Special Reporter's Calendar

Purdue Events for Journalists

September 28, 2005

As part of events leading up to Homecoming, Purdue University will be the site for more than 20 events from Sept. 30 through Oct. 15 that will include more than $30 million in gift announcements, four facility dedications and fund-raising celebrations, as well as a variety of Homecoming events. We hope you find many of these events to be newsworthy.

To help in planning your coverage, the events are outlined below. Please be aware that some events are in the final planning stages.

The news releases related to each of the events and announcements will be sent to you in advance with an embargo. The subject line for each Homecoming event release will begin with the phrase "PU HOME" to make it easier to manage your e-mail.

In many cases, the embargo for releases will be in advance of the event, giving you an opportunity to get out a bit ahead of the story. However, in a few cases, releases will be embargoed until after the event. Release times will be clearly stated on each story, and we ask that you honor the embargoes.

Most releases will have photos and audio available online. In many instances, additional photos, audio and video will be available after the event.

Note to TV journalists: To facilitate coverage, a compilation video b-roll related to many of the events and announcements will be distributed this week. The tape will be clearly marked so you will know what b-roll is applicable to what day. The embargoed news releases will be e-mailed to you as soon as they are ready.

Journalists are invited to the West Lafayette campus to cover events, including those closed to the general public, unless otherwise stated.

Noon – Gifts to the Department of Building Construction Management in the College of Technology will be announced.

Event location: Construction Laboratory in Knoy Hall.

The news release will be embargoed for 12:01 a.m. Thursday. A photo and audio will be available in advance.

11:30 a.m. – College of Engineering Dean's Lunch will celebrate fund-raising success for a major addition to one of its buildings when alumni gather for the annual event.

Event location: Purdue Memorial Union South Ballroom (invitation only).

News releases will be embargoed for 12:01 a.m. Friday. Photos and audio will be available in advance.

6 p.m. – President's Council annual dinner. Three major leadership gifts will be announced.

Event location: Purdue Memorial Union ballrooms (ticket required). Journalists are invited to interview donors at a VIP reception from 6-6:30 p.m., in the Union's Anniversary Drawing Room.

A news release about one of the gifts will be embargoed for 12:01 a.m. Friday. Releases on the additional gifts will be embargoed until 6 p.m. Friday. Photos, video and audio will be available prior to the event.

10 a.m. – Discovery Park's Birck Nanotechnology Center will be dedicated. Tours will follow the ceremony. The $58.3 million center – a three-floor, 187,000-square-foot facility – involves about 260 faculty and staff members and graduate students from 25 schools and departments across the university. The center is named for Michael and Katherine (Kay) Birck, of Hinsdale, Ill., who donated $30 million for the building.

Event location: a tent behind the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship in Discovery Park.

The news release will be embargoed until after the event. Photos, audio and video will be available before the event.

12:30 p.m. – A gift will be announced for the College of Education during the President's Council lunch.

Event location: Purdue Memorial Union North and South ballrooms (ticket required).

The news release will be embargoed until after the event. A photo will be available in advance.

At a private lunch, the university will honor donors for a variety of gifts to establish scholarships.

Event location: Dauch Alumni Center.

The news release will be embargoed for 12:01 a.m. Monday. A photo will be available in advance.

11 a.m. – A gift will be announced to the College of Consumer and Family Sciences.

Event location: Fowler House.

The news release will be embargoed for 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. A photo and audio will be available in advance.

Noon – A gift will be announced to benefit the Purdue Cancer Center and several other previous donors will be recognized. Philip S. Low, the Joseph F. Foster Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, will speak about his cancer research. The center is one of just eight basic cancer research centers in the country designated by the National Cancer Institute. Researchers at the Cancer Center, which is a partner with the Oncological Sciences Center in Discovery Park, utilize Purdue's strengths in chemical and biological sciences to better understand and attack cancer through basic research. The Oncological Sciences Center, which was among four new Discovery Park centers announced this summer, will serve as a location for researchers in the life sciences, liberal arts, engineering and chemical sciences to focus on wider aspects of the cancer problem.

Event location: Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship in Discovery Park.

The news release will be embargoed for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Photos, audio and video will be available both before and after the event.

