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Women’s influence is on the rise across the country, and Purdue women are leading the way. We’re making a difference for generations to come!

Harnessing the potential of every Purdue alumna and friend, the Purdue Women’s Network will endow scholarships for undergraduate students to foster their success through their time at Purdue and beyond.

The scholarship endowment is providing undergraduate scholarships intended to support students with demonstrated commitment to advancing women’s issues and gender diversity in order to foster their success at Purdue and beyond. These endowments will provide a renewable scholarship for a student in each of the 11 colleges on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus. The scholarships aim to support students who come from middle-income families. These students do not qualify for the 21st Century Scholars program and are less likely to have the means for a college education without incurring debt.

With these scholarships, the Purdue Women’s Network is influencing the lives of young women—those who may not choose to attend Purdue without the financial help.

See how scholarships make a huge difference in the lives of Purdue students!

To learn more about the scholarship endowment, contact April Headdy, executive director for President’s Council, at adheaddy@purdueforlife.org.

Purdue University scholarships are open to all individuals and are administered in compliance with the university’s nondiscrimination policy.

Upon reaching $100,000, the endowment will provide one scholarship annually, rotating each year to a different college. Once the endowment is fully funded, a recipient will be named within each college annually.

To learn more about the scholarship endowment, contact April Headdy, executive director for President’s Council, at adheaddy@purdueforlife.org.

Scholarship Progress

College of Agriculture – Fully funded!
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Health and Human Sciences
College of Liberal Arts – Fully funded!
School of Business
College of Pharmacy
Purdue Polytechnic Institute
College of Science
College of Veterinary Medicine

Patsy J. Mellott

BS College of Health and Human Sciences, 1969

Fishers, IN

Patsy earned a bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition in business from Purdue in 1969, in addition to an MBA in food marketing from Michigan State University in 1970. She retired from Kraft Foods in 2006 after 36 years in corporate food marketing and marketing communications management.

A community volunteer, Patsy serves on the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana Advisory Board and the Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council, in addition to the President’s Council Advisory Board. She is a former member of the Health and Human Sciences Alumni Board. Patsy held several offices from 2006 through 2013, including president and treasurer. She serves her community’s Discover Indianapolis Club in Fishers, holding several leadership roles for over 10 years.

Patsy has received several honors, including the Purdue University Nutrition Science Department Hall of Fame recipient in 2009 and the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016. She also received the college’s Gold and Black Award in 2016, an honor reserved for donors who have moved the college forward by committing exceptional financial resources.

In addition to endowing two scholarships, the Patsy J. Mellott Scholarship and Patsy J. Mellott HHS Scholarship, she established the Patsy J. Mellott Teaching Innovation Award in the College of Health and Human Sciences in 2013. In 2015, she endowed the Patsy J. Mellott Women’s Tennis Coach Performance Award. She is a lead donor in the Christine M. Ladisch Faculty Leadership Award and the Purdue Women’s Network Virginia C. Meredith Scholarship for the College of Health and Human Sciences.