The Honors College Alumni Network unites Honors College students and ODK campus leaders, past and present. The Honors College mission is clear: to create and foster well-rounded global leaders. Our students impact society through leadership development, undergraduate research, community and global experiences, and interdisciplinary academics. The alumni network supports those same initiatives and serves as a place for alumni and friends to continue their involvement and support of the programs that had such an impact on their lives.

The Honors College Alumni Network provides opportunities to stay involved on campus or off, to support Purdue University, the Honors College, and ODK in ways that are meaningful to you. Mentor students, plan or join in activities and student-alumni events, and grow your personal network with Honors College alumni and friends around the state, the nation, and the world.

When you become a member of the Purdue Alumni Association, you are showing your support for the Honors College Alumni Network. Your inspiration, your goals, and your voice are all amplified through the power of our community. Together, we become a much greater force for action and growth in our careers, in our lives, and in the world.

The Purdue community is a proud family connected by tradition, accomplishment, and a world-class institution. As you know, the Honors College was established to educate the whole student and bridge the gap between curricular and extracurricular learning. It is dedicated to providing meaningful opportunities that enhance the honors-student experience. The alumni network complements and continues those quests by allowing Honors College and ODK alumni and friends to stay connected and support the Honors College through time, talent, and gifts. An alumni steering committee of volunteers will be planning networking events with alumni and students to support the already established giving opportunities that benefit students of the Honors College.

To receive news and event information from the Honors College Alumni Network, please update or provide your e-mail addressexternal link.

Giving

There are several giving opportunities already available through the University Development Office for the Honors College. Donations received are tax deductible and count toward your giving to Purdue University.

Check out the giving areas already establishedexternal link.

Donate to the Honors College Alumni Networkexternal link where the funds go towards furthering the mission of the Honors College Alumni Network and alumni outreach.

Contact Us

HonorsCollegeAlumni@purdue.edu

Staff Contact

Ben Paolillo
Senior Director of Clubs and Networks

Keagan’s story

I’m walking with Grandparents University tour group near the steps of Hovde Hall. It’s a Thursday morning in July, and the only students around are between the ages of 7 and 14. I catch a snippet of a conversation between a grandmother and her grandson as she details the pranks she pulled with her friends around this area.

I smile because just a few months ago I was doing the same thing.

Grandparents University (GPU) is a two-day event where grandparents and their grandchildren embrace Purdue and all it has to offer.

Participants choose a specific major to study and attend a class taught by Boilermaker experts. The majors aren’t exactly like the ones we have here at Purdue, but they do get to do cool activities like creating hot sauce, designing monsters, flying drones, and cooking in a Purdue kitchen. It’s a great opportunity to see wisdom and