News Archive

Rachel Blakeman, ’13, had been named Director of the Community Research Institute (CRI) at Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne. She will begin in the new role on July 10. News of the new role for Blakeman, who most recently served as a project manager for Fort Wayne, was announced June 23.

The institute links the university’s academic expertise with the needs of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in northeast Indiana. The institute provides research and analytical services in the areas of socio-economic data, urban planning, municipal finance, public policy, and economic development.

Blakeman was a Program on Law and State Government Fellow in 2012, and the topic of that year’s symposium was “State Governments’ Role in the Economic Development of Advanced Manufacturing and Small Business.”

"CRI has a long tradition of providing useful, relevant data and information to public-sector and nonprofit clients and the general public in northeast Indiana,” said Blakeman. “I look forward to bringing my experience in local government and public policy to the university. Our corner of the state has both opportunities and challenges ahead. The CRI can help leaders understand how we got here and what may be coming."