Purdue News

January 8, 1999 Purdue's Army ROTC wins prestigious award WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Purdue University ROTC unit was recognized with the 1998 Gen. Douglas MacArthur Award as the best medium-sized Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps unit in the United States. "It's tremendous praise for our program and a tribute to the professionalism of our cadre and cadets," said Maj. Bob Quint, executive officer for the Army ROTC at Purdue. The selection process compared Purdue's program to the other 270 Army ROTC programs throughout the nation in these categories: quality of cadets based on academic credentials and military performance; production efficiency of the program; number of graduates/commissions; retention rate; and the number of military contracts executed. For the school year ending in August 1998, Purdue was rated the best overall program in all areas. The 1997-98 Army ROTC unit consisted of 72 members -- four completion cadets, 10 seniors, 15 juniors, 13 sophomores and 30 freshmen. Maj. Gen. Stewart Wallace, commanding general of the Army ROTC Cadet Command, presented the award to Lt. Col. Michael Berendt, professor of military science at Purdue, on Nov. 18. This is the second time Purdue has won the MacArthur Award. The first such award was presented to the Purdue "Boiler" Battalion in 1989. Mrs. Douglas MacArthur, honorary chairwoman for the foundation named in honor of the late general, attended that ceremony. CONTACT: Maj. Bob Quint, ROTC executive officer, (765) 494-2106; e-mail: bobquint@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page