A history of giving by James (S’59) and Margaret Tarpo that spans decades and surpasses $23 million has led Purdue University to rename the Department of Chemistry in their honor. The department will now be called the James Tarpo Jr. and Margaret Tarpo Department of Chemistry.
The Purdue Board of Trustees ratified faculty appointments and approved new degree programs, posthumous degrees, resolutions of appreciation, and compensation terms for the university’s basketball coaches.
Dell Technologies and Purdue University have reached an agreement to establish the Alienware Purdue Gaming Lounge, marking it as one of the largest dedicated collegiate gaming facilities in the country. Housed within the France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center, the 2,000-square-foot space will be outfitted with Alienware’s premium gaming equipment. The lounge is expected to open in August 2024.
Purdue for Life Foundation President and CEO Matt Folk has announced that he plans to step down from his current role to focus his efforts on the growth of Purdue’s new Indianapolis campus, launching this summer, as Ambassador for Purdue in Indianapolis. A national search will be launched to identify the next leader for Purdue for Life Foundation. Folk will remain in his current role until the new CEO starts.
A record number of gifts for Purdue Day of Giving came in from Boilermakers around the world who rallied together for Purdue University on Wednesday, April 24. Throughout the 24-hour online, social media-driven fundraising effort, a historic 32,054 gifts brought in $76.5 million for the university—bringing Purdue Day of Giving’s cumulative total since its launch in 2014 to $497 million.
The Purdue Board of Trustees ratified a faculty naming and approved a new degree program, resolutions of appreciation, and work related to the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business building.
Lilly Endowment Inc. has approved grants totaling $100 million to Purdue Research Foundation to support two major Purdue University initiatives, including $50 million each to support the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business and Purdue Computes. Together, these commitments represent the largest gift in the university’s history.
To accommodate student enrollment growth across the university and strategic initiatives in the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, Purdue University trustees gave approval to plan, finance, construct, and award construction contracts for an approximately 164,000-square-foot building on the West Lafayette campus.
The Purdue University Board of Trustees ratified faculty and staff appointments, awarded a posthumous degree, and approved new degree programs and resolutions of appreciation.
Purdue University hosted a first-of-its-kind reunion for alumni innovators and entrepreneurs November 9–11 on the university’s West Lafayette campus. The inaugural Entrepreneurial Alumni Reunion, which was attended by approximately 200 Boilermaker entrepreneurs, convened experts from Purdue leadership, successful Boilermaker alumni, and emerging startups ready to make an impact on the world.
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.
