Our Legacy
For more than 50 years, the Dr. Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program has been transforming lives, opening doors and shaping the next generation of business leaders — one student at a time.
A Legacy of Excellence
Founded in 1968 by visionary faculty leaders and Dean John S. Day, the Business Opportunity Program (BOP) has spent more than five decades expanding access to business education at Purdue University and shaping the next generation of leaders.
our History
The Business Opportunity Program
In April 1968, faculty members Dan E. Schendel, Wilbur G. Lewellen, Charles Lawrence, Joseph C. Ullman and Dean John S. Day established the Business Opportunity Program (BOP) — the first of its kind at Purdue and among the earliest at major business schools nationwide.
In BOP’s second year, Dean Day hired Dr. Cornell A. Bell to lead the program. Under his leadership, BOP grew into a nationally recognized program that has provided opportunities for nearly 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
We needed leadership from someone who understood what it took to be successful in college and recognized the barriers and challenges facing the young men and women we were trying so hard to bring here. That someone was Cornell Bell. He always felt there were no bounds to what students could accomplish through education.
Dan Schendel
Professor Emeritus
Our Namesake
