Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, is the flagship
university of the six-campus Purdue University system.[3] Purdue was
founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana
General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a
donation of land and money from Lafayette businessman John Purdue to
establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture in his
name.[4] The first classes were held on September 16, 1874, with six
instructors and 39 students.[4]
The university was founded with the gift of $150,000 from John Purdue, a
Lafayette business leader and philanthropist, along with $50,000 from
Tippecanoe County, and 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land from Lafayette
residents in support of the project. In 1869, it was decided that the
new school would be built near the city of Lafayette and established as
Purdue University, in the name of the institution’s principal
benefactor.
The West Lafayette campus offers more than 200 majors for
undergraduates, over 70 master’s and doctoral programs, and professional
degrees in pharmacy and veterinary medicine. In addition, Purdue has 18
intercollegiate sports teams and more than 900 student organizations.
Today, Purdue is a member of the Big Ten Conference. Purdue enrolls the
second largest student body of any university in Indiana as well as the
fourth largest international student population of any university in the
United States
In 1865, the Indiana General Assembly voted to take advantage of the
Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862, and began plans to establish an
institution with a focus on agriculture and engineering. Communities
throughout the state offered their facilities and money to bid for the
location of the new college. Popular proposals included the addition of
an agriculture department at Indiana University or at what is now Butler
University. By 1869, Tippecanoe County’s offer included $150,000 from
Lafayette business leader and philanthropist John Purdue, $50,000 from
the county, and 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land from local residents. On
May 6, 1869, the General Assembly established the institution in
Tippecanoe County as Purdue University, in the name of the principal
benefactor. Classes began at Purdue on September 16, 1874, with six
instructors and 39 students.[4] Professor John S. Hougham was Purdue’s
first faculty member and served as acting president between the
administrations of presidents Shortridge and White.[4][6] A campus of
five buildings was completed by the end of 1874.[7] Purdue issued its
first degree, a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, in 1875 and admitted
its first female students that fall.[8][9]
Emerson E. White, the university’s president from 1876 to 1883, followed
a strict interpretation of the Morrill Act. Rather than emulate the
classical universities, White believed that Purdue should be an
“industrial college” and devote its resources toward providing a liberal
(or broad) education with an emphasis on science, technology, and
agriculture. He intended not only to prepare students for industrial
work, but also to prepare them to be good citizens and family
members.[10] Part of White’s plan to distinguish Purdue from classical
universities included a controversial attempt to ban fraternities. This
ban was ultimately overturned by the Indiana Supreme Court and led to
White’s resignation.[11] The next president, James H. Smart, is
remembered for his call in 1894 to rebuild the original Heavilon Hall
“one brick higher” after it had been destroyed by a fire.[12]
Purdue University, 1904
By the end of
the nineteenth century, the university was organized into schools of
agriculture, engineering (mechanical, civil, and electrical), and
pharmacy, and former U.S. President Benjamin Harrison was serving on the
board of trustees.[13] Purdue’s engineering laboratories included
testing facilities for a locomotive and a Corliss steam engine, one of
the most efficient engines of the time. The School of Agriculture was
sharing its research with farmers throughout the state with its
cooperative extension services and would undergo a period of growth over
the following two decades. Programs in education and home economics
were soon established, as well as a short-lived school of medicine. By
1925 Purdue had the largest undergraduate engineering enrollment in the
country, a status it would keep for half a century.[14]
President Edward C. Elliott oversaw a campus building program between
the world wars. Inventor, alumnus, and trustee David E. Ross coordinated
several fundraisers, donated lands to the university, and was
instrumental in establishing the Purdue Research Foundation. Ross’s
gifts and fundraisers supported such projects as Ross–Ade Stadium, the
Memorial Union, a civil engineering surveying camp, and Purdue
University Airport. Purdue Airport was the country’s first
university-owned airport and the site of the country’s first
college-credit flight training courses.[15] Amelia Earhart joined the
Purdue faculty in 1935 as a consultant for these flight courses and as a
counselor on women’s careers. In 1937, the Purdue Research Foundation
provided the funds for the Lockheed Electra 10-E that Earhart flew on
her attempted round-the-world flight.
