Purdue University Logo
Archives and Special Collections Timelines

Purdue University Historical Timeline

A Visual History of Purdue University.

Tags
Select tags

July 2, 1862

Abraham Lincoln

President Abraham Lincoln signs the Morrill Act (Land Grant Act).

The Morrill Act granted each state public land, stipulating that the proceeds from the sale of this land were to be invested for use in supporting and maintaining at least one college of agriculture and the mechanical arts.

1865

Indiana State Capitol, 1865
The Indiana General Assembly votes to participate in the Morrill Act.

December 1869

John Purdue
The Board of Trustees officially names the University.
Purdue University was named for John Purdue due to his generous donation of cash and land.

May 6, 1869

The Indiana General Assembly Passes a Bill Establishing a School in Tippecanoe County, thus Founding Purdue University.

1871

Ladies Hall

Ground Breaks on the First Campus Buildings

First buildings included the Boiler and Gas House, the Military Hall and Gymnasium, Ladies Hall, Purdue Hall, and the Pharmacy Building - all completed by 1874. None remain today.

August 1872

The image is a head-and-shoulder portrait of Purdue President Richard Owen. He is wearing a suit and tie. His hair is gray.

The University hires Richard Owen as its first president.

As campus had not been built yet, Owen never had an official office space. He was well regarded in the fields of geology, chemistry and medicine, and had a solid reputation as a teacher, philosopher, and Civil War soldier. Through his belief in hard work and invention, Owen brought the Morrill Act's idea of an "Indiana Agricultural College" to reality. Owen served as University President for almost two years and resigned two months before classes were scheduled to start.

1874

Abraham C. Shortridge is hired as the second president of Purdue.

President Shortridge instituted a strict code of conduct, which caused conflict between the administration and the students. Students were required to keep their rooms in good order, could not keep firearms in the Dormitory, and could not smoke on campus. Those who lived on campus could not visit Lafayette in the evening without permission and were expressly forbidden to visit establishments that sold intoxicating liquors.

1874

The schools of Agriculture, Engineering, and Science are established. Liberal arts courses are offered through the School of Science.

January 28, 1874

Purdue's first fraternity, Sigma Chi, is unofficially formed.
The Delta Delta Chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, was formed on campus with seven members. Fraternities and other secret societies were strongly discouraged by Purdue and other universities at the time. The faculty disapproved, and their disapproval was codified in the Annual Circular of 1876-77: “A regulation of the University forbids the organization of any society by the students, except by the consent of the Faculty.”

1875

John S. Hougham
John S. Hougham becomes Interim President following the departure of President Shortridge.

1875

Women are admitted to Purdue for the first time during the fall semester.

Eight women were admitted to the preparatory department, while one student entered the university. One year later, in the fall of 1876, six women were admitted into the university. Those who did not live locally were given rooms in the Boarding House, which became known as Ladies Hall.

May 1875

The first commencement is held for John Bradford Harper, Purdue's first graduate.
Purdue's only graduate in 1875, John Bradford Harper, earned a Chemistry degree and later became a railroad and civil engineer. (Perhaps Purdue’s first true boilermaker!) He is remembered for building canals and dams in the southwest.

June 1875

Sarah D. Allen Oren Haynes, a portrait

Purdue hires its first female faculty member, Sarah Oren, initially holding the title of “female teacher of the university.”

This title was soon rectified when she was appointed as Assistant Professor of Mathematics. In addition to being Indiana’s first woman state librarian and Purdue’s first female faculty member, Oren was also the first faculty member, male or female, to receive a board of trustee’s citation in appreciation of her work for the university.

1876

President Emerson E. White
Emerson E. White is hired as University President.
Under his leadership, Purdue was set firmly on its course of emphasis on agricultural and "mechanic arts" as mandated by the Morrill Act. During his tenure as president, White attempted to abolish fraternities at Purdue. The issue turned into a legal and political matter, which eventually led to his 1883 resignation. His successor, James H. Smart, initiated a method for formally recognizing Purdue's fraternities.

September 12, 1876

John Purdue, the University's namesake, dies.
In keeping with his wish, the University interred his remains on Memorial Mall, in a grave just east of University Hall - which was under construction at the time.

1877

University Hall
University Hall, known as the Main Building, is completed.
In 1875, the Indiana legislature intervened in Purdue operations, pointing to the disorganization of the university, its poor record keeping, and high construction costs. A new Board of Trustees, comprising representatives from across the state rather than simply Tippecanoe County, halted plans on University Hall. Construction was reinitialized the following year once plans were reviewed and clarified. University Hall, then known as the Main Building, was completed in 1877. The new structure quickly became the center of most Purdue activities. Today, it remains Purdue's oldest standing building.

1877

The Department of Veterinary Science is established as a part of the School of Agriculture.

1878

Eulora M. Jennings, a portrait

Eulora Miller Jennings becomes the first woman to graduate from Purdue earning a Bachelor of Science degree.

During her final year at the University, Miller was a founding member of the Purdue Philalethean Literary Society. After graduating, she became Purdue’s second university librarian. In 1887, she achieved yet another first as one of twenty students to enroll in the initial year of Melvil Dewey’s library instruction program at Columbia College (now University) in New York, the first professional librarian training program in the world.

1879

Engineering Students, School of Mechanics
The School of Mechanics is established.

September 4, 1879

The first telephone is installed on campus.

1882

W. F. M. Goss

Department Head W. F. M. Goss Establishes the School of Mechanical Engineering.

The same year he established the School of Mechanical Engineering, Gross also started construction of Purdue's first Mechanical Engineering lab in what was then the Pharmacy Building, or "Building No. 2." Research was conducted in this first lab by five undergraduate students on mechanical bench work. Goss went on to become the first dean of the Purdue Schools of Engineering but the Pharmacy Building and his first workshop were demolished in 1959.

1883

James H. Smart
James H. Smart is hired as University President, replacing Emerson White.
Purdue's fourth president, James H. Smart was a self-educated New Englander. Smart is known in Purdue history as "the engineers' president." The schools of civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering, as well as the school of pharmacy and pharmacal sciences were established during his tenure. It was during his administration that Old Gold and Black were established as the school colors.

1885

Mechanics Hall
Mechanics Hall is completed.
This building in now known as the Science Hall Building, and has also been named the Mechanics Laboratory.

1886

Heavilon Hall (Old)
The Purdue University Marching Band is established.
The band started off as a part of the Purdue Student Army Training Corps and included a drum and bugle corps. Everything from their uniforms to the necessary music had to be bought by each individual member of the band.

1887

The School of Domestic Economy is established.

Under the direction of Emma P. Ewing, this school was open only to young women. Classes dealt with home making, cooking, bread baking, and household management. Numerous practice sessions on topics of baking, cooking, etiquette, and entertaining were embedded within the coursework.

1887

The School of Civil Engineering is officially organized.

October 9, 1887

Purdue football team, 1887
Old gold and black are chosen as the colors of Purdue's football team.
In 1887, the student athletic association voted to have a football team. Only two members of the team had ever seen a game. The team paid for its own uniforms, the salary for the coach, and transportation. An athletic field did not exist on campus, and the team chose to practice in front of the Dormitory. They had one week of practice before the first and only game of the season against the more experienced team from Butler University. The day before the big event, a self-appointed committee of faculty and students met in University Hall after the team members realized that Purdue did not have distinctive team colors. Football captain John Breckenridge Burris suggested using orange and black, the colors worn by Princeton’s successful teams, but in the interest of being distinctive Old Gold was substituted for orange. The university had chosen its iconic colors. The game against Butler ended in an unceremonious 48-6 defeat; the results telegrammed to President Smart simply stated, “It’s a Waterloo.” No team formed for the 1888 season.

1888

Civil Engineering Students

The Agricultural Experiment Station is Founded Using Hatch Act Funds.

The U.S. Hatch Act of 1887 pledged federal funds to establish Agricultural Experiment Stations on land grant campuses. The following year Purdue created its own Experiment Station and expanded the experimental crop testing fields on campus. Undergraduate students conducted studies using this facility and published research in various pamphlets and talks to farmers. The Experiment Station still stands on campus as the Agricultural Administration Building.

1888

Slattery Alternator
In recognition of the importance of electricity in the modern world, the School of Electrical Engineering is officially organized.
Purdue moved quickly to establish a leading role in the study of electricity, and by the end of the decade a new building devoted to the study of electricity was completed. The Electrical Engineering Laboratory contained rooms for batteries, dynamos, a magnetism room, laboratories, and electrical testing rooms. George T. Ashley, class of 1891, would be the first to receive a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering in Electrical Engineering. (That degree designation continued until 1896.)

1888

Purdue's first Honorary degrees are awarded to Alembert W. Brayton (Honorary Doctor of Science) and John N. Hurty (Honorary Doctor of Pharmacy).

1889

Purdue's yearbook, the Debris, puts out its first issue.
An enduring publication that ran from 1889 to 2008 was the Debris Yearbook, produced annually by the senior class. Funding for the yearbook came from subscriptions, student organizations, and advertising. Throughout its existence, the Debris shared class histories, personal stories, cartoons, school rivalries, and social activities. Pulitzer Prize winners Booth Tarkington and John T. McCutcheon contributed regularly during the formative years of the Debris. The yearbooks document otherwise unrecorded histories of the university from the student perspective.

December 15, 1889

The first issue of the student newspaper, The Exponent, is published, with women students playing significant editorial role.

The original student newspaper of the 1870s, The Purdue, had a short life but was revived in the fall of 1882 as a monthly publication. This new Purdue was a combined effort of the Irving, Philalethean, and Carlyle literary societies. The content involved short literary, scientific, and engineering pieces; poems; and campus news from departments, clubs, and literary societies. The publication continued until the spring of 1888, when tensions between the faculty and student staff led to its demise. The Purdue Exponent followed in December, 1889, as a monthly publication. Much like the earlier student news publications, the first issue contained features concerning news, sports, the literary societies, departmental activities, and essays. Agnes Eugenie Vater served as the founding editor, while Helen Golden and Laura Burton took on the roles of exchange editor and local editor, respectively. The Exponent has been a key source in learning about undergraduate research involvement. It became independent of the university in 1965 and is now owned by the not-for-profit Purdue Student Publishing Foundation.

 

1890

First Seal
Purdue's first seal is created by book designer, typographer, and Purdue graduate Bruce Rogers.
The seal was never officially recognized by the University and it would take several more designs before Purdue officially adopted a seal.

1890

Head and shoulders portrait of young man in a suit.

George W. Lacey becomes the first African American graduate of Purdue.

George W. Lacy, or Lacey, completed a degree in pharmacy, becoming the first African American graduate of Purdue. At the time, Pharmacy was an academic organization separate from the university, and as a result, Lacy’s success is sometimes overlooked.

1891

Schenectady Locomotive

An 85,000 Pound Schenectady No. 1 Locomotive Engine is Purchased.

The University’s connection to the railroad industry was affirmed with the construction of the Engineering Laboratory in 1890-91. Among the many engines, testing machines, and other apparatus was an 85,000-pound Schenectady locomotive. The massive engine was placed inside the new laboratory and mounted on supporting wheels, hence its performance could be studied while the engine was going at various speeds, loads, and conditions. Testing became an integral aspect of university education and undergraduate student research. Later in the decade, that original Schenectady locomotive was replaced by the Schenectady No. 2.

