465. Funding for the additional faculty will come from the university’s provost’s office, revenue from a fee that engineering students pay, redirecting funds within the college and from fund-raising among alumni and friends of the college.