{"id":35,"date":"2026-06-04T15:23:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/?page_id=35"},"modified":"2026-09-23T18:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:28:15","slug":"give","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/programs\/engineering\/give\/","title":{"rendered":"Give\u00a0to the Don and Liz Thompson MEP Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Give\u00a0to the Don and Liz Thompson MEP Program<\/h1>\n
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We’ve spent decades making sure the brightest engineering minds find their way to Purdue University \u2014 and across the finish line. That work doesn’t happen without people who believe in it.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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A Legacy That Started in Purdue Engineering<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1894, David Robert Lewis<\/a> became the first African American to earn an engineering degree at Purdue University. He did it during the Jim Crow era. Against every odd stacked against him, he stayed the course. His legacy continues to inspire students in the halls of the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Don and Liz Thompson MEP Program exists in that same spirit \u2014 to make sure that every student with the drive to become a Purdue engineer has a real path to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Gift Makes a Difference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you give to MEP, you’re investing in more than a program \u2014 you’re investing in people. Your support helps first-generation, lower-income and under-resourced students get the mentorship, experience and community to succeed in the College of Engineering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you’re an alumnus, mentor, advocate or prospective partner, we’d love to hear from you. Connect with us to learn about upcoming programs and events, and how you can support future engineering students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Ready to invest in the next generation\u00a0of Boilermakers?<\/p>\n

\n Support Engineering Students<\/a>\n Email Us<\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Creating Opportunity Together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The MEP Program exists because of people who believed in it \u2014 and put their names behind that belief. We are grateful to the alumni, friends, faculty, staff, corporate partners and students whose generosity has carried this program forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some endowments below reflect their original fund names, established by donors whose generosity helped build what is now the Don and Liz Thompson MEP Program.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Dorothy J. Benveniste STEM Scholarship  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Marion Williamson Blalock Endowment  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Joi R. Edwards-Haynes Minority Engineering Program Strategic Initiatives Endowment Fund  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Viveca Fairbanks-Henderson Minority Engineering Program Strategic Initiatives Endowment Fund  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Ronald D. Fountain MEP Scholarship  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Odell Johnson Scholarship Fund  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • McDonnell Douglas Scholarship Endowment  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Anthony Wilder Miller Scholarship  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Charles L. and Arlene L. Richards Minority Engineering Program Fund  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • John W. Logan Memorial Scholarship Fund  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Don and Elizabeth Thompson Fund for Minority Engineering  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Thompson Scholars Fund for Minority Engineering <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":374,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-35","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1207,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35\/revisions\/1207"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}