1891

Guilford Lawson Spencer earns the first doctorate (Doctorate of Science) from Purdue University.
Spencer's dissertation studied the consumption of tea in the United States and the ways in which commerically avaliable tea was tampered with in order to cheat consumers.

1891

Purdue football team, 1892
The "Boilermakers" title is adopted for the Purdue sports teams.
On October 24, 1891, the Purdue football team played its season opener against Wabash College. Over the course of the game, Purdue was accused of multiple underhanded tactics, including the selection of recently graduated Purdue team captain Robert Allen Lackey as referee and the use of iron cleats on their shoes. Ultimately eight Wabash players left the field due to injuries, some caused by Purdue’s cleats, and Purdue won the 40-minute-long game 44 to 0. Afterwards, the Crawfordsville newspaper reported that the game had been a “slaughter of the innocents” and Wabash had been “snowed completely under by the burly boiler makers from Purdue.” Though intended as an insult, Purdue embraced the nickname and the team has ever since been known as Boilermakers.

1894

Tank Scrap
The Purdue "Tank Scrap" tradition is born.
In late 1894, a fifty-foot-high water tank was installed on North Salisbury Street. The tank quickly became a target of graffiti artists, including students, who painted their class graduation year on the tank. Painting the tank quickly became a subject of inter-class fighting; these combative physical battles lead to the establishment of an annual “scrap” between male freshmen and sophomores to determine which graduation class year would appear on the tank. At its height, up to 10,000 people would gather to watch the spectacle. In some years, the brawl lasted a couple of hours and in others, as little as twenty-five minutes. Once the upperclassmen declared the winning class, the victors were clear to emblazon the tank with their graduation year. The winning class then painted the losing side, decorated them with corn stalks, and marched them chained and defeated into downtown Lafayette. In 1901, weapons and the use of fists were officially banned.

1894

Modified Seal
Bruce Rogers modifies his original 1890 seal.
The University never officially adopted either version.

1894

David Robert Lewis of Greensburg, Indiana, completes his Bachelor’s Degree, becoming the first African American graduate of a traditional four-year program at Purdue.

David Robert Lewis completes his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering. His senior thesis is entitled, "Highway Road Construction."

1894

Glee club
Purdue's Varsity Glee Club is formed.

January 19, 1894

Heavilon Hall (Old)
Purdue dedicates its new Mechanical Engineering Building, commonly known as Heavilon Hall, in honor of benefactor Amos Heavilon.
The new state-of-the-art building had been constructed around the existing Mechanical Laboratory and contained a foundry, wood shop, engineering laboratory, machine room, forge room, offices, classrooms, a museum, and a boiler room. It would house the Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Practical Mechanics Departments.

January 23, 1894

Heavilon Hall (Old)
The newly built Heavilon Hall is destroyed in a fire.
Four days after its dedication, a fire broke out in the boiler room. Students, staff, faculty, and neighbors ran into the building and removed whatever machinery and furniture they could. By the time fire brigades arrived, much of the three-story building was beyond saving. Only a portion of the building containing the foundry and wood shops was left standing.
The following morning President Smart addressed the student body:
“We are looking this morning to the future, not to the past. I am thankful that no one was injured…But I tell you young men that tower shall go up one brick higher.” 
The rebuilt Heavilon Hall tower was built nine bricks higher (rather than one).

1895

Lytle's Seal
Abby Phelps Lytle, head of the Purdue Art Department, designs a new, official seal for the University.
Lytle's design incorporated three motifs still seen in the seal today: the shield, the griffin, and the Uncial typeface.

1895

Heavilon Hall (Old)

Heavilon Hall is rebuilt.

Its new height was inspired by President Smart's "one brick higher" address.

1896

The Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, later known as the Western Conference and presently as the Big Ten, is established under the leadership of Purdue President James Smart.
Due to increasing concern about professional sports interfering with university athletics, President Smart teamed up with other Midwestern university administrators to form an athletic conference that would regulate intercollegiate sports. In 1896, the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives was born, which later became known as the Western Conference. During the twentieth century the conference became better-known as the Big Ten.

1897

Raymond Ewry
Raymond C. Ewry graduates from Purdue with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Ewry would go on to win eight Olympic gold medals in the now discontinued field events of standing high jump, standing long jump, and standing triple jump. His world record for most Olympic gold medals stood for 100 years, until it was broken by Micheal Phelps in 2008.

1897

The first doctorate of philosophy (Ph.D.) from Purdue is awarded to Daniel McDougal in Agriculture.

February 21, 1900

Winthrop E. Stone
Winthrop E. Stone is hired as University President following the death of James H. Smart.
After he served as the University's first vice president, the Purdue Board of Trustees named him the University's fifth president. Stone originally came to Purdue as a professor of chemistry. He appointed Purdue's first dean of women, Carolyn E. Shoemaker, in 1913. The schools of agriculture and engineering grew rapidly during his tenure, which ended tragically when he was killed in a mountain-climbing accident in Canada in 1921.

1901

Fowler Hall

Mrs. Eliza Fowler donates $70,000 to Purdue for the creation of Eliza Fowler Hall.

Her gift was the largest from a private source since John Purdue's death. Eliza Fowler Hall, completed in 1903, seated 1,650 people and contained meeting rooms and administrative offices, including the Office of the President. Eliza’s son, James T. Fowler, provided an additional $5,400 for the installation a pipe organ in the hall.

1901

Purdue Men's basketball team, 1901
Purdue's first basketball team becomes the undefeated state champion, scoring 368 points overall to their opponents' 120.

1902

Pfendler Hall, Agriculture Building, now Entomology
The Agricultural Hall, later known as Entomology and finally Pfendler Hall, is completed.
Upon its completion, Agriculture Hall contained numerous teaching and lab areas, including a seed room, meteorological room, comparative anatomy laboratory, and a museum of agricultural, horticultural, and forestry products. Many other buildings built in this decade supported Purdue's agricultural focus. Peirce Hall and the Power Plant were completed in 1904. In 1907, the Chemistry Building (which later became Education Building) was completed. The following year, Felix Haas Hall (Memorial Gymnasium) and the Agricultural Administration Building (formerly Agricultural Experiment Station) were completed. In 1910, the Forest Products Building and the Michael Golden Engineering Laboratories and Shops are completed.

1902

The Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association is organized.

1903

1903 Purdue Train Wreck
The Purdue football team is in a terrible train wreck while on their way to Indianapolis to play Indiana University.
President Winthrop Stone and his family, along with students, faculty, staff, and townspeople were among those on the Purdue Special. As the fourteen-car train rounded a curve in northwest Indianapolis it plunged into a coal train backing up on the same tracks. Seventeen people were killed. Hundreds were injured. Within weeks there were calls for a memorial gymnasium to honor the victims. In late November President Stone published a formal call for contributions. Donations arrived from hundreds of Purdue alumni, faculty, staff, students, and the surrounding community. The Memorial Gymnasium was dedicated May 29, 1909, with state-of-the-art facilities, a swimming pool, and reportedly the first glass backboards of any university basketball facility. (The structure was renamed Felix Haas Hall in 2006.) In memory of those lost, seventeen steps lead up to the main entrance.

1905

Household Economics

The Department of Household Economics is established.

The department was established to provide “a technical training for women at Purdue on much the same principles as the courses already offered to men”. Select rooms in Ladies Hall were converted to classrooms to house the new department.

1905

Purdue opens the School of Medicine in Indianapolis, a consolidation of three existing medical schools in the state.
Three Indiana medical schools (The Indiana Medical College, the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons of Indianapolis, and the Ft. Wayne College of Medicine) merged with Purdue University to create the Indiana Medical College, the School of Medicine of Purdue University. Immediately, Indiana University opposed the new program and created its own school. Contrasting bills were presented in the state legislature, but ultimately Purdue conceded and Indiana University took control of the medical school in 1909.

1906

Grissom Hall
The School of Civil Engineering moves to its own building, Grissom Hall.

1906

Fuchuen King Sah, Purdue's first native Chinese student, enrolls in classes.
Sah was not the first student to come from China, but he was the first native Chinese student. He was active in the Cosmopolitan Club, the Civil Engineering Society, the Athletic Association, and the tennis club. He went on to become the Chief Engineer of the Kiaotsi Railway and based in Tsingtao (now Qingdao), China.

1907

The School of Science is officially formed.

1907

The Cosmopolitan Club, Purdue's first international student organization, is established.
Its purpose was to bring international and domestic students together, and the group motto was “Above all Nations is Humanity.” In its first year, the club counted 49 members from ten different countries. Interestingly, the 1908 Debris yearbook lists eleven countries; however, Puerto Rico had been a part of the United States since 1898. Thus, the two Puerto Rican students, F. S. Virella and Jose Mateo Garcia y Abreu, are likely the first Latino Purdue students. Club membership continued to grow in the ensuing years, but was disbanded after the onset of World War II. In 1945 students formed the International Association of Purdue, which took over many of the purposes of the Cosmopolitan Club.

1908

Education courses are first offered at Purdue.
Purdue established the Department of Education in response to the Indiana Teacher Training Law of 1907, which required formal training before teachers could receive their teaching licenses.

1909

Fourth Seal
Charles H. Benjamin, engineering dean, creates a new version of the Purdue seal.
This version was used for the next 60 years.

1911

Chemistry Building
The School of Chemical Engineering is founded.

June 13, 1911

An airplane lands at Purdue for the first time as a part of Lafayette's first aviation show.

1912

Purdue Alumni Association Logo
The Purdue Alumni Association is formed.

1912

Purdue Men's basketball team, 1912
The men's basketball team goes undefeated for the second season in a row with 462 points over twelve games to their opponents' 179 points.

1912

Agricultural Experiment Station Annex
The Forestry Building (formerly the Agricultural Experiment Station Seed House) is constructed after the original was blown over by a windstorm in 1911.
An addition constructed in 1926 made the building what it is today. The building was renamed the Forestry Building in 1976.

1912

The Purdue fight song "Hail Purdue" is written by James Morrison and set to music by Edward Wotawa.
The song was copyrighted in 1913.

1912

Purdue implements its first student health service.

Dr. Oliver P. Terry, professor of anatomy and physiology, became the campus physician, consulting with hundreds and eventually thousands of students who paid a one dollar yearly fee for access to the service. Beginning in 1915, the student health service offered free medicines and soon more than one thousand prescriptions were filled through the service per year.

1913

University Library
Smith Hall and the University Library are completed.

1913

Purdue student Francis Obenchain dies during the yearly Tank Scrap, after which the tradition is abolished.
It was initially reported by the Tippecanoe County medical examiner that he had suffered a heart attack in the excitement, but after his body was sent home to Whitley County for burial it was found that his neck had been broken. Students gathered the day after the scrap and unanimously voted to forever cease with the dangerous tradition.

March 22, 1913

West Lafayette is struck by one of the most devastating floods to overtake Indiana.
Rain began falling on Saturday, March 22, and continued for several days. By March 25, the river reached record-breaking levels, forcing factories to shut down and thousands of people to flee their homes. The bridge that crossed the Wabash River at Brown Street, connecting Lafayette and West Lafayette, was destroyed when one of its structural piers collapsed from the steady onslaught of rushing water. Tragically, one Purdue student drowned in the flood while trying to save others. Leland P. Woolery, an agriculture student from Indianapolis, set out in a canoe with his classmate George B. Ely in an attempt to rescue two men stranded on the levee. Their canoe capsized in the raging waters. Ely managed to swim to shore, but Woolery was too far out in the river to make it back. As the flood waters subsided in the subsequent days, Purdue students focused on honoring the memory of their fallen classmate.