2:30 p.m. – Scott Niswonger, a Purdue alumnus and chairman and CEO of Landair and Forward Air corporations, will speak as part of the College of Technology Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series. Niswonger's talk will focus on the value of education in business and the importance of business leaders giving back to help further the education of others.

Event location: Stewart Center's Fowler Hall.

A news release will be available prior to the event, and audio will be available after the event.

3 p.m. – The Chao Center for Industrial Pharmacy & Contract Manufacturing will be dedicated. The $6.5 million 12,000-square-foot pharmaceutical manufacturing and development facility, located in the Purdue Research Park, is one of only five university-affiliated pharmaceutical manufacturing centers in the nation. The center was made possible by a $5 million gift made in 2001 by Californian alumni Allen Chao, chairman, president and CEO of Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., and his wife, Lee-Hwa Chao.

Event location: in a tent on the south side of the Chao Center.

The news release will be embargoed for 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Photos, audio and video will be available in advance, and a photo also will be available after the event.

5-7 p.m. – Student-sponsored carnival and pep rally. The pep rally will involve performances by the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band, Spirit Team and Dance Team, and introductions of the Homecoming king and queen court.

Event location: Slayter Hill.

A news release is available online.

6:30 p.m. – The Krannert School of Management Lecture will feature Steve Forbes. He is CEO of Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine and a former U.S. presidential candidate.

Event location: Purdue Memorial Union North and South ballrooms (ticket required). Journalists interested in attending should contact Mike Lillich, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2077, mlillich@purdue.edu.

A news release is available online.

2 p.m. – Dedication and demonstration of a "high ropes" course donated by the Class of 1979. The $200,000 course features 20-foot and 40-foot levels that will be used in team-building exercises for students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public. Participants traverse the course while connected to a rope.

Event location: west of campus near the Purdue Airport.

The news release will be embargoed for after the event. A photo and video will be available in advance, and a photo will be available after the event.

2-4 p.m. – The School of Industrial Engineering, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, will have an open house to celebrate its past and look to the future.

Event location: Grissom Hall and Michael Golden Laboratory.

A news release will be issued in advance.

4 p.m. – Celebration of the completion of fund raising for the $7.2 million Dennis J. and Mary Lou Schwartz Tennis Center. The 56,000-square-foot facility, funded by private gifts, will include six indoor courts, six outdoor courts, viewing gallery, offices, lounges, and locker and training rooms.

Event location: immediately south of the varsity soccer complex near the intersection of McCormick Road and Cherry Lane.

The news release will be embargoed until after the event. Photos and video will be available in advance.

7 p.m. – The Homecoming parade, with the theme "All Eyes on Purdue: Purdue Mascots Starring in Your Favorite Movie," will head west on Third Street, south on Russell Street, west on First Street, north on MacArthur Drive, east on Third Street, north on Intramural Drive, ending at Slayter Hill. The Class of 1979 gift committee, with chair Keith Kratch, will serve as grand marshal. Fireworks will follow.

A news release is available online.

7:30 p.m. – School of Industrial Engineering 50th anniversary dinner. Gifts to the school will be announced and distinguished alumni will be honored.

Event location: Purdue Memorial Union North and South ballrooms (invitation only).

The news release will be embargoed for 12:01 a.m. Friday. Photos, audio and video will be available in advance.

9-11 a.m. – Homecoming activities will be centered on the Purdue Mall. The community, as well as alumni, are invited. Purdue colleges, departments and organizations will offer interactive displays, highlights of research and programs, activities, and food. Live performances will be featured on the stage between the Engineering Administration Building and the Purdue Bell Tower. President Martin C. Jischke will speak at about 10:15 a.m. and then join the "All-American" Marching Band and Alumni Band to lead the crowd from Purdue Mall to Ross-Ade Stadium for the noon kickoff of the Purdue-Northwestern football game.

A news release is available online.

9:30 a.m. – Purdue Crew, the university's oldest club sport, will celebrate progress made toward a new boathouse to be constructed on land donated by the city of West Lafayette. The boathouse will be located on the banks of the Wabash River in an area that currently serves as a scenic overlook adjacent to the old Brown Street Bridge. Event location: East lawn of the Recreational Sports Center, at Third Street and Intramural Drive

The news release will be embargoed until after the event. A photo will be available in advance.

Writer: Brian Zink, (765) 494-2080, bzink@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu