INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A summer of dramatic change will finally give way to a full semester of learning in downtown Indianapolis, starting next week. The campus that was IUPUI for more than 50 years is now two distinct schools: Purdue University in Indianapolis and IU Indianapolis.

Purdue will be the first of the two to start fall classes on Monday. Ahead of the first lectures, WISH-TV’s Daybreak talked to one of the school’s top academic administrators, Senior Vice Provost David Umulis.

“Monday, we’re ready to go,” he told News 8.

Umulis echoed a message that other Purdue leaders take pains to underscore whenever they explain their Indianapolis vision; they say the ‘in’ in the name of the school is significant. They feel ‘Purdue in Indianapolis’ sends a different message than ‘Purdue-Indianapolis’.

“This is one Purdue. Purdue University’s location in Indianapolis is an extension of the West Lafayette campus,” Umulis said. “The same academic rigor, the same programs, departments are combined, students walk across the same graduation stage, and get the same diploma.”

We asked Umulis about the distinctions between the communities and the strengths each offers.

“Indianapolis brings unique opportunities that we add value to overall Purdue University,” he says. “There’s a lot of things that are unique to Indianapolis that we can’t replicate and do in West Lafayette – and vice versa. For instance, the motorsports program… (This is) the best place in the world to do it.”

Another upside to downtown: the proximity to corporate partners and the lifetime learners that can benefit from them.

“Oh, absolutely! One of the things that we’re launching and bringing many new programs is in the master’s degree space as well. So you have access to the campus here if you live in the city, but you also have these Master’s programs for your own professional advancement, whatever field that you’re in,” he explained. “What it brings that we didn’t have at scale before was access to companies and partners and internships throughout the city… We have motorsports with Dallara. We have executive education at High Alpha over in the Bottleworks district. And we have a lot more things coming in partnership with Eli Lilly.”