1916

Purdue’s Battery B becomes the only military unit of Purdue students to be called into federal service and be stationed in a combat zone.
The unit formed in 1914 when a group of students interested in forming an artillery, rather than infantry, unit organized as Battery B of the Indiana National Guard. In 1916, National Guard units from across the country were called up to serve in the Border War, protecting the border with Mexico against raids by Mexican revolutionaries. Battery B left West Lafayette on June 23 amid great fanfare. Along with Indiana National Guard Batteries A and C, they trained at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis for two weeks before shipping out as the First Indiana Field Artillery Battalion. They reached their camp near the border in mid-July and remained until the men were granted leave to return to Purdue for the beginning of classes in the fall. Battery B was mustered out of service on September 27. They saw little action during their weeks of service, but the Border War proved important experience for 100 of the 150 Battery B men who later served in World War I.

1917

Stanley Coulter Hall
Stanley Coulter Hall is completed.

1918

The Armory
The Armory building is finished, and it serves as the headquarters of Purdue's military department.
The Armory served as the home for Purdue’s military department during both world wars and for many years hosted most large campus events. 5,000 enlisted military men were housed, fed, and trained in technical courses by Purdue University.

1919

Horse Barn - now Herrick Laboratories

Herrick Laboratories are Completed.

Purdue's horse barn was completed in September of 1919. The construction housed breeding animals and work horses used in agricultural research by Purdue students. In 1957 it was renamed Herrick Laboratories and stands on campus today as a mechanical engineering lab.

May 19, 1919

The Purdue Band mets guardsmen who had returned from France.

1921

Purdue hosts the Annual Conference of the Mid-West Section of the Chinese Students’ Alliance in both 1921 and 1925.
The conference program focused on issues facing China and the role internationally-educated Chinese citizens could play in bringing change to the country. The weekend of activity included meetings, debates, lectures, sports, concerts, and field trips to area landmarks. In 1921, a lecture by China’s newly appointed delegate to the United States, Alfred Sao-ke Sze, was a highlight of the program. The international student population continued to grow throughout the 1920s, as did Purdue’s international reputation. A count of international students in 1925 estimated that fifty-two foreign students were enrolled at Purdue, with the majority (thirty-one) from China, followed by the Philippines, India, and Japan. International students were still not completely integrated into Purdue student life. Chinese students formed their own recreational athletics teams and competed in the inter-church basketball league on campus; the largely non-religious students took pleasure in competing as “The Chinese” against such teams as the Methodists and Presbyterians.

July 17, 1921

President Winthrop E. Stone dies while attempting an ascent of Mount Eon in Canada with his wife.
The Purdue community was shocked by the unexpected death of their president. Purdue hosted a funeral for Stone on August 15 and a full memorial service on October 12. Henry W. Marshall served as Interim President following Stone's death.

1922

Edward C. Elliott
Edward C. Elliott is hired as University President.
Elliott led the University through the Depression and World War II. During his tenure, the Graduate School, the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Purdue Research Foundation were established. He recruited top names to the University, including Amelia Earhart as a women's counselor, and he supported the Purdue Musical Organizations. Elliott Hall of Music is named in his honor.

April 4, 1922

Purdue University radio
The Purdue Radio Station, WBAA, is licensed as the first radio station in Indiana.
The student-run station was based in the School of Electrical Engineering. Its first broadcast was an Arbor Day message from the Secretary of Agriculture simultaneously broadcast by radio stations across the country. Regular programming included lectures, news, and music. WBAA ceased operations for a time after March 14, 1929, when a fire destroyed the entire studio and its equipment in the Electrical Engineering building. It rebuilt with “modern equipment in a new and improved broadcasting unit” and was back on the air within a year.

1923

Electrical Engineering Building
The 1920s saw the addition of many new buildings to Purdue's campus. Fowler House was completed in 1924. In 1926, the American Railway Building and the Horticulture Building were completed. In 1928, Peirce Conservatory and the Engineering Administration Building were completed. The following year, the Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry, the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Building, and the

1924

Purdue Memorial Union
The Purdue Memorial Union is completed.
The Union was first proposed during the early 1910s, but efforts were postponed due to World War I. After the war, the students sought a new building to serve not only as a center of campus activity but also a tribute to all those who had served during the war. Students and alumni spent months raising funds and implored their classmates to contribute to the Union fund with large signs on campus. Enough funds were gathered to begin construction in 1922 and a groundbreaking ceremony took place during Gala Week in June. Alumnus David Ross, at that time a university trustee, laid the cornerstone for the building on November 25, 1922, in a ceremony attended by Indiana’s Governor Warren T. McCray. Fundraising continued throughout the building’s construction, which was occasionally delayed due to funding issues. The building officially opened on September 9, 1924, quickly becoming the center of student activity on campus. It has been expanded and renovated multiple times.

June 24, 1924

Ross-Ade Stadium
Ross-Ade Stadium is completed.
Trustee David Ross led the effort to build a new stadium for Purdue and worked with noted alumnus George Ade to raise the funds. They established the Ross-Ade Foundation to oversee fundraising for the new stadium, mainly through the sale of $200 lifetime memberships purchased by alumni. Construction began once enough funds had been raised. Upon completion, Ross-Ade Stadium had a seating capacity of 13,500. The football team began practicing in the new stadium in early November and played their first Homecoming game there against Indiana University on November 22, 1924.

1925

Old Oaken Bucket
The "Old Oaken Bucket" football trophy is first introduced.
The bucket was intended to be given annually to the winner of the Purdue-Indiana football game. The teams had played an annual rivalry game since 1891, but the introduction of the Old Oaken Bucket, a trophy that represented the shared agricultural heritage of both Indiana schools, sparked even greater interest in the annual game. The Old Oaken Bucket became an emblem for the Purdue football team even outside the annual game against Indiana. Its image could be found on promotional materials for Purdue Athletics and on tickets to football games.

1926

Portrait of Mary Matthews and Home Economics students in class

The Department of Household Economics, established in 1905 expands and becomes the School of Home Economics.

Mary L. Matthews became the first dean of the School, which included five departments: Foods and Nutrition, Clothing and Textiles, Applied Art, Institution Management, and Home Administration. She served as dean until her retirement in 1952, and in 1976, the Home Economics Building was renamed Matthews Hall in her honor. That same year, the School transitioned to the College of Consumer and Family Sciences, significantly increasing enrollment among male students.

1928

Cary Quadrangle
Franklin Levering Cary Memorial Hall opens.
Frank and Jessie Levering Cary of Lafayette donated $50,000 to build the dormitory in memory of their son, Franklin Levering Cary, who died suddenly of appendicitis shortly before his anticipated college enrollment date in 1912. Cary, later known as Cary Quadrangle, became the first men’s residence building on campus since the Men’s Dormitory was renovated into classroom space in 1902.

1929

The Purdue Graduate School is officially established.

1930

Ralph Johnson

Early Graduate in Aeronautical Engineering

Ralph Johnson, one of the nation’s earliest graduates in aeronautical engineering, would later go on to develop safe landing procedures for pilots amidst blackout conditions during WWII and patent several designs that contributed towards air safety.

November 1930

Purdue University Airport
The Purdue University Airport is established.
Purdue became the first U.S. university to offer college credit for flight training in 1930. President of the Board of Trustees, David Ross, gave the University the land needed to establish an airport. Purdue University Airport first appeared on U.S. government airway maps in 1930. Since its inception, it has been more than a landing strip and decidedly more than an airport. The Purdue Airport has always been and continues to be a classroom of hangars, machine shops, research laboratories, a control tower, tarmac, and sky. 

December 30, 1930

The Purdue Research Foundation is incorporated.

1932

Purdue lowers football ticket prices from $3.00 to $2.50 to encourage attendance.

1932

Delia and Ella Silance, 1932

Sisters Delia Silance and Ella Belle Silance become the first known African American women to graduate from Purdue, earning Bachelor of Science degrees.

Both women were listed as Distinguished Students in the 1932 Debris yearbook, under their senior photos. The sisters were from Lafayette and Delia earned a scholarship to attend Purdue.

1933

The first Purdue Christmas Show is held.
The first show was not the huge success as Al Stewart, director of the music programs, had hoped in its first year but word about the quality of the show quickly spread and it became so popular that it outgrew Fowler Hall. President Elliott requested federal support for the creation of a music hall, receiving funds to build a state-of-the-art theater.

1934

Two women in dorm room

South Hall, now known as Duhme Hall, is finished.

Duhme Hall was the first of the buildings which make up Windsor Halls to be completed. The remaining four were completed over the next two decades. Shealy Hall, originally North Hall, was finished in 1937, followed by Wood Hall in 1939, and finally Warren Hall and Vawter Hall in 1951. Winsdor is Purdue's oldest women's residence and has housed many distinguished Purdue women including Amelia Earhart, Dr. Lillian Gilbreth, and most recently astronaut Janice Voss.

1935

Lillian Gilbreth and Amelia Earhart

Two distinguished women, aviator Amelia Earhart and industrial engineer Lillian Gilbreth, join the staff of the University.

Interested in helping to address the demands of the growing female student population, President Elliott hired two women with international reputations in 1935: Amelia Earhart and Lillian Gilbreth. Elliott believed that the professional achievements of Earhart and Gilbreth would serve as role models for women students in seeking careers following graduation. Earhart, a widely recognized pilot who encouraged women to fly, was hired to serve a dual role as technical adviser in aeronautics and as careers counselor for women students. Gilbreth, a pioneer in motion study alongside her husband and business partner, Frank, was a highly respected leader in the traditionally male professions of engineering and industry.

1936

Amelia Earhart's Flying Laboratory

The Purdue Research Foundation establishes the Amelia Earhart Fund for Aeronautical Research to purchase Amelia Earhart's "flying laboratory", a Lockheed Electra 10E airplane specially equipped for her long-distance flights.

This plane was intended to support aviation research and Earhart’s dream of a world flight at the longest distance—the equator. In May 1936, Purdue Alumnus proudly announced: “Lockheed-Electra, twin motored, all metal monoplane, sister ship of Purdue’s newest ‘sky laboratory’ will do much to further aviation and aeronautical research and will carry Purdue’s fame all over the world.”

1937

Hovde Hall of Administration
The Hovde Hall of Administration is completed.

July 1937

Takeoff test hop of Earhart's Lockheed Electra

Amelia Earhart disappears over the Pacific Ocean, en route to Howland Island during her world flight.

Neither she, her airplane, nor her navigator, Fred Noonan, are ever seen again.

1938

Lambert Fieldhouse
Under the leadership of coach Piggy Lambert and star player John Wooden, the Purdue basketball team was a powerhouse in the early 1930s. After outgrowing space in the Memorial Gymnasium, the basketball team Purdue played all of its home games for the 1933-1934 season at the Lafayette Jefferson High School. Under Lambert, Purdue was considered the best basketball team in the West. The team won the Big Ten Championships in 1930, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936, and 1938 and were the national basketball champions in 1932. Purdue ended the 1939-1940 basketball season with a 34-31 win over Illinois, winning the last of its eleven Big Ten titles under Lambert.

