Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University "gryphn" Seal
Established 1868
School type Public, Land grant
President Martin C. Jischke
Location West Lafayette, IN, USA (Main Campus)
Enrollment 69,050
Faculty 14,052
Revenue US $1.12 billion
Endowment US $ 233 million
Campuses 18,370 acres (74 km²)
Sports 18 Division I NCAA teams
Mascots The Boilermaker Specials, Purdue Pete
Website www.purdue.edu

</div> </div> Purdue University is a state wide, public land-grant university system with its main campus located in West Lafayette, Indiana and other campuses in Calumet and Fort Wayne, among others. With 18,370 acres (74 km²) [1] (http://www.purdue.edu/oop/datadigest2002_03/pages/fastfacts/fast.htm) and over 69,000 students, Purdue is one of the largest university systems in the United States. It is particularly noted for its schools of engineering and agriculture, and as of recently, for its school of business. The state of Indiana's school of veterinary medicine is at Purdue. Purdue also has three campuses that are affiliated with Indiana University. Purdue's School of Technology also has seven satellite locations throughout Indiana.

Contents

History

Classes at Purdue began in 1874 but it was not founded by philanthropist John Purdue, as is commonly believed. The state of Indiana sought a location to establish its land-grant university, and John Purdue offered $150,000 and 100 acres (400,000 m&sup2) of land near the city of Lafayette. The university was named for him because of his generous donation. Legend has it that the Purdue gift carried the stipulation that all permanent university buildings must be brick or the entire 100 acres (400,000 m&sup2) reverts to John Purdue's heirs. This legend cannot be substantiated.

The University

Purdue's West Lafayette campus is one of the largest in the nation and the single largest university campus in the state of Indiana. Purdue University's traditional strengths have been in agriculture and engineering. Many of the university's other schools have gained repute over the years.

  • Krannert School of Management ranks 8th among public universities according to Business Week
  • Krannert School of Management's MBA was ranked 1st by regional corporate recruiters in the Wall Street Journal
  • Purdue's College of Engineering ranks 8th in the nation for its undergraduate business program
  • Purdue's industrial/manufacturing program ranks 2nd in the nation
  • The School of Industrial Engineering was 3rd by US News and World Report
  • Purdue's School of Technology is the largest producer of engineering technology graduates among public universities in the United States

Boilermakers

The Purdue Bell Tower stands 160 feet tall and is a modern representation of the orginal Heavilon Hall Tower that was lost to fire in 1895.
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The Purdue Bell Tower stands 160 feet tall and is a modern representation of the orginal Heavilon Hall Tower that was lost to fire in 1895.
Purdue's athletic teams are called the Purdue Boilermakers. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A, and in the Big Ten Conference. The team name purports to have come from a former practice of illegally employing industrial workers for its football team. Another story of the name's origin is that it was a derogatory name conferred by another Indiana school, Wabash College, in order to insult the engineering students for being 'rude mechanicals.'

Purdue's traditional rivals are Big Ten colleagues the Indiana University Hoosiers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from the Big East conference. Purdue and IU spar for the Old Oaken Bucket, an annual fight for supremacy. Purdue leads the series first played in 1925, 63-35-6.

Purdue and its alumni

Its alumni have a strong relationship with NASA and the space program. Purdue has produced 22 astronauts, including the first and last humans to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan respectively. Two alumni, "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee, were killed on the launchpad in the tragic accident that befell Apollo 1. Other alumni have flown space shuttles and boarded the Russian Mir space module.

Famous alumni

Alumni astronauts

Famous professors

External links and references

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