Endowed Scholarship Program Named for Grobens

The Groben Society is named for Richard “Dick” and Jeannette “Jeanne” Groben of Sarasota, Florida in honor of their generous contributions to the enduring success of Purdue Athletics. With gifts totaling more than $1.25 million over the past year to help Purdue student-athletes, the Athletics Department has named its endowed scholarship program in honor of Dick and Jeanne. 

Though they have not been to campus in years to see a football game at Ross Ade Stadium, or a  basketball game at Mackey Arena, Dick and Jeanne Groben never miss the Boilermakers on television. (They will be on campus to enjoy the game versus Notre Dame on September 29.)  They also stay well informed about the athletics department through Gold and Black Illustrated and by constantly checking the scores and reading the stories from the athletics web site.  As long-time John Purdue Club members, their love of Purdue and Boilermaker Athletics led them to establish a scholarship for the football program after being inspired by the Durham Brothers and their Durham Challenge in 2006. “Jeanne and I just want to help student-athletes get their degrees at Purdue. And, even though we feel that Purdue’s academics should get all the recognition, that’s not the way it works. Athletics puts our entire university in the national spotlight, and supporting athletics is our way of showing the university just how much we care and appreciate all they have to offer.”

Dick went on to state that  “Initially, Jeanne and I wanted to establish our scholarship to show others that regular people can really make a difference in a student-athlete’s life if they put their mind to it. But, then we started thinking that maybe we hadn’t done enough to help encourage others to step up and give, so that led us to make our second gift to name the scholarship program.  I spent a career in sales and marketing after receiving my degree from Purdue, and if putting our story out there helps the athletics department to encourage others to give like we did, then we have done our job.” 

Mr. Groben, a 1950 Purdue graduate in chemical engineering, is the holder of two patents and spent his sales and marketing career in the field of chemical engineering as a vice president with Pfizer Chemical and as founder and part owner of Microlife Technics. Dick combined vision, leadership, and a true Boilermaker work ethic to help make a difference in the world.  Jeanne is successful in her own rite, as she raised three children and also is an accomplished writer and humorist, having been published in the Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, and their local Sarasota newspaper.  Together, Dick and Jeanne have left a legacy through their understanding of Purdue’s student-athlete model and their commitment to helping develop the next generation of leaders.  “Anyone can be a leader, says Dick, all they have to do is learn how to think and how to ask the ‘why’ question in everything they do--and Purdue is the perfect place to learn those things.”   

The Groben Society has been created to exclusively recognize those individuals who share the Groben’s vision by investing in leadership created through the student-athlete experience.  Members of the Groben Society will be recognized annually at a scholarship function during which they will have the opportunity to interact with their scholarship recipient and other Groben Society members, followed by a recognition ceremony on the floor of Mackey Arena during a basketball game.  Each fall, new Groben Society members will be honored on the field at Ross Ade Stadium during a football game.  Throughout the year, Groben Society members will be featured in articles in Gold and Black Illustrated, in the John Purdue Club webletter and on its website.

According to athletic director Morgan Burke, “securing a solid foundation through building a strong athletic scholarship endowment is among the athletics department’s greatest priorities.”  Little more than a decade ago (1995-96) the Purdue Athletics Endowment stood at $11.1 million.  In 2005-06, the endowment reached $25.2 million, then reached $34.2 in 2006-07.  With the more than $3 million in new endowed scholarship funds recently pledged through the Durham Challenge, the value of the endowment will grow to approximately $38 million in the next few years.  Each year, the interest from this endowment funds a percentage of the department’s total annual scholarship costs, which are now approaching $7 million.  “By lending their names to our endowed scholarship program, Dick and Jeanne have truly put their mark on Purdue Athletics, and we are sincerely grateful for their vote of confidence in our ability to look toward the future, said Burke.”

Today, 87 of the athletic department’s scholarships are endowed.  That number has grown from just 45 in 2002.  Through the Goben Society, the plan is to see that number grow to more than 100 over the next few years.  Over time,  the goal is to endow at least half of the scholarships offered to Purdue’s 500 student-athletes.  When presented with these lofty goals for the Groben Society, Dick offered these words, “Anyone who has the means to endow a scholarship should do it.  Until they do, they have no idea how personally gratifying it can be to help others--especially Boilermaker student-athletes.”