1938

With a donation of $30,000 in honor of Dr. Oliver Perkins Terry (member of the class of 1903), the University purchases the property at 608 Waldron St. to form Terry House.
Terry House became an honors community which housed thirty-six honors students. It was previously the Theta Chi Fraternity house until it was purchased by the Purdue Research Foundation. The house was to be a memorial of Dr. Oliver Perkins Terry, former head of the university student health service.

1939

Civil Aeronautics
Purdue becomes the first university to offer the Civil Aeronautic Administration Flight Training Program.
500 student pilots were trained at Purdue to serve in World War II.

1939

Agricultural Chemistry
The Agricultural Chemistry Building, later the Biochemistry Building, is completed.

1939

In response to the growing number of women students, Purdue begins an experimental liberal science education program for women.

The goal of the program was, “to train select groups of young women for intelligent leadership in whatever communities, large or small, urban or rural, they may be placed after college.” The intent of the experiment was to create a plan of study that accentuated math and science courses as a subject of inquiry and knowledge, rather than as the foundation of technical or vocational training. This approach provided an alternative path for women interested in pursuing an education in traditionally male dominated departments like engineering or agriculture as well as newer courses situated in the social sciences and humanities. One alumna recalled, “while statistics said that somewhere around 95% of us would marry and stay home to rear our children, the Liberal Science environment told us we were valuable citizens and just as important to society as any man on the engineering campus.”

1940

Physics Building, Purdue University
The Chemical Engineering Building and the Physics Building are completed.

May 3, 1940

Elliott Hall of Music
Elliott Hall of Music is dedicated.
At the time, it was among the largest theaters in the world with a seating capacity of 6,000. The Purdue Musical Organizations now had an impressive space dedicated to music at a university with no music program.

June 8, 1940

The University Board of Trustees directs Purdue to take all possible steps to contribute to national defense.
Purdue established the Defense Training Office (later known as the War Training Office) to administer training programs providing workers for defense industry. Through this office, the University’s Engineering-Science-Management War Training program helped train approximately 60,000 workers, many for specific jobs in war industry.

September 11, 1940

The Boilermaker Special
The Boilermaker Special is presented to the student body at a convocation ceremony in the Hall of Music.
The Special is the official Purdue mascot and consists of the form of a locomotive mounted on an automobile chassis.

1941

Purdue Calumet Center
Classes are held at the first of Purdue's branch campuses - Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and North Central.
The Calumet Center first held classes in 1946.

1942

James Show Maddox, instructor and Ph.D candidate in Applied Psychology, takes a leave of absence from Purdue to serve on active duty in the Navy.
His absence was approved through June 30, 1943, but he would never return. Ensign Maddox found himself adrift at sea with four other men on a wooden raft roughly measuring 9 feet by 8 feet after their Dutch cargo vessel, Zaandam, was torpedoed. Maddox survived 77 days, but he and another man perished before rescue arrived on the 86th day at sea. He became the first Purdue faculty/staff member to die while on leave for active duty in World War II.

1943

David Ross
David Ross, member of the Purdue Board of Trustees, passes away at age 71, after suffering a paralyzing stroke. He left most of his $1.5 million estate to Purdue.

1944

Purdue Pete
The Purdue Debris yearbook first uses the image of a barrel-chested, mallet-wielding boilermaker called "Boilermaker Pete".
The image was borrowed from an advertising logo developed by University Bookstore founders "Red" Samuels and "Doc" Epple, who named the figure. The editors of the yearbook described Pete as “a familiar campus personage” who was stepping “into the spotlight with his busy role of wartime duties and service”. Throughout the 1944 yearbook, Pete was depicted as a student in the various schools, with his dress and accessories customized for each discipline.

1944

Frederick C. Branch begins courses at Purdue.
After receiving his Navy V-12 training from Purdue, Branch would go on to become the first African American commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps.

1944

Purdue defeats IU for the Old Oaken Bucket in a 7-0 game.
As the student editors of the yearbook proclaimed, “This was the first time Indiana had been scoreless since the old days when ‘Boilermakers’ were literally Boilermakers”

1945

Andrey A. Potter
Edward C. Elliott retires and Andrey A. Potter is hired to serve as Interim President.

1945

School of Aeronautics and Astronautics is founded.
Purdue was the first university to offer degrees in Air Transportation.

1945

Inter-American Flight Training Program participants, 1945
Purdue is selected to host the Inter-American flight training program, a pilot training program for young men from South American countries.
The one-year program included courses in flight, navigation, meteorology, aerodynamics, engines, instruments, and air regulations. Men came from countries such as Brazil, Cuba, Chile, Columbia, and Mexico to receive training at Purdue. They were described in a Spanish-language section of the 1944 Debris yearbook as having impressive uniforms, dark and elegant mustaches, and distinguished manners. The main purpose of the program was to train aviators so that they could control their own air lines, which were being managed by German pilots.

1946

Frederick L. Hovde
Frederick L. Hovde is hired as University President.
Frederick L. Hovde came to Purdue at age 37 and presided over the University's greatest period of growth, leading to its emergence as a top research university. During his 25-year leadership, Purdue saw its greatest enrollment growth – from 5,628 to 25,582 students. Its annual budget increased from $12.7 million to $136 million. While he was president, Purdue established the schools of industrial engineering, materials engineering, technology and veterinary medicine. In 1975, the Purdue Executive Building was renamed the Frederick L. Hovde Hall of Administration in his honor.

1946

Purdue is forced to turn down 5,000 registrants for the fall semester due to a lack of classrooms and housing facilities.
Campus overcrowding became a serious problem as veterans returned to campus after the War, many taking advantage of the G.I. Bill. Enrollment nearly tripled, and facilities, many of which had been minimally repaired and maintained during war years, were unprepared for this dramatic growth. Temporary housing erected on campus helped alleviate housing problems, to some degree. According to the 1947 Debris, students lived in attics and basements of some buildings, and faculty stayed in rooms in the Union, while some fraternities “acquired Quonset huts to take care of their returned G.I.’s”.

1947

The Creative Arts Buildings and the Aerospace Science Laboratory are completed.

1947

Purdue desegregates student housing, allowing African American students to be housed in campus dormitories.
For African-American students on campus, the 1940s was a time of growing dissent and hard-won gains in status. Young men who had fought for the rights of others during the war came back to face limited rights imposed by segregation.

February 24, 1947

Bleacher Collapse
The bleachers in the Purdue Field House collapse during the Purdue-Wisconsin basketball game, killing three students and injuring nearly 300.
Purdue fans rose from their seats to give “a tremendous ovation” when the half ended with a score of 43-33 over league-leading Wisconsin. As the players left the floor, a support in the east stands cracked. “With an accordion-like motion, the stands, with some 4,000 students on them, tilted forward and with a great rumble sank to the floor, pinning many beneath the wooden planks and splintered beams,” stated the 1947 Debris yearbook. Improvised stretchers were created for the injured as they awaited transport to the area hospitals. An alarm went out over radio seeking help in transporting the injured to the hospitals, and vehicles from all over Lafayette, including bread trucks, buses, ambulances, and hearses responded. Three Purdue students - Roger Gelhausen, William Feldman, and Ted Nordquist - died as a result of the accident.

1950

Meredith Residence Halls
Meredith Residence Hall is built, signaling the beginning of Purdue's ambitious, multimillion-dollar construction program that greatly changed the appearance of campus in the 1950s.
To meet the needs of the rapidly increasing student population, the university constructed multiple new residence halls, including Virginia C. Meredith Hall in 1950, Harrison Court (later South Campus Courts) in 1952, Richard Owen Hall in 1955, State Street Courts (later renamed Fowler Courts) in 1955, Harvey W. Wiley Hall in 1956, Newton Booth Tarkington Hall in 1956, and Terry Courts in 1956. The Purdue Village, or Married Student Housing, was first built in 1956 and expanded twice during the 1960s.

1950

Purdue's first annual tricycle race!
The men living in campus dormitories compete in the first annual tricycle race.
In the early days the race started at the front steps of the Memorial Union and the racers were dressed as young children. Later, the race was in Cary Quad and between the units. It was called the Cary Club Tricycle Race and lasted two hours and about two hundred and twenty to two hundred and fifty laps. In the first five laps a standard tricycle was used and then the racers switched to modified trikes. Onlookers threw water at the racers and after the race the tricycles were donated to a charity.

1950

Fraternities, sororities, dorms, and co-ops compete annually in the Homecoming Sign Contest.
The “signs” consisted of elaborate decorations on the lawns of the residences that tied in some way to the football game. Early versions of the competition began in the 1910s, but the 1950s saw it reach a peak of elaborate and creative designs. Judging was based on “originality, slogan, neatness, and day and night effects” with an emphasis on “appropriateness and good taste.” The winner of each division was announced during halftime of the Homecoming game and awarded a trophy. The annual competition continued until the 1970s.

1950

Commander Richard L. Duncan, U.S. Navy, is awarded the first Ph.D. in the School of Aeronautical Engineering.
He was advised by Maurice Zucrow, the first person to receive a Ph.D. in any field at Purdue.

1950

Renowned Chinese scientist and nuclear weapons expert Deng Jiaxian earns his Ph.D. in Physics.

November 7, 1950

Purdue’s football team draws national attention by ending Notre Dame’s 29-game winning streak with final score of 28 to 14.
Celebrations filled the streets of West Lafayette for two days. The Boilermakers only won two games that season, but made both of them count; in their second victory, they took down Indiana and brought home the Old Oaken Bucket.

1951

Lilly Hall of Science
The Lilly Hall of Science is completed, as a part of Purdue's expansion of classroom and research space on campus in the 1950s.
Other additions to Purdue's campus duing this decade include the Richard Benbridge Wetherill Lab of Chemistry in 1950 and Stone Hall in 1954. The Poultry Science Building and Annex were completed in 1955 and the Nuclear Engineering Building (then known as Engineering Science Shop Building #1) was built in 1957. Herrick Laboratories was built in a remodeled horse barn in 1958 t

1951

Herman Murray, head and shoulders portrait
Herman Murray becomes the first all American black football player on Purdue’s Varsity team.
Murray started on the junior varsity team then moved up to varsity in 1951, where he played right tackle. In his column “Smitty Says” on February 23, 1949, Jim Smith announces that “Purdue has a Negro on its football team!” He ends his columns expressing hopes that Murray can help the team and “here’s also hat’s off to the athletic department for helping to break down racial prejudice at Purdue”. After graduating from Purdue in August 1952, Murray served in the U.S. Navy for more than twenty years as a doctor of dentistry and after retirement drove a bus for special needs children.

1953

Boilermaker Special
The Boilermaker Special II is created.

1953

The School of Science is changed to the School of Science, Education, and Humanities.
Humanities and education courses had previously fallen under the purview of the School of Science, which was the catch-all college for all general education requirements, but the renaming provided those divisions with greater visibility and increased prominence on campus.

1953

The Department of Freshman Engineering is established to prepare new engineering students for their academic careers.

