{"id":513,"date":"2026-07-14T04:25:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T04:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/?page_id=513"},"modified":"2026-11-09T18:29:36","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T18:29:36","slug":"our-legacy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/bop-plus\/programs\/business\/about\/our-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \"photo\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

Our Legacy<\/h1>\n
\n \n\n

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 \u2014 one student at a time.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n
\n \n\n
\n
\n

A Legacy of Excellence <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n

our History<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n \n\n
\n
\n

The Business Opportunity Program <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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) \u2014 the first of its kind at Purdue and among the earliest at major business schools nationwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In BOP’s second year, Dean Day hired Dr. Cornell A. Bell<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Dean<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n <\/blockquote>\n

Dan Schendel<\/p>\n

Professor Emeritus<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n
\n

Our Namesake<\/strong><\/h2>\n <\/div>\n \n\n
\n
\n
\"portrait<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Dr. Cornell A. Bell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

(1933-2009)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Cornell A. Bell was far more than a program director \u2014 he was a father figure, mentor and passionate advocate whose life’s work transformed business education at Purdue. An Indiana native, he earned degrees in chemistry and education from Indiana University before working as a teacher, guidance counselor and school principal in Gary, Indiana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1969, Dr. Bell was hired to direct BOP in just its second year \u2014 and what followed was one of the most impactful tenures in Purdue’s history. He earned his doctoral degree from Purdue in 1972 and spent the next three decades creating opportunities and removing barriers for aspiring business leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among his many honors, Dr. Bell was recognized with the Special Boilermaker Award, the M. Beverley Stone Non-Academic Counseling Award, the Harold T. Amrine Visionary Award and the Sagamore of the Wabash. In 1996, the program he devoted his life to was renamed in his honor. Dr. Bell died in 2009, but his legacy lives on in every student whose life BOP has touched.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
Read Dr. Bell’s Story<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n
\n