44 Facts About Purdue

1.

Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system.

FactSnippet No. 635,163
2.

The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture in his name.

FactSnippet No. 635,164
3.

Purdue is the founding member of the Big Ten Conference and enrolls the largest student body of any individual university campus in Indiana, as well as the ninth-largest foreign student population of any university in the United States.

FactSnippet No. 635,165
4.

Purdue University is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

FactSnippet No. 635,166
5.

Purdue has been affiliated with 13 Nobel laureates, 1 Turing Award laureate, 2 World Food Prize laureates, 3 Pulitzer Prize winners, 18 Olympic medalists, 3 National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipients, 2 National Medal of Science recipients, 3 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, 7 members of Congress, 3 U S governors, and 2 heads of state.

FactSnippet No. 635,167
6.

Purdue issued its first degree, a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, in 1875.

FactSnippet No. 635,168
7.

Rather than emulate the classical universities, White believed Purdue should be an "industrial college" and devote its resources toward providing a broad, liberal education with an emphasis on science, technology, and agriculture.

FactSnippet No. 635,169
8.

Purdue intended not only to prepare students for industrial work, but to prepare them to be good citizens and family members.

FactSnippet No. 635,170
9.

Purdue Airport was the country's first university-owned airport and the site of the country's first college-credit flight training courses.

FactSnippet No. 635,171
10.

Purdue set up about a hundred centers throughout Indiana to train skilled workers for defense industries.

FactSnippet No. 635,172
11.

Purdue awarded its first Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1960.

FactSnippet No. 635,173
12.

In recent years, Purdue's leaders have continued to support high-tech research and international programs.

FactSnippet No. 635,174
13.

Purdue launched a Global Policy Research Institute in 2010 to explore the potential impact of technical knowledge on public policy decisions.

FactSnippet No. 635,175
14.

Purdue's campus is situated in the small city of West Lafayette, near the western bank of the Wabash River, across which sits the larger city of Lafayette.

FactSnippet No. 635,176
15.

Purdue Mall is the central quad of Purdue University and was created to connect the academic campus with Ross-Ade Stadium.

FactSnippet No. 635,177
16.

The most prominent feature of the Purdue Mall is the 38-foot -tall concrete Engineering Fountain, and features the Frederick L Hovde Hall of Administration, which houses the office of the university president, Mitchell E Daniels.

FactSnippet No. 635,178
17.

At the request of John Purdue, he was buried in the Memorial Mall, directly across from the main entrance of University Hall.

FactSnippet No. 635,179
18.

Purdue offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in over 211 major areas of study, and is well known for its competitive engineering curricula.

FactSnippet No. 635,180
19.

Purdue University is considered by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education to have "very high research activity".

FactSnippet No. 635,181
20.

Purdue was rated the nation's fourth best place to work in academia, according to rankings released in November 2007 by The Scientist magazine.

FactSnippet No. 635,182
21.

Purdue's researchers provide insight, knowledge, assistance, and solutions in many crucial areas.

FactSnippet No. 635,183
22.

Purdue University was ranked fourth in Engineering research expenditures amongst all the colleges in the United States in 2017, with a research expenditure budget of 244.

FactSnippet No. 635,184
23.

Purdue University established the Discovery Park to bring innovation through multidisciplinary action.

FactSnippet No. 635,185
24.

Purdue University operates seventeen separate residence halls for its undergraduate and graduate students, including Cary Quadrangle, Earhart Hall, First Street Towers, Frieda Parker Hall, Harrison Hall, Hawkins Hall, Hillenbrand Hall, Hilltop Apartments, Honors College and Residences, McCutcheon Hall, Meredith Hall, Meredith South Hall, Owen Hall, Purdue Village, Shreve Hall, Tarkington Hall, Wiley Hall, Winifred Parker Hall, and the 5 Windsor Halls: Duhme, Shealy, Warren, Wood, and Vawter.

FactSnippet No. 635,186
25.

Several of Purdue's most distinguished graduates are members of fraternities and sororities.

FactSnippet No. 635,187
26.

Students at Purdue participate in more than 900 student organizations that cover a variety of interests.

FactSnippet No. 635,188
27.

Some notable clubs founded by Purdue students include the Purdue Reamer Club and two clubs that eventually became nationwide organizations: the National Society of Black Engineers and the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest.

FactSnippet No. 635,189
28.

Purdue University Dance Marathon is an 18-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping, dance marathon that takes place each fall in the Cordova Recreation center.

FactSnippet No. 635,190
29.

Purdue has a number of religious organizations on and near the campus.

FactSnippet No. 635,191
30.

Purdue has one of the few college athletic programs not funded by student fees or subsidized by the university.

FactSnippet No. 635,192
31.

Purdue is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, and played a central role in its creation.

FactSnippet No. 635,193
32.

Purdue plays its home games at Ross-Ade Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

FactSnippet No. 635,194
33.

Purdue was originally classified as a Major College school in the 1937 season until 1972.

FactSnippet No. 635,195
34.

Purdue received Division I classification in 1973, becoming a Division I-A program from 1978 to 2006 and an FBS program from 2006 to the present.

FactSnippet No. 635,196
35.

Purdue Boilermakers basketball team competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the Big Ten Conference.

FactSnippet No. 635,197
36.

Purdue basketball won its 24th Big Ten Conference Championship in 2019.

FactSnippet No. 635,198
37.

Purdue employs 892 non-tenure-track faculty, Lecturers, and Postdoctoral Researchers at its West Lafayette campus.

FactSnippet No. 635,199
38.

Purdue alumni have achieved recognition in a range of areas, particularly in the science, engineering, and aviation industries.

FactSnippet No. 635,200
39.

Purdue alumni include 25 astronauts, including Gus Grissom, America's second man in space and first to fly in NASA's Gemini program, Neil Armstrong, the first to walk on the Moon, and Eugene Cernan, the last astronaut to do so.

FactSnippet No. 635,201
40.

In science, Purdue has produced Nobel Prize–winning physicists in Edward Mills Purcell and Ben Roy Mottelson, as well as Nobel Prize–winning chemist Akira Suzuki.

FactSnippet No. 635,202
41.

In sports, Purdue has produced basketball coach John Wooden; basketball Hall of Famers Stretch Murphy, Piggy Lambert, and Rick Mount; NBA Champions Paul Hoffman, Herm Gilliam, Frank Kendrick, Jerry Sichting, Glenn Robinson, and Brian Cardinal; and NBA All-Stars Glenn Robinson, Brad Miller, Terry Dischinger, and Joe Barry Carroll.

FactSnippet No. 635,203
42.

Purdue has three NFL Super Bowl–winning quarterbacks in Drew Brees, Bob Griese, and Len Dawson.

FactSnippet No. 635,204
43.

Additionally, a total of 19 Purdue alumni have been on a Super Bowl–winning team as of 2011.

FactSnippet No. 635,205
44.

Three Purdue alumni have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States: Neil Armstrong, Brian Lamb, and John Wooden.

FactSnippet No. 635,206