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.