The Purdue Alumnus

A study of the 50-year career of Edward Charles Elliott is a study of the development of American education. Elliott had experience as a high school and college teacher, school system superintendent, state college system chancellor, and president of a Big Ten university, all during a period of change in American attitudes toward public schooling and rapid growth in education institutions. As president of Purdue University from 1922 to 1945, Elliott steered the school through years of expansion in size, prestige, and service. Student enrollment, staff, course offerings, buildings, and campus acreage more than doubled; the total value of the physical plant increased more than five-fold, and the schools of pharmacy, home economics, and graduate study were opened under Elliott’s leadership. This book shows not only how Elliott helped make Purdue University what it is today, but documents educational trends from 1900 to 1950 and includes a lengthy bibliography of Elliott’s writings to assist the student of higher education.

In 1869 the State of Indiana founded Purdue University as Indiana’s land-grant university dedicated to agriculture and engineering. Today, Purdue stands as one of the elite research and education institutions in the world. Its halls have been home to Nobel Prize- and World Food Prize-winning faculty, record-setting astronauts, laureled humanists, researchers, and leaders of industry. Its thirteen colleges and schools span the sciences, liberal arts, management, and veterinary medicine, boasting more than 450,000 living alumni. Ever True: 150 Years of Giant Leaps at Purdue University by John Norberg captures the essence of this great university. In this volume, Norberg takes readers beyond the iconic redbrick walls of Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus to delve into the stories of the faculty, alumni, and leaders who make up this remarkable institution’s distinguished history. Written to commemorate Purdue University’s sesquicentennial celebrations, Ever True picks up where prior histories leave off, bringing the intricacies of historic tales to the forefront, updating the Purdue story to the present, and looking to the future.

Purdue at 150: A Visual History of Student Life by David M. Hovde, Adriana Harmeyer, Neal Harmeyer, and Sammie L. Morris tells Purdue’s story through rare images, artifacts, and words. Authors culled decades of student papers, from scrapbooks, yearbooks, letters, and newspapers to historical photographs and memorabilia preserved in the Purdue University Libraries Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections. Many of the images and artifacts included have never been published, presenting a unique history of the land-grant university from the student perspective. Purdue at 150 is organized by decade, presenting a scrapbook-like experience of viewing over 400 rare photographs, documents, and artifacts alongside critical contextual information. Each chapter provides a decadal historical sketch of Purdue University, offering insight into the institution’s unique culture while incorporating campus responses to major national events such as world wars and the Great Depression. Spotlight sections highlight Purdue firsts, including the first graduates of programs, the growth and development of the international student population at Purdue, the creation of significant student organizations, and the foundations of both old and new campus traditions. This curated journey through the personal experiences, spaces, and events of Purdue’s history not only celebrates major accomplishments and acknowledges the contributions Purdue has made to society, but it also explores some of the challenges and tragedies that shaped Indiana’s land-grant university. As a result, Purdue at 150 connects the identity and character of the University of 1869 to the University of 2019 and beyond, as told through the stories of its students. Running throughout this journey is the enduring vision of the land-grant institution and its impact on society, as seen through the material culture of Boilermakers from around the world.

In v.1-8 the final number consists of the Commencement annual.

Dave Ross (1871-1943) and George Ade (1866-1944) were trustees, distinguished alumni and benefactors of Purdue University. Their friendship began in 1922 and led to their giving land and money for the 1924 construction of Ross-Ade Stadium, now a 70,000 seat athletic landmark on the West Lafayette campus. Their life stories date to 1883 Purdue and involve their separate student experiences and eventual fame. Their lives crossed paths with U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Ford, Amelia Earhart, and Will Rogers among others. Gifts or ideas from Ross or Ade led to creation of the Purdue Research Foundation, Purdue Airport, Ross Hills Park, and Ross Engineering Camp. They helped Purdue Theater, the Harlequin Club and more. Ade, renowned author and playwright, did butt heads with Purdue administrators at times long ago, but remains a revered figure. Ross's ingenious mechanical inventions of gears still steer millions of motorized vehicles, boats, tractors, even golf carts the world over.