1953

The Purdue Residence Network (PRN) is established.
The radio station of Cary Quad, WCCR, partnered with WRX, the radio station of Windsor and Meredith Residence Halls. The single station broadcast programming from each of its member stations across campus. Throughout the 1950s, more residence halls established their own stations to join the network, including WCTS from State Street and Harrison Courts, WMRH from Owen Hall, and WGRC from Gable Courts. PRN broadcast programming from campus residences until the early 1990s. Member station WCCR was the first campus-based radio station in the United States to broadcast in stereo, requiring listeners in Cary Quad to place two speakers six to eight feet apart, one tuned to 600 kc and one to 630.

1953

Ruth Siems, 1953
Ruth Siems, inventor of Stove Top Stuffing, receives her degree in Home Economics.

June 5, 1953

E.C. Elliott standing with two men
Purdue begins working with the Cheng Kung University in Taiwan to assist in establishing their engineering program.
Cheng Kung asked for Purdue’s guidance in establishing its engineering program. Sixteen Purdue faculty members spent time at the school, providing advice, equipment, lesson plans, and books to establish a sustainable training program. Additionally, Taiwanese professors visited Purdue for advanced training in their fields and to learn about university administration. Initially meant to last just two years, from 1953 to 1955, the program was extended through 1961.

1954

Baton twirler Juanita Carpenter becomes the first "Golden Girl" to perform with the marching band during a football game against Missouri in Ross-Ade Stadium.

After two years, Juanita passed her baton on to Sandie Hutchinson and the featured performer became a permanent fixture of Marching Band performances.

1955

The Purdue chapter of the Society of Women Engineers is formed, the first student chapter to join the national organization.

The group at Purdue originally formed in 1946 as the Gamma chapter of Pi Omicron, a professional society for women in engineering, to support scholarship, fellowship, and professional development. By joining the national organization, their network of support expanded across the country, providing new opportunities for the women joining the still male-dominated field.

1956

Boilermaker Pete
Purdue Pete is adopted as the University's official athletic mascot.

1958

Recreational Sports Center
This facility provided recreational and intramural athletic facilities to the student body. At the time it was the first university building in the United States created solely to serve students' recreational needs. It contained indoor and outdoor swimming pools, four basketball courts, space for badminton, volleyball, table tennis, rifle shooting, handball, squash, and other intramural activities. It also had administrative offices and men's and women's locker rooms. An outdoor skating rink was added later that year.

1958

New Heavilon Hall
Heavilon Hall is rebuilt for the third time.

1958

Stewart Center
The Library undergoes a series of expansions, forming the building which would eventually be known as Stewart Center.
Facilities were provided for dramatic, musical, and forensic performances, exhibits, headquarters for the Division of Adult Education, student activities, and recreation. The three floors in the central part of the building provided new reading and study rooms. It was named Purdue Memorial Center upon its reopening in 1958 and rededicated as Stewart Center in 1972.

1958

The School of Industrial Management is created.

May 17, 1958

Grand Prix
Twenty-one drivers compete in the first annual Purdue Grand Prix.
The race consisted of 144 laps around a sixteenth of a mile track with sixteen turns laid out along Intramural Drive in front of Tarkington and Wiley Residence Halls and adjacent parking lots. The event, invented by a group of engineering students in the Delta Upsilon Fraternity, allowed participants representing housing units, clubs, or independent groups across Purdue’s campuses to show off their mechanical knowledge and skills. Each cart had its own unique transmission and design, though all had identical one-and-a-half horsepower gasoline engines with a top speed around 30 miles per hour.  The team from Gable Courts won that first race, followed by the teams from Kappa Sigma, Cary West, and Dover Co-op. The following year, the track moved to the center of campus with a course passing in front of Hovde Hall and through the Engineering Mall. Fifty-two teams participated, including teams of women and non-traditional students. Thirty-two teams made it through two heats to compete in the final race, won by Sigma Chi.

1959

Ground breaking ceremony for new school of veterinary science and medicine
A state-of-the-art veterinary complex opened in 1959 to house the new College of Veterinary Medicine. The new complex, centered around Charles J. Lynn Hall, stood on the south end of campus next to the existing Veterinary Pathology Building. The new college grew out of the College of Agriculture’s Department of Veterinary Science to meet the demand for new veterinarians and veterinary research.  Purdue became the only college in the state of Indiana to offer a veterinary school.

1959

The School of Materials Engineering is founded.

1960

Boilermaker Special III
The Boilermaker Special III is donated to Purdue by General Motors.

1960

The Bachelor of Arts degree is offered for the first time.
Until this time, all Purdue degrees had been variations of scientific degrees, but the Bachelor of Arts was deemed more appropriate for students in liberal arts and humanities majors.
 

1960

John F. Kennedy visits Purdue University while campaigning for President.
After learning that he had won the support of the Purduvian Party at the 1960 Mock P Convention, Democrat John F. Kennedy accepted the nomination in person. Crowds gathered along the streets as Kennedy was driven through campus. Once he paused to give a short speech, Kennedy hoped “as Purdue goes, so goes the nation.”

1960

Former Purdue President Edward C. Elliott dies at age 85.

1961

Medical personnel looking over plans for new medical center
The Purdue University Student Health Center is completed.
The first surgery at Purdue University, an appendectomy, was performed in the newly opened Student Health Center on May 1, 1961.

1961

The School of Industrial Engineering is founded.

1961

William Saroyan, seated, smoking cigarette
Purdue hosts Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright William Saroyan for a semester as a visiting professor and playwright-in-residence.
Saroyan set out to create “a play that [he] would not be able to write anywhere else” that would “convey the real drama of learning, of not knowing and seeking to find out, of becoming resigned (with enthusiasm) to the necessity of pursuing one dimension of learning for years.” These goals coalesced into the play “High Time Along the Wabash,” a uniquely Purdue story about science, race, and academia that premiered at Loeb Playhouse on December 1, 1961.

1962

Krannert Building
The School of Industrial Management becomes the Krannert Graduate School of Industrial Administration.
Krannert became Purdue's first named school thanks to an endowment from Herman and Ellnora Krannert.The Krannert Graduate School of Management Building was completed in 1963 to house the new school.

1962

President F.L. Hovde and others
President Eisenhower visits Purdue to attend an event at the airport.

1962

Purdue becomes the first university in the nation to offer a Computer Science program.
Established under the leadership of Samuel Conte, the program grew from a small base of graduate level courses to a full B.S. offering in 1967, the same year the department moved from the Engineering Administration Building to the new Math Building. Purdue’s groundbreaking work in establishing a computer science program was a major influence on programs at other universities across the country.

1963

The Liberal Arts School becomes the School of Humanities, Social Science, and Education and is separated from the School of Science.
The newly established college allowed students to major in liberal arts fields. The Departments of History, English, and Political Science were also established in 1963 to meet student needs.

1964

The School of Technology is founded.
The new college incorporated many existing technology-focused programs, including Industrial Education, Aviation Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, and Industrial and Mechanical Technology, and was the initial home for the School of Nursing.

1964

The Peace Union is formed by Purdue students to protest the requirement that all underclassmen participate in ROTC training.
Once that requirement was removed in 1965 after a change in federal regulations, the Peace Union organized for other causes, including a protest of the University Placement Service, anti-Vietnam protests, protests against racial injustice on campus, and a protest in April 1969 opposing an increase in student fees. The Friends of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) were also active during this time, urging university administrators to “take policy stance against local landlords who practiced discrimination in choosing tenants, to establish an aggressive recruiting effort for black students, and to require integration of all extracurricular activities as well as fraternities and sororities ‘in practice as well as in policy.’” Their demands were not met.

1966

Harrison Hall
Enrollment continued to rise through the 1960s, creating a need for more residences on campus. John T. McCutcheon Hall (1963), Amelia Earhart Hall (1964), and Eleanor B. Shreve Hall (1970) expanded options for undergraduate students. Ernest C. Young Hall, originally named the Graduate House when built in 1962, was the first housing unit designated specifically for graduate students, followed in 1966 by George A. Hawkins Hall.

1967

Astronaut alumni Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee die during a preflight test of Apollo I.
The Purdue community mourned the tragic loss of astronaut alumni Grissom and Chaffee in the Apollo 1 fire. In response to their death, the university memorialized both men. Within weeks of the tragedy, Purdue declared that the Civil Engineering Building would be renamed Virgil I. Grissom Hall and a recently opened office building at the Jet Propulsion Center would be called Roger B. Chaffee Hall. Both buildings were formally dedicated in memory of their namesakes in ceremonies during Gala Week in May of 1968.

1967

Mackey Arena, aerial view
The Purdue University Arena (later known as Mackey Arena) is completed.
Construction began on the new basketball arena in 1965 and was completed in 1967. The new facility, renamed Guy J. Mackey Arena in 1971, held a seating capacity of 14,416 at the time of its dedication. The first game played in the new arena was against Purdue alumnus John R. Wooden and his UCLA Bruins. Purdue lost 73-71.

January 2, 1967

Purdue's Rose Bowl victory in 1967
Purdue defeats the University of Southern California at the Rose Bowl - their first bowl game appearance.
Approximately 4,000 students, 700 faculty and staff, and thousands of alumni made the trek to California, including about 2,000 students who were part of the university’s official “student tour.” The Purdue Band traveled across the country by train, including a freight car for the big bass drum. They stopped along the way in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, the band practiced parading, apparently causing a spectacle. According to newpaper headlines, the only thing that had ever called the gamblers away from the slot machines was the Purdue band marching up and down the street. When the day of the game arrived, Purdue’s team was ready. The Boilermakers and the Trojans faced off through four tense quarters and in the end, Purdue won a 14-13 victory over the USC Trojans. About 150 students participating in the “student tour” made an unplanned overnight visit to Las Vegas when their plane made an emergency landing due to engine trouble. The students spent the night, where the university covered their expenses and, according to the Exponent, “many won enough money to make the delay a profitable one.” The 1967 Rose Bowl festivities focused not only on football, but also on one of Purdue’s most illustrious groups of alumni: astronauts. The Tournament of Roses Parade was themed “Travel Tales in Flowers” and Purdue’s float represented Purdue as the “Alma Mater of Astronauts.” Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Roger Chaffee, and Virgil “Gus” Grissom appeared in the parade and attended the football game. Each astronaut also received a Rose Bowl football signed by the Purdue team.

1968

Helen Bass Williams becomes the first African American professor at Purdue University.

Williams taught French in the Languages Department and was a counselor in the School of Humanities, Social Science, and Education. She was active in the Civil Rights Movement and was an important guiding figure for many black students at Purdue. Williams was involved in the establishment of the Black Cultural Center, Black Faculty and Staff Council, the Black Studies program, and other curricular and extracurricular groups.

October 23, 1968

The editor of The Exponent, William Smoot, is removed from his position for allowing language deemed innappropriate for a campus publication.
During the 1960s, the Exponent, a consistent presence on campus for 80 years, became entangled in the political turmoil on campus. Articles and editorials in the newspaper became increasingly political, drawing ire and praise from students. Competing editorials regarding student activities, university administration, and world events filled columns of the paper in every issue. The tensions came to a head in October 1968. The recurring column “Notes from a Black Book,” written by married students Paul and Deborah Cabbell, took aim at what they called President Hovde’s “tyrannical administration” and called for his removal from office using language which lead to the removal of editor William Smoot. The Exponent ceased print for a brief time as the staff supported their exiled leader. Smoot was reinstated following additional support from students and faculty. As a result of this matter, the complicated administration of the Exponent was clarified by removing it from university oversight entirely and establishing The Purdue Student Publishing Association.

