James Franklin Sharp (MS IE’61, PhD IE’66) graduated from Chester Grade School in Chester, Illinois, in 1950. As eighth grade class president, he addressed his fellow graduates during the ceremony. Seventy years later, the school invited Sharp to return to Chester and give a talk to its 2020 graduating class, but the coronavirus pandemic forced […]
The Purdue Women’s Network connects alumnae around the globe with opportunities to share their skills, knowledge, and leadership to uplift and inspire other women. In this ongoing series, we check in with Purdue alumnae who run their own businesses and are looking to connect with others. How are you navigating these uncertain times? I launched […]
There’s a common narrative that exists about the economy and the planet. If we try to pursue the former, it will hurt the latter — and vice versa. But Jeff Dukes, professor and director of the Purdue Climate Change Research Center (PCCRC) tells us that this is a false choice. “The potential in many cases […]
5 questions with Dallas Woodburn (MFA’13), author of The Best Week that Never Happened What inspired you to be a writer? It’s difficult for me to remember a time before I loved writing; I gobbled up books from an early age. My dad is a writer, and I often saw him working, so I knew […]
In high school, Brad Ruder (T’93) carefully researched college options across the country from his New Jersey home and chose Purdue for its outstanding construction engineering and management program. Building was his first love, and he wanted a curriculum that covered all aspects of the construction process. Little did he know then that his life’s […]
When whistleblower Edward Snowden became a household name in the early 2010s, Carey Parker’s (ECE’91, MS ECE’92) career as a security and privacy advocate took shape. “I wanted to bridge the gap between the physical world and the cyber world,” he says. “In our physical daily lives, we have locks, smoke alarms, and seat belts […]
Student Farm provides fresh produce for area food pantries The shutdown of Purdue’s campus had some unintended positive impacts on the local community. For example, when the Third Street Suites Starbucks closed, they decided to make a generous donation to the ACE Food Pantry, located in the basement of the Baptist Student Foundation (also known […]
When the coronavirus pandemic brought business-as-usual to a halt, Susie Istock (LA’91) learned to embrace the transformations that come through uncertainty. Some silver linings — listening more carefully to one another, interacting with kindness, and renewed empathy for the ways in which others are being tested. Istock shares her insight for young professionals on how to […]
After spending time at the beginning of his career with an ad agency, Levi Eads (LA’09) took his communication expertise to the nonprofit sector — and he discovered it was an ideal fit. He had always enjoyed volunteering with charitable organizations, and this career move combined his desire to help others with his interest in […]
Purdue’s College of Education revamps its curriculum to boost enrollment and fix Indiana’s teacher shortage Amy Leeson (MS LA’76) decorated her fifth-grade classroom at Thorntown Elementary School in Thorntown, Indiana, with posters of John Denver and peppered her students’ papers with his quotes (“Far Out!”). Throughout her three-decade career in the classroom, she encouraged her […]
