Apollo 11 banner auction benefits scholarship fund
Purdue's online auction of Apollo 11 40th anniversary banners during October drew 149 bidders and raised $26,026 for the Emerging Urban Leaders Scholarships.
The banners, created in 2009 to commemorate alumnus Neil Armstrong's historic moon landing in 1969, celebrated that event and all 22 of Purdue's alumni astronauts. The banners hung proudly on Purdue's campus. Made of vinyl, each is 30 inches wide by 78 inches long. Up to six of each design were available.
The Office of Marketing and Media, which created the banner series, also conducted the auction. Suzanne Shaw, director of Marketing and Media's Creative Services group, says the auction sold 80 banners to 61 different bidders. Each winning bidder also is receiving a special commemorative book.
"There was a great deal of activity just before midnight Oct. 31 when the auction closed," Shaw says. "Many people were buying them to give as presents or to hang in their offices."
The Emerging Urban Leaders scholarship program, begun a year ago with an anonymous $6 million gift, supports Purdue’s strategic plan to help create a workforce that can compete in the emerging global economy. Scholarship recipients are selected based on their academic promise and their leadership potential. The first cohort enrolled at Purdue this fall, and a news release at www.purdue.edu/newsroom/students/2010/100824CordovaEUL.html describes the program and the students.
