Please note: This schedule is for both sessions.
4–6pm
4–6pm
Early registration
Dauch Alumni Center
8–10AM
Registration
Memorial Mall
9:55AM
Depart for Field Trips
Memorial Mall
A GPU volunteer will help gather your group near the registration tent on Memorial Mall. Please look for the sign with the name of your field trip on it, and line up there.
10–11:30AM
Campus Field Trips
Various locations around campus
11:45AM–1PM
Opening Session and Lunch
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
We hope your field trip sparked your Boilermaker spirit and has you excited for the possibilities waiting for you during GPU! Join us to learn about the two days ahead, meet the GPU staff and team leaders, and learn the words to “Hail Purdue!”—the greatest fight song in the nation!
1–1:15PM
Transition Time
A classroom ambassador will help gather your group in the ballrooms before leading you to your major. Please look for the sign with the name of your major on it, and line up there.
1:15PM
Depart for Majors
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
1:30–4:30PM
Class Time
Each major will have a 15-minute snack break, with snacks provided.
4:30–5PM
Transition to Block Party
5–7PM
Boilermaker Block Party
Memorial Mall
Get ready for an evening of music, food, and fun! Enjoy inflatable games, a caricature artist, and photo opportunities. You will also get the chance to send a Purdue postcard home, make friendship bracelets together, and design your own graduation cap!
Please remember that grandparents must be with their grandchildren at all times. Evening activities are only for registered participants of Grandparents University.
8–10AM
Registration
Memorial Mall
9:55AM
Depart for Field Trips
Memorial Mall
A GPU volunteer will help gather your group near the registration tent on Memorial Mall. Please look for the sign with the name of your field trip on it, and line up there.
10–11:30AM
Campus Field Trips
Various locations around campus
11:45AM–1PM
Opening Session and Lunch
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
We hope your field trip sparked your Boilermaker spirit and has you excited for the possibilities waiting for you during GPU! Join us to learn about the two days ahead, meet the GPU staff and team leaders, and learn the words to “Hail Purdue!”—the greatest fight song in the nation!
1–1:15PM
Transition Time
A classroom ambassador will help gather your group in the ballrooms before leading you to your major. Please look for the sign with the name of your major on it, and line up there.
1:15PM
Depart for Majors
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
1:30–4:30PM
Class Time
Various locations around campus
Each major will have a 15-minute snack break, with snacks provided.
4:30–5PM
Transition to Block Party
5–7PM
Boilermaker Block Party
Memorial Mall
Get ready for an evening of music, food, and fun! Enjoy inflatable games, a caricature artist, and photo opportunities. You will also get the chance to send a Purdue postcard home, make friendship bracelets together, and design your own graduation cap!
Please remember that grandparents must be with their grandchildren at all times. Evening activities are only for registered participants of Grandparents University.
7:30–8:30AM
Breakfast
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
8:30–8:45AM
Transition Time
Leave from Memorial Mall
A classroom ambassador will help gather your group in the ballrooms before leading you to your major. Please look for the sign with the name of your major on it, and line up there.
8:45AM
Depart for Majors
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
9–11:30AM
Class Time
Various locations around campus
Each major will have a 15-minute snack break, with snacks provided.
11:30AM–Noon
Transition to Lunch
Noon–1PM
Lunch
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
1–1:30PM
Processional to Graduation
Leave for Elliott Hall of Music
1:30–2:30PM
Graduation
Elliott Hall of Music
Congratulations! You are officially a graduate of Grandparents University 2024. All participants will receive a special Purdue gift for completing the program, and grandchildren will be recognized on stage for their GPU achievements.
7:30–8:30AM
Breakfast
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
8:30–8:45AM
Transition Time
Leave from Memorial Mall
A classroom ambassador will help gather your group in the ballrooms before leading you to your major. Please look for the sign with the name of your major on it, and line up there.
8:45AM
Depart for Majors
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
9–11:30AM
Class Time
Various locations around campus
Each major will have a 15-minute snack break, with snacks provided.
11:30AM–Noon
Transition to Lunch
Noon–1PM
Lunch
Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms
1–1:30PM
Processional to Graduation
Leave for Elliott Hall of Music
1:30–2:30PM
Graduation
Elliott Hall of Music
Congratulations! You are officially a graduate of Grandparents University 2024. All participants will receive a special Purdue gift for completing the program, and grandchildren will be recognized on stage for their GPU achievements.
Includes: Grandparents University curriculum, five meals, GPU T-shirt, cinch bag, water bottle, and more.
Check out our list of packing essentials!
Office of Special Events
765-494-0900
specialevents@purdueforlife.org
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.