Purdue News
Purdue News
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March 17, 2000 Cooperatives rewarding members' scholarshipWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Students living in Purdue University's cooperative housing are discovering that leadership and scholarship can pay – literally. Heather Quirk of Glenwood and Ryan Lee of Fairway are the first recipients of $300 awards that will be presented monthly to the outstanding female and male cooperative house member. Quirk is a junior in the School of Liberal Arts from Wingate, Ind. Lee is a senior in the School of Agriculture from Bedford, Ind. Twenty-three students also received $75 awards after earning straight A's for the fall semester. Another 62 students received $50 awards after getting a 3.5 or better grade-point average last semester. Two $1,000 scholarships will be given annually to the male and female co-op members who excel academically, exemplify cooperative principles, and are actively involved with their house, the cooperative system, and Purdue. The scholarship plan is a pilot program for an endowment that will be created at the end of this academic year. The endowment will disburse funds annually for cooperative housing member scholarships and leadership opportunities. These programs originated from the student-driven restructuring implemented in April 1999. "It was a pretty simple philosophy – we determined our key values and goals and reorganized our organization to be centered on these principles," said Steve Huffman, president of the Purdue Cooperatives Council. "It became very clear that high standards on academics, leadership, and campus and community involvement are the cooperative system's main objectives, so the next step was creating reward and incentive programs that recognize those cooperative members who exemplify those characteristics." Cooperative housing is one of the four housing options at Purdue. The others are university-owned residence halls, fraternities and sororities, and privately owned off-campus housing. There are 12 cooperatives at Purdue, seven for women and five for men, ranging in size from 15 to 50 members. Members of cooperatives share responsibilities such as cleaning and preparing meals and participate in campus and community activities. CONTACT: Tamara Rice, assistant dean of students, (765) 494-9758; tjrice@purdue.edu
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