Purdue News

June 11, 1999 Purdue plates popular with alumni, corporations WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Just like a certain potato chip, some Purdue alumni can't seem to have just one Purdue license plate and still others are putting them on their company cars. "I just try to promote Purdue every chance I get," said engineering alumnus John Bratt, chief executive officer of Tenax Corp., Indianapolis. Bratt has nine Purdue plates. He has one on a company car, two on family vehicles and six on his collection of vintage cars. "It's a wonderful way to support the university," he said. "And it's so easy to get a plate that we decided it would be fun to put them on all of our vehicles." Other Purdue alumni, who work for Milestone Contractors, a heavy highway contractor in Indiana, often choose to put a Purdue plate on their company vehicle. Under the Milestone program, employees purchase a personal vehicle and are reimbursed by the company. Mike Bowman, marketing and sales representative for Milestone-Lafayette said Purdue plates are a staple on a number of Milestone cars because of the Purdue graduates working there. "A good portion of our engineering and estimating staff graduated from Purdue," he said. "So it gives them a sense of pride to be able to keep Purdue visible throughout the state and to give back to the university." The license plate program, in existence since 1991, does more than keep Purdue visible on the road. To date, the program has provided more than $1 million in general scholarship funds for the university. Those contributions come from more than 12,000 plate holders throughout the state of Indiana. Each plate is available by making at least a $25 tax-deductible contribution to the Purdue General Scholarship Fund and submitting an application to Development Services, 1800 Purdue Memorial Union, West Lafayette, Ind. 47907. The application is then certified and returned to the applicant, who takes the form with the regular motor-vehicle registration papers to the nearest Bureau of Motor Vehicles. There also is a $12 special plate fee that is paid to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Applications and information also are available on the World Wide Web or call 888-99-plate to request an application be mailed to you. CONTACT: Lesley Atkinson, director of gift acknowledgment, (765) 494-7624; gifts@dais.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page