Catharine Whitten
Catharine Whitten
First Lady Chief of Staff
Sr. Director Events & Projects
A native of South Carolina, Catharine received her B.S. degree in Business Administration from the College of Charleston. After graduation, she worked in the banking and estate planning legal field until she made her way to higher education Development work at Presbyterian College.
Her work in banking and the legal field together with donor stewardship and event planning roles at Presbyterian College prepared Catharine to make the leap from small liberal arts college to Purdue University, a world-renowned, public research university.
Catharine came to Purdue University in 2004 in the Office of Special Events for the University Development Office where she led a team in several capacities over 10 years. Catharine’s teams coordinated and executed high level presidential and donor events honoring and recognizing Purdue’s most generous Purdue Alumni from business leaders to astronauts and a variety in between. University-wide activities executed by the team included some favorites with Homecoming and Purdue Day at the Indiana State Fair at the top.
In 2014, Catharine remained in University Development but moved into a fundraising role with the Krannert School of Management, now known as Mitchel E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business. Helping alumni and donors match their philanthropic passions with the needs of the School was a very rewarding role.
January 2023 began a new journey at Purdue. It is an honor to work in the Office of the President with Purdue’s First Lady, and I look forward to being able to assist the First Lady accomplish her vision to help the Boilermaker Community thrive.