1969

The Purdue Grand Prix moves to a specially built track north of the stadium on the corner of Northwestern Avenue and Cherry Lane.
The track was modeled after the World Kart Championship track in Japan. By this time, the karts had engines designed for kart racing, with speeds approaching 70 miles per hour.

1969

The Boilermakers make their first appearance in an NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game.
The team defeated Miami University (Ohio), Marquette University, and the University of North Carolina on their way to the championship. The Boilermakers, led by star players Rick Mount, Billy Keller, and Herm Gilliam, again faced Coach Wooden and the Bruins in the March 22, 1969, championship game. Purdue fell 92-72, as the tournament’s most outstanding player, Lew Alcindor, scored 37 points and gathered 20 rebounds.

May 5, 1969

A sit-in at the Purdue Memorial Union in protest of rising tuition and fees ends in the arrest of over 200 students.
The sit-in ended in the early hours of the following morning as more than 200 students who refused to vacate the building were arrested, held, booked, and released without bond. Their cases never went to trial. The following day, the day of Purdue’s centennial celebrations, hundreds of students marched to the Administration Building to protest the arrests of the previous night. They surrounded the entrance to the building and at the peak of the protest, nearly 800 students filled the first floor. The protestors dispersed following threat of arrest and the use of mace by state troopers monitoring the situation outside the building.

May 6, 1969

Current Seal
Purdue celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Many activities were planned to mark the occasion, including banquets, lectures, publications, and a special Centennial Year Capital Gift Campaign to contribute to the ongoing growth of campus. The university utilized a special centennial year logo on all centennial-related stationery and publications, including official proclamations marking the anniversary. In honor of the centennial, Purdue commissioned a redesign of the university seal. The new seal, designed by Visual Arts Professor Al Gowan, modernized the seal and shifted its focus from a literal illustration of Purdue’s areas of expertise to an embodiment of Purdue’s values. The new logo appeared on a centennial flag taken to space by Neil Armstrong and later presented to Purdue by Armstrong in 1970.

July 21, 1969

Purdue alumnus Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission.
Purdue celebrated the moon landing not only as an accomplishment “for all mankind” but also for the alumnus who became legend. The State of Indiana and the university recognized “Apollo 11 Day” on July 21.

1970

Heine Pharmacy
Freehafer Hall and the Heine Pharmacy are completed.
Freehafer Hall, the new six-story Pharmacy building, brought together all School of Pharmacy faculty into one facility for the first time since World War II.

January 1970

Armstrong receives honorary doctorate of engineering
Astronaut alumnus Neil Armstrong visits Purdue's campus.
Armstrong received an honorary doctorate of engineering from President Hovde at commencement ceremonies and in return, Armstrong presented a Purdue centennial flag to the University that he carried with him to the moon. Following in the tradition established by alumni astronauts Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Neil Armstrong, two future astronauts graduated in this decade: Jerry Ross, the first human to be launched into space seven times, in 1970 (Bachelor's) and 1972 (Master's) and Janice Voss, Purdue’s first woman astronaut alumna, in 1975.

December 4, 1970

The first Black Cultural Center is dedicated.
The new Black Cultural Center (BCC) offered a location for both learning and community building. Professor Singer Buchanan was hired as Purdue’s first coordinator of Black Student Programs in 1970. He articulated a vision for the BCC as an educational and social center, a place for people of different races and backgrounds to discuss issues, exchange feelings, and “emerge hopefully on the other side with a greater understanding of what each thinks, and feels, and believes.” Graduate student John Houston became the first director of the BCC in 1972. He was succeeded by Antonio Zamora in 1973. In 1999, the Black Cultural Center moved to its current location at the corner of 3rd and Russell Street.

1971

Arthur G. Hansen
Arthur G. Hansen is hired to succeed President Frederick L. Hovde upon his retirement as University President.
Hansen, a Purdue alumnus who graduated from Purdue the year Hovde started his tenure at Purdue (1946), was appointed Hovde’s successor and the eighth president of the University (1971). At the time of his appointment as the University's eighth president, he had served as president of the Georgia Institute of Technology for two years. Under Hansen's administration, enrollment increased to more than 32,000 and new buildings were constructed for agriculture, psychology, life sciences and athletics. Hansen also supported the establishment of Purdue's first Black Cultural Center. He left Purdue in 1982 to become chancellor of the Texas A&M system.

1972

The President's Council is organized.

1972

Title IX federal regulations are passed to enhance support for women’s intercollegiate athletics.

Purdue soon had one of the best women’s college volleyball teams in the nation.

1972

The name of the Memorial Center building is officially changed to Stewart Center.
The name change was chosen in honor of the forty-five years of service provided by retired Vice President R.B. Stewart and his wife, Lillian.
R.B., who served as chief financial officer of the university during an era of rapid growth, was also instrumental in founding the G.I. Bill.

1975

Purdue's first tractor pull
The first Purdue-sponsored tractor pull event is held.

1975

The School of Nuclear Engineering is founded.

1976

School of Consumer and Family Sciences

The name of the School of Home Economics is changed to the School of Consumer and Family Sciences.

1977

Potter Engineering Center
The Johnson Hall of Nursing and the Potter Engineering Center are completed.
The Johnson Hall of Nursing was built to house the School of Nursing, which was created within the Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences in 1979.

October 1, 1979

Herbert C. Brown, head and shoulders portrait
Faculty member Herbert C. Brown is awarded a Nobel Prize for boron research.

September 25, 1979

Boilermaker Special IV
The Boilermaker Special IV (the "X-tra Special") is delivered to the Purdue Reamer Club.

1980

Hicks Undergraduate Library
The 1980s saw many changes to the face of campus through the construction of new buildings as well as traffic and landscaping changes.
These changes started in 1980 with the completion of the Psychological Sciences Building. The Whistler Hall of Agricultural Research and the National Soil Erosion Facility were completed the following year. In 1982, construction was finished on the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility and the Hicks Undergraduate Library. In 1983, the Krannert Center for Executive Education and Research was completed. 1984 saw the relandscaping of Purdue's gravesite and the completion of the Hansen Life Sciences Building as well as the Knoy Hall of Technology. In 1986, Purdue's Visitor Information Center was completed and the Agricultural Experiment Station relocated 10 miles north of West Lafayette. The Materials and Electrical Engineering Building was completed in 1988, and vehicles were removed from the center of campus to accomodate students. The Exponent Building and the Engineering Fountain were also completed in 1989.

April 11, 1980

Coach Gene Keady
Gene Keady begins his career as Purdue's "all-time-winningest" basketball coach.

1981

Purdue enrolls over 32,000 students.
A growing student body still found itself short of housing— some chose the options of living off-campus in motels and hotels. The expanding campus meant needed additional parking space for student, staff, and local residents. New facilities were needed to teach classes and support research.

1981

Purdue Rodeo, 1982
The first Purdue Rodeo is held to raise money for scholarships.

1982

John W. Hicks
John W. Hicks is hired to serve as Interim President following the departure of President Hansen.

1982

From 1982-1983, Purdue Statewide Technology (PST) is established.

1983

Steven C. Beering
Steven C. Beering is hired as University President.
Beering came to Purdue after 10 years as the dean of the Indiana School of Medicine and director of the IU Medical Center. Beering's tenure at Purdue was marked by sustained growth in academics, facilities and private support. More than 20 new buildings were constructed on the West Lafayette campus, and 13 others were expanded or renovated. He also fostered efforts to make Purdue an international university. President Emeritus Beering and his wife, Jane, continued to serve as ambassadors and fundraisers for the university after his term as president ended.

1983

A Cyber 205 super computer is installed in the basement of the Mathematical Sciences Building.
The Cyber 205 super computer was constructed in the Purdue University Computing Center, making Purdue one of the first two universities in U.S. to have one.

1983

Purdue student with Challenger experiment, 1983

Student Experiments are Sent into Space on the Space Shuttle Challenger VII.

Three undergraduate student projects were sent into space on the Challenger VII space shuttle in 1983. Of the three projects, one studied the gravity needed to make roots grow downwards. A second project studied the behavior of cosmic ray particles outside of the earth's atmosphere while the third studied the behavior of liquid in zero gravity. The projects did not belong to any single undergraduate researcher and had been worked on by roughly 100 students from 1978-1983.

1984

The Olympic Torch Relay passes through Lafayette on the way to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

1985

Rocket
Alumni astronauts Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan visit campus for a football game.
During the halftime show, the Purdue marching band acted out a rocket launch and a moon landing.

1985

The National Science Foundation awards the University $17 million to study and develop intelligent manufacturing systems.

1986

Fred Akers becomes the Purdue football coach.

1986

The Speech and Hearing Clinic celebrates its 50th year.

1987

The Krannert School of Management and Purdue Civil Engineering celebrate their 25th and 100th anniversaries, respectively.

1987

The Purdue jazz band performs at a jazz festival in Sweden.

April 9, 1987

Reagan visits Purdue
President Ronald Reagan visits the West Lafayette campus to pay tribute to the Purdue School of Technology's new statewide technology program.
Reagan was greeted by a huge crowd when he landed at the Purdue airport before touring science and technology facilities on campus, specifically the recently completed Knoy Hall. Reagan spoke to a large and enthusiastic crowd at Mackey Arena, where the Purdue Bands welcomed him with a rendition of "Hail to the Chief." Purdue presented President Reagan with a robot as a gift in honor of his visit.

1988

Orville Redenbacher seated, holding handful of popcorn
Orville Redenbacher receives an honorary degree.
Redenbacher was a Purdue alumnus of 1928 who went on to become a widely recognized buisnessman and the fouder of the popcorn brand that bears his name.

1988

The School of Electrical Engineering celebrates its 100th year.

1989

Purdue Musical Organizations' former director, William Allen, pleads guilty to stealing almost $400,000 from the organizations' accounts.

1989

The official School of Education is founded.

April 15, 1990

Students walking across Academy Park
Many iconic parts of Purdue's campus were completed during the 1990s, including the Class of 1950 Lecture Hall in 1990, and Academy Park, better known as the clapping circles, in 1996.
Other buildings completed in this decade include the Mollenkopf Athletic Center in 1990, the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in 1991, Beering Hall  in 1992, Hillenbrand Hall in 1993, renovations of the Grant Street Parking Garage in 1994, the Bell Tower in 1995, the Food Science Building in 1998, the "Hello Walk" in 1998, and the Black Cultural Center in 1999.

1991

Marching Band Forming Eagle
Activities are held to support American troops.

1991

Vision 21, Purdue's largest fundraising campaign to date, is announced.
Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan acted as co-chairmen of the Vision 21 Campaign focusing on faculty initiatives, student scholarships and fellowships, research and public service, and information access. 

1991

The gravesite of John Purdue is restored and redidicated during Gala Week with funds donated by the Class of 1946.

1992

The Purdue All-American marching band visits to Singapore to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

June 1993

Purdue's first new student orientation is held.
The program was originally called Corn Camp and was attended by 100 students. Over the next decade, this orientation program evolved into the Boiler Gold Rush (BGR), which had more than 6,500 attendents in 2017 and was run by over 500 returning student volunteers. Boiler Gold Rush International is held the week before BGR to provide international students with an opportunity to adjust to Purdue and the United States before BGR begins.