University Hall
Every school and
department at the university was involved in some type of military
research or training during World War II.[16] During a project on radar
receivers, Purdue physicists discovered properties of germanium that led
to the making of the first transistor.[17][18] The Army and the Navy
conducted training programs at Purdue and more than 17,500 students,
staff, and alumni served in the armed forces.[19] Purdue set up about a
hundred centers throughout Indiana to train skilled workers for defense
industries.[20] As veterans returned to the university under the G.I.
Bill, first-year classes were taught at some of these sites to alleviate
the demand for campus space. Four of these sites are now
degree-granting regional campuses of the Purdue University system.
Purdue’s on-campus housing became racially desegregated in 1947,
following pressure from Purdue President Frederick L. Hovde and Indiana
Governor Ralph F. Gates.[21][22]
After the war, Hovde worked to expand the academic opportunities at the
university. A decade-long construction program emphasized science and
research. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the university established
programs in veterinary medicine, industrial management, and nursing, as
well as the first computer science department in the United States.[23]
Undergraduate humanities courses were strengthened, although Hovde only
reluctantly approved of graduate-level study in these areas. Purdue
awarded its first Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1960.[24] The programs in
liberal arts and education, formerly administered by the School of
Science, were soon split into their own school.
The official seal of Purdue was officially inaugurated during the
university’s centennial in 1969. Consisting of elements from emblems
that had been used unofficially for 73 years, the current seal depicts a
griffin, symbolizing strength, and a three-part shield, representing
education, research, and service.
In recent years, Purdue’s leaders have continued to support high-tech
research and international programs. In 1987, U.S. President Ronald
Reagan visited the West Lafayette campus to give a speech about the
influence of technological progress on job creation.[25] In the 1990s,
the university added more opportunities to study abroad and expanded its
course offerings in world languages and cultures.[26] The first
buildings of the Discovery Park interdisciplinary research center were
dedicated in 2004.[27] Purdue launched a Global Policy Research
Institute in 2010 to explore the potential impact of technical knowledge
on public policy decisions.[28]
An administrative unit of Purdue University Libraries, Purdue University
Press has its roots in the 1960 founding of Purdue University Studies
by President Frederick Hovde on a $12,000 grant from the Purdue Research
Foundation. This was the result of a committee appointed by President
Hovde after the Department of English lamented the lack of publishing
venues in the humanities. The first Editorial Board was headed by Robert
B. Ogle. William Whalen, Director of the Office of Publications, became
the part-time Director of Purdue University Studies. Diane Dubriel was
the first full-time employee. Verna Emery was Managing Editor from 1977
to 1990, succeeded by Margaret Hunt who served until 2008. Other
long-serving employees who helped build the Press’s reputation were
Carolyn McGrew (1990-2002), and Beverly Carrell (1988-1996), and Donna
VanLeer (1989-2008). On September 12, 1974, Purdue University Studies
became Purdue University Press. In June 1992 William Whalen retired and
David Sanders was appointed the first full-time Director of the Press
serving until 1996. Also in 1992 administrative responsibility for the
Press was transferred to the Dean of Libraries. Press Director Sanders
was succeeded by Tom Bacher (1997-2008) and Charles T. Wilkinson
(2008-2014). Under Sanders, Bacher, and Wilkinson the range of books
published by the Press grew to reflect the work from other Colleges at
Purdue University especially in the areas of agriculture, health, and
engineering. Purdue University Press publishes print and ebook monograph
series in a range of subject areas from literary and cultural studies
to the study of the human-animal bond. In 1993 Purdue University Press
was admitted to membership of the Association of American University
Presses. Purdue University Press publishes around 25 books a year and 20
learned journals in print, in print & online, and online only
formats in collaboration with Purdue University Libraries.
