Purdue celebrates 13th Day of Giving

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University marked its 13th Day of Giving on Wednesday (April 29), building upon its powerful philanthropic momentum.

As part of the university’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, “Victories & Heroes: Your Campaign for Purdue,” Boilermakers around the globe were encouraged to be heroes and make victories possible throughout the 24-hour online, social media-driven fundraising effort. Their collective generosity resulted in $95.5 million through 34,454 gifts — bringing Purdue Day of Giving’s cumulative total since its launch in 2014 to $697.6 million. This is the second-highest number of gifts in 13 years of Purdue Day of Giving, second only to the national record-setting number from last year.

“We are deeply grateful for all the philanthropic supporters to our university in what continues to be the best Day of Giving across all American universities. Each and every one of the 34,454 gifts over the past 24 hours is impactful to the donor-designated purpose at Purdue and to the entire Boilermaker family,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. “And as the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, this year’s Purdue Day of Giving also celebrated the many contributions made by generations of Boilermakers to our country.”

Purdue Day of Giving encompasses all the university’s campuses — the Purdue University main campus (West Lafayette, Indianapolis and online), Purdue Fort Wayne, Purdue Northwest and Purdue Global. In addition to the money raised from donors, participating programs competed for cash prizes through more than 30 different challenges.

All gifts on Purdue Day of Giving are donor-directed, meaning donors choose the areas and initiatives that receive their support. 

Gifts came in from all 50 states and ranged from $10 to $20 million. Gifts over $1 million included:

• $20 million from the Ricks Family Foundation to establish the Purdue Institute for Healthcare Systems Innovation within the Mitch Daniels School of Business
• $7 million from Bill (BS industrial management ’68) and Sharon McFadden supporting College of Engineering scholarships and establishing the Sharon and Bill McFadden Scholarship Fund
• $4.295 million to the Daniels School from an anonymous donor
• $3.8 million to the Daniels School, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Purdue Athletics from Joshua Satterlee (BS mathematics and statistics, computer graphics technology ’06, MBA ’11) and Jill Bruins
• $3.045 million to the College of Veterinary Medicine for oncology research from an anonymous donor
• $3 million to the College of Agriculture from an anonymous donor
• $3 million to the School of Mechanical Engineering from the Rich Family Foundation 
• $2.5 million to Purdue Athletics from an anonymous donor
• $2.5 million to fund a headship in the College of Health and Human Sciences from Sharon Broadhead (BS food science ’65)
• $2 million for an endowed professorship in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics from an anonymous donor
• $1.25 million to Purdue Athletics from an anonymous donor
• $1.2 million for the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics from Robert Orville Wirt Jr. (BS aeronautical and astronautical engineering ’77)
• $1.050 million to the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering from an anonymous donor
• $1 million to Purdue Athletics from an anonymous donor
• $1 million to the College of Engineering from an anonymous donor
• $1 million for the Hub for Innovation, Ventures and Entrepreneurship (HIVE) in the College of Engineering from Richard Penington (BS industrial engineering ’85, MS industrial engineering ’86)
• $1 million for the HIVE in the College of Engineering from John Moser (BS industrial engineering ’92)
• $1 million to the College of Science from Nick Edison (BS physics ’85)
• $1 million to a College of Veterinary Medicine scholarship endowment from the Adam and John Brown Foundation

Continuing his tradition, Chiang led dozens of students in a run through campus — beginning at the steps of Hovde Hall and ending at the Purdue Memorial Union lawn. He was joined on the run by faculty and staff, such as Jon Harbor, interim chancellor for Purdue Global.

In the evening, Chiang and Chairman Gary Lehman (BS industrial management ’74) of the Purdue University Board of Trustees unveiled a new, 160-foot-tall flagpole at Ross-Ade Stadium, among the tallest flagpoles at any college stadium in the country, during Stadium Nights, which brought together students, faculty, staff and the local community. Chiang highlighted the university’s contributions to the United States and was joined onstage by current and former Purdue trustees, former Purdue Presidents Mitch Daniels and Martin Jischke (HDR ’07), Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski, and Purdue ROTC members. The audience enjoyed recorded performances from Purdue musical ensembles and a fireworks show to end the evening.

During the event, a gift from Jeannie (BS pharmacy ’61) and Jim Chaney allowed two students to each earn a $10,000 scholarship. Kayla Leatherman, a sophomore in chemical engineering, and Da Yuan Lin, a master’s student in chemical engineering, were the recipients.

New this year, hundreds of donors made gifts to fund an additional $10,000 scholarship. Sarah Rabe, a sophomore in industrial engineering, was the recipient.

“Purdue Day of Giving is proof that philanthropy is about connection,” said Julie Dussliere (BA Russian, political science, English ’94), president and CEO of the Purdue for Life Foundation. “It’s a way to open doors, advance discovery and serve the university we all love. Every gift on this day — no matter the size — has a priceless impact. Thank you to every Boilermaker who participated.”

To view highlights from Purdue Day of Giving, including the leaderboards and winners of the hourly challenges, visit dayofgiving.purdue.edu.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

About the Purdue for Life Foundation

The Purdue for Life Foundation helps people who love Purdue stay connected, get involved and give back. Created in March 2020, the foundation deepens alumni ties to Purdue, drives and coordinates all alumni-related activities across the Purdue family’s postgraduation lives, and works with alumni and friends to garner support for the university. Learn more at https://www.purdueforlife.org/.