September 25, 1993

Boilermaker Special V
The Boilermaker Special V is dedicated during the halftime show of the Notre Dame football game at Ross-Ade Stadium.

1994

Registrar Betty Suddarth retires after participating in over 120 commencement ceremonies.

October 30, 1995

Purdue's Bell Tower is completed, standing 165 feet tall.

The Bell Tower replaced a smoke stack from the Purdue power plant which was demolished in 1992. The bells from the old Heavilon Hall building were used in the construction of the Purdue Bell Tower, which plays Purdue's fight songs and the alma mater at various times during the day. Most undergraduates avoid walking directly underneath the tower, as it is said that those who do so will not graduate in four years.

1996

Purdue students Lauren Nicholson and Jackie Battipaglia won the Air Race Classic, an all-female cross-country airplane race.

1996

John Blaha speaks to graduating students from the Mir space station.

October 19, 1996

Boilermaker Special VI
The X-tra Special VI (Boilermaker Special VI) is dedicated.

June 4, 1996

The Olympic torch comes to Slayter Hill.

September 1997

Rowdy
Rowdy, an athletic mascot of a young boy seeking to one day become a Purdue Boilermaker, is introduced at the first home football game of the 1997 season.
The mascot stood nearly ten feet tall and was made of parachute material. The student inside wore a power pack to keep it inflated. Rowdy appeared at athletic events alongside Purdue Pete.

1998

The Reamer Club celebrates its 75th anniversary.

1998

Mackey Arena's roof is painted gold.

December 6, 1998

A severe thunderstorm does over $100,000 of damage to University Hall.
The roof was pulled away and the cupola—home of the iconic spire at the top of University Hall—was badly damaged. While the university worked to assess the situation, staff, students, and faculty were relocated to other parts of campus; not a session of class was missed, as classes were held in Stewart Center and even a dining hall at Shealy Residence Hall. Over the next six days, the roof and its familiar cupola were replaced. Thankfully, little water damage occurred inside the building itself. In addition to the repair work, structural improvements were made to modernize the then-121 year-old roof. Interior improvements took place in the weeks and months after the incident. By the time spring semester began on January 12, 1999, University Hall was whole again and ready for classes.

1999

Black Cultural Center
The Black Cultural Center moves to its newly completed building.

1999

Purdue Women's basketball team, 1999

The women's basketball team becomes the first Purdue athletics team to win a national championship since men's golf in 1961.

October 21, 1999

Neil Armstrong hitting drum
To mark the 30th anniversary of the first moon landing, Purdue holds a weekend of celebrations for its 21 astronaut alumni.
All but one of Purdue's living astronauts reunited for the event - 18 in total. Mary Ellen Weber was preparing for the upcoming shuttle mission and could not attend. Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan were among the attendees. During their weekend back at Purdue, the astronauts attended classes, gave lectures, and spoke with students. They were also honored during the halftime show of the Purdue-Penn State football game.

2000

Martin Jischke
Martin C. Jischke becomes the Purdue University President.
Jischke oversaw a five-year strategic plan that focused on discovery, learning, and engagement to make Purdue a preeminent institution. He initiated a program to provide need-based Purdue scholarships to a student from each of Indiana's 92 counties. Jischke became Purdue's 10th president after serving nine years as president of Iowa State University. He received his bachelor's degree in physics from the Illinois Institute of Technology and his doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

2000

Purdue Football goes to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 34 years.
The 2000 Purdue football team surpassed the expectations of many by becoming Big Ten co-champions and reaching the Rose Bowl. Led by quarterback Drew Brees, Purdue’s season included victories over Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State. The trip to the Rose Bowl was the team’s second overall. The team faced Pac-10 champions Washington in the marquee New Year’s Day bowl game. The game was very competitive yet in the end, the Huskies were the victors, 34-24.

2000

Purdue enrolls more international students than any other public research institution in the United States.

2000

Cary Quadrangle, Cary Knight Spot Grill
Cary Quadrangle, one of Purdue's oldest residence halls, undergoes extensive renovations.
From 2000 to 2006, electrical, plumbing, heating/ventilation, and telecommunication utilities were upgraded. Rooms in the East, Northeast, West and Northwest buildings were converted into air conditioned suites, which included the addition of bathrooms between every two rooms. The Cary Knight Spot Grill was opened to provide students with a late night dining option.

2000

Purdue launches SSINFO (Student Services Information), providing students online access to grades and class schedules for the first time.
Students of this era anxiously awaited 8:00am on the Wednesday following final exams for their grades to populate on the site. Class assignments, quizzes, and general information were avaliable on WebCT/WebCTVista, web-based course sites used by instructors.

2000

The nationally ranked Purdue women's golf team wins the Big Ten title for the first time.
The team has since won five more Big Ten Championships in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013.

2001

Dedication ceremony of Bindley Bioscience Center in Discovery Park
The Discovery Park center for technology and science innovation is founded on the south-west portion of Purdue's campus.
Discovery Park was founded with a $5 million commitment from the state and later a $25 million contribution from the Lilly Endowment. Portions of the Purdue Village and south campus along Harrison Street were demolished to make way for the Park as it grew. Numerous structures were built, including the Morgan Entrepreneurship Center (2004), the Birck Nanotechnology Center (2005), Bindley Bioscience Center (2005), Martin C. Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering (2006), Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology (2009), and Discovery Learning Center (2010).

2001

Two years after winning the national championship, the Purdue Women’s basketball team again reaches the Final Four and title game.

Playing in-state rivals Notre Dame, star Katie Douglas and the Boilermakers eventually fell 68-66. It was a disappointing end to a tremendous season. Throughout the remainder of the decade, the team continued its success, winning multiple Big Ten titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. Following the loss to Notre Dame, events near campus made news of their own. Students rioted, burning couches and breaking windows, and caused an estimated $100,000 in damages. Eventually, tear gas was used to disperse the crowds. In the following days, police and the university sought out the perpetrators.

2001

Aquatic Center
The Boilermaker Aquatic Center opens.

2001

Purdue big bass drum
Purdue's drum celebrates its 80th birthday.

2002

WBAA
Indiana's longest continually operating radio station WBAA celebrates its 80th anniversary.

2002

Nearly 500 items pertaining to Amelia Earhart are donated to the Purdue University Libraries Archives & Special Collections.
Thanks to this donation, Purdue's collection is the largest source of archival information about Amelia Earhart. 

2002

Purdue regains the Old Oaken Bucket.

2003

Ross-Ade Stadium
Ross-Ade Stadium renovations are completed and the press box is rededicated to Richard Shively.

2003

Crowd standing with flags at Latino Cultural Center
The Latino Cultural Center is established under the guiding philosophy "All are welcome!".
Three years later, the LCC gained a new space at 600 N Russell Street.

2004

Men's basketball coach Gene Keady retires after taking the team to the NCAA Tournament for 18 of his 25 years as head coach.
In the early 2000s, the men’s basketball team continued its decades-long success, reaching the Elite Eight in 2000. The men’s team remained nationally ranked, as the trio of Robbie Hummel, E’Twaun Moore, and JaJuan Johnson led the Boilers to the Big Ten Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen in 2009. The home of Purdue basketball began a major renovation in 2009, as Mackey Arena was updated inside and out. The Mackey Arena Complex project created academic and training facilities for student-athletes in all sports, a new ticket office, a large basketball practice facility, and several other upgrades for use by Purdue Athletics. The facade of the Arena facing Northwestern Avenue was also updated.

2004

The Schools of Agriculture, Consumer and Family Sciences, Education, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Science, Technology, and Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences become colleges.

2004

One Billion Dollar Party
The Campaign for Purdue surpasses its $1.5 billion dollar alumni donation goal.

2004

Construction of Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts and Rawls Hall is completed.

June 29, 2004

Ford Dining Court employee putting pizza in oven
Ford was one of the first dining courts on Purdue's campus which was not located within a residence hall. During the early 2000s, many dorm-specific dining halls were consolidated into centralized facilities near university housing. In addition, the design of the dining areas reduced or eliminated cafeteria-style lines in favor of an open floor plan with specialized meal offerings. The dining facilities within Earhart Residence Hall were renovated accordingly in 2003. Additional dining halls near Windsor and Wiley Halls were constructed in the following years. The Purdue Memorial Union also underwent an extensive renovation to improve infrastructure and dining offerings. The well-known cafeteria of the Union Market was removed. In its place, several restaurants were welcomed into the Union, including Starbucks.

2005

Purdue hosts the 2005 Air Race Classic, a cross-country air race for women.

November 4, 2005

Boilermaker, statue
An 18-foot bronze statue of a Boilermaker is installed on North University Drive between the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility and the Mollenkopf Athletic Center.
The statue was commissioned by an anonymous donor in honor of the Grotnes family, founders of Charles Grotnes Machine Works. Three generations of the Grotnes family have attended Purdue. "The Boilermaker" was created by sculpter Jon Hair.

2006

FedEx Plane
FedEx Corporation donates a retired cargo plane to Purdue's department of aviation technology.
Although the plane cannot be flown by students, it serves as an on-ground training lab. It allows students in aviation related majors to practice large-scale maintenance, inspection and repair procedures, as well as preflight procedures, cockpit operations and taxi practice.

2006

Dauch Alumni Center
The Purdue Alumni Association surpasses 67,000 members.
As the number of Purdue students increased, so did the number of alumni. The Dick and Sandy Dauch Alumni Center opened in 2004 as a new home for Purdue alumni and alumni relations.

2006

Lawson Computer Science Building
The Lawson Computer Science Building opens as the new home for computer science, information security, and high-impact computing.

2006

Purdue holds its 200th commencement ceremony.

2006

Mason working on Rush Crossing
Replica railroad tracks are installed between Stanley Coulter Hall and Wetherill Hall near the site where railroads once traveled to and from the Testing Plant and Power Plants.
Students “jump the tracks” during Boiler Gold Rush to signify their entrance into the university. 

December 2006

Dennis J. and Mary Lou Schwartz Tennis Center
Purdue's tennis program welcomes their new facility, the Dennis J. and Mary Lou Schwartz Tennis Center.
The 56,000 square foot tennis center includes six indoor and twelve outdoor tennis courts, giving Purdue University Athletics a national-caliber training and competition facility.

2007

France A. Córdova
France A. Córdova is hired to succeed Martin C. Jischke as University President.
Córdova led Purdue to record levels of research funding, reputational rankings, and student retention rates; championed diversity among students, staff and university leadership; and promoted student success, faculty excellence, education affordability, and programmatic innovation. Before taking the position of University President, Córdova graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English from Stanford University and later earned a PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology. She also served in leadership roles at UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, and Penn State and was chief scientist at NASA 1993-1996.

2007

Liz Lehmann wins the 50th Purdue University Grand Prix, becoming the first woman to win the race.

October 2007

Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering
Sixteen of Purdue’s 22 astronaut alumni attend the dedication ceremony for the newly completed Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, including Armstrong himself.
In 2004, the Creative Arts buildings at the corner of University Street and Stadium Avenue were removed, as ground was broken on the Millennium Engineering Building. The new structure, spanning Stadium Avenue from University Street to Northwestern Avenue, became the home of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the School of Materials Engineering, the Department of Engineering Education, the Office of the Dean of Engineering, and specialized engineering programs for minorities, women, and community service. The structure was later officially named Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering.

October 6, 2007

The Native American Cultural Center is established through student and campus advocacy.
In 2016, the NACC moved to its new location on 5th Street.

August 2008

Purdue begins using the myPurdue portal for managing student course registration, schedules, financial information, and transcripts.
The myPurdue portal was a significant change from SSINFO, which had been based in the COBOL programming language. For the first time in Purdue’s history, students possessed the ability to add or drop courses and review course catalogs online.

April 25, 2009

The Grand Prix is hosted in its new location at the corner of McCormick Road and Cherry Lane.
This track, similar to the old one with the addition of extra safety features, was built due to the expansion of the Mackey Arena Sports Complex.

August 15, 2009

First Street Towers student dorms
The First Street Towers complex is completed.
The First Street residence hall was designed for upperclassmen students.The towers have single air-conditioned rooms with private baths and are arranged in clusters of 22 students around a central living room/dinette area.

2010

The College of Health and Human Sciences is formed, bringing together several departments and colleges.

2011

The Purdue University Honors College is established to replace the University Honors Program, along with other existing honors programs.
Rhonda Phillips was named the first Dean of the Honors College in 2013, and the first courses were offered that Fall semester. In order to be enrolled, students have to meet and maintain stringent academic, leadership, and engagement requirements. The four main tenets set forth with the Honors College in its formative years were undergraduate research, interdisciplinary academics, leadership development, and community and global experiences. Honors College students are also expected to complete a capstone project prior to graduation.

2012

The Co-rec is reopened after extensive renovations, and is renamed the France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center.
The renovated Co-rec greatly expanded the number of exercise areas, options, and equipment, and allowed for increased access to the facility for all students. The building is very popular with students and includes several indoor pools, rock climbing and bouldering walls, physical therapy offices, demonstration kitchens, a variety of gym equippment, and exercise classrooms.

2012

Purdue alumnus David Boudia wins two medals during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Boudia won a gold medal in the 10-meter diving event, and a bronze medal in the men's synchronized 10-meter platform.

2012

The John and Anna Margaret Ross Alexander Field, home to Purdue Baseball, joins the Schwartz Tennis Center along Cherry Lane and McCormick Road, as Purdue Athletics Facilities continue to grow west of campus.
The Boilermaker Soccer Complex was renovationed in 2012 and renamed the Loren and Donna Folk Field in 2016. Purdue Softball moved into the Boilermaker Softball Complex in 2015, which was renamed the Marvin L. and Elaine Bittinger Stadium in 2016.

2012

The LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) Center opens in the Schleman Hall of Student Services.
The LGBTQ center advocates for equitable access and a discrimination-free environment, hosts speakers and events, and provides resources to students of the LGBTQ community.

August 2012

Purdue University and the global community mourn the passing of Neil A. Armstrong in 2012 and Eugene A. Cernan in 2017.
Armstrong and Cernan are perhaps Purdue's most recognized alumni. Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon and Cernan the last. Both alumni donated their personal papers to Purdue University Archives and Special Collections so that future generations of Purdue students could learn from their experiences.

2013

Former Indiana Govenor Mitch Daniels is hired as Purdue University President, following the appointment of France A. Córdova to head the National Science Foundation.
President Daniels has launched a series of initiatives called Purdue Moves that provide bold answers to some of the greatest challenges facing higher education today. The four pillars of Purdue Moves — affordability and accessibility, transformative education, world-changing research, and STEM leadership — leverage Purdue’s historic strengths and promote investment in new ideas, guiding the university in its mission to deliver higher education at the highest proven value. Purdue commenced a series of tuition freezes in 2013 that will last through at least the 2019-20 academic year. During that same time, room and board costs were cut by five percent and have remained steady since 2013, resulting in an overall decrease in the cost of attending Purdue since President Daniels took office that year.

2014

Two new developments along Third Street, Third Street Suites and Krach Leadership Center, are opened.
Student residence Third Street Suites provides upperclassmen with another housing option near campus. The suites are designed to accomodate four students, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and common area. The main floor houses a Starbucks and Third Street Market. Next door, the Krach Leadership Center provides numerous spaces for student groups and study areas, along with Amazon@Purdue, a brick-and-mortar location for Amazon package services.

September 11, 2014

The Veterans Success Center opens as a Purdue-based resource for veterans and military students.
The Vetern's Success Center is housed in the Purdue Memorial Union. It is comprised of a lounge and several offices where students can receive guidance on and access to military-related education benefits, opportunities for personal and professional development, and connect with their peers.

2015

The Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center (AAARCC) is formed.
After spending a year housed in Stewart Center, the AAARCC moved into a building on 5th Street during the Fall 2016 semester. The new space, includes and Itap computer lab, exhibition space, lounge, and other social and academic spaces.

2016

Purdue’s two northern regional campuses, Purdue Calumet and Purdue North Central, merge to form Purdue Northwest.
In the same year, Indiana University and Purdue University announced that Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne would undergo realignment and come under the management of Purdue University, which took formal effect on July 1, 2018.

2016

Several Purdue alumni win medals during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Alumna Amanda Elmore won a gold in rowing for the United States women’s eight-person team. Elmore became the first female Purdue Olympian to win a gold and the fifth Boilermaker to win an Olympic gold medal. The men's synchronized diving team of David Boudia and Steele Johnson, both Purdue alumni, won silver medals. At the time of the 2016 Olympics, Johnson was an undergraduate at the University.

2016

The Honors College Residences are completed along Russell Street between First and Third Streets. 
The Honors Residences house over 800 students, along with more than 40,000 square feet of academic space, included a large lecture hall. 

October 12, 2016

Hundreds of spectators watch as the Indiana bicentenial torch relay passes through Purdue's campus.
The torch itself was designed and manufactured at Purdue by students from the Colleges of Agriculture and Engineering. The torch relay wound its way through the state, stopping in all 92 counties. Torchbearers included Dean of Students Emerita Betty Nelson, Student Body President Geri Denger, Purdue President Mitch Daniels, Purdue astronaut alumnus David Wolf, Purdue alumnus and former football star Leroy Keyes, and many other members of the community selected by the Bicentennial Commission.

2017

State Street, the central corridor through campus, is redeveloped.
The City of West Lafayette and Purdue University partnered to rebuild State Street, establishing new two-way traffic patterns, bike lanes, lighting, and pedestrian-friendly walkways. The project extended west to the U.S. 231/U.S. 52 highway, connecting the growing Western Gateway to central campus. In addition, several structures in the Purdue Village were demolished as Purdue began to grow its new Innovation District, aimed at bringing in new housing and entrepreneurship opportunities to the near-west campus area adjacent Discovery Park.

2017

Purdue announces a new initiative into public university online education with the acquisition of Kaplan University.
Kaplan was renamed Purdue University Global the following year. President Daniels and the Board of Trustees supported the move, and stated that it was a part of Purdue's land-grant mission to reach out to potential students who might not have the means to attend courses on one of Purdue's campuses. Purdue Student Government supported the initiative, while faculty members voiced opposition to the plan after its announcement.

2017

A group of Purdue students and faculty members attend the Hyperloop Project Competition in Hawthorne California, where they finish 9th.
The Hyperloop, a transportation method proposed by technology company SpaceX, would use an airless tunnels to move travelers at nearly the speed of sound. SpaceX created the competition for students across the world to create their own technologies for the Hyperloop.

2017

Purdue Football facilities undergo several renovations, beginning with the installation of new lights in Ross-Ade Stadium.
The lights provide permanent illumination and allow for night games for the first time in the history of Purdue Football. The same year, the Football Performance Complex was opened. The following year, the Drew and Brittany Brees Student Athletic Center, an academic support area for student-athletes, was updated to provide greater assistance to Purdue student-athletes.

August 17, 2017

The Thomas S. and Harvey D. Wilmeth Active Learning Center (WALC) opens in the center of campus.
The WALC replaced the remains of the Heating and Power Plant as well as the Engineering Administration Building. In their place, the 170,390 square foot building created multi-faceted teaching and student learning spaces as well as housing for the Library of Engineering and Science (LOES). The LOES is made up of the former Chemistry; Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; Engineering; Life Sciences; Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences; and Physics Libraries.

March 22, 2018

Cow looks on as audience listens to presenter at building dedication.

Dedication of Animal Sciences Complex

Opening of Creighton Hall of Animal Sciences and Land O'Lakes Center for Experiential Learning. The $60 million Animal Sciences Complex boosts the university's commitment to Indiana's vital animal production industry. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q1/purdue-celebrates-dedication-of-new-animal-sciences-complex.html

April 2018

Purdue Global logo

Purdue University creates Purdue Global

Purdue Global was created from Purdue University’s acquisition and rebranding of the former private for-profit Kaplan University. As a public online university, Purdue University Global programs focus on career-oriented fields of study at all levels of higher education. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q1/transaction-complete-for-purdue-global.html

August 2018

Purdue University professor Arvind Raman, speaking, will co-direct a new center to support USAID in navigating developmental challenges in lower-middle income countries. (Purdue University image/John Underwood)

USAID awards Purdue $70 million for Partners for University Led Solutions Engine (PULSE)

To support the United States Agency for International Development as it navigates developmental challenges in lower-middle income countries, Purdue will lead a multi-university consortium devising evidence-based solutions. USAID will support PULSE as a Long-Term Assistance and Services for Research (LASER) center with an up to $70 million cooperative agreement over the course of five years. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q3/usaid-selects-purdue-led-center-to-research-worldwide-challenges.html

August 15, 2018

Students blow train whistles

Purdue students shatter Guinness World Records

Boiler Gold Rush students shatter Guinness World Record for most train whistles blowing at the same time.

https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q3/purdue-succeeds-on-two-guinness-world-record-attempts.html

September 2018

150 Years of Giant Leaps logo

Sesquicentennial Celebration: "150 Years of Giant Leaps"

Dedication of "The Forge" building and sculpture celebrates the role of traditional Boilermakers and helps to kick of Purdue's 150th celebration. https://takegiantleaps.com https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q3/the-forge-statue-commemorates-boilermakers-of-past,-future.html

October 2018

Purdue Giant Leaps Master Plan logo

"Giant Leaps" Master Plan

A new Campus Master Plan was approved, focusing on connectivity, collaboration, vibrancy, sustainability, and flexibility. https://www.purdue.edu/physicalfacilities/units/cpas/campus-planning/master-plans/index.html

January 2019

Black Cultural Center 50th Anniversary logo

Purdue’s Black Cultural Center kicks off ‘50 Years of Unlocking Excellence’

Black Cultural Center celebrated its 50th anniversary with a cultural arts festival, a Jubilee Gala, and the Black Family Reunion. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2019/Q1/purdues-black-cultural-center-kicks-off-50-years-of-unlocking-excellence.html

January 9, 2019

Candlelight vigil

Candlelight vigil held to honor the life of Tyler Trent

Tyler Trent inspired the nation throughout his courageous battle with cancer.  The 20-year-old Purdue student from Carmel, Indiana, who suffered from a rare form of bone cancer, died January 1, 2019 after a five-year battle with the disease. During his time at Purdue, Trent was an eager student, a tireless advocate for giving and an inspiration to many. The Tyler Trent Cancer Research Endowment was created in his honor to fund efforts at the Purdue Center for Cancer Research (PCCR). https://www.purdue.edu/cancer-research/research/support-our-research/tyler-trent-cancer-research-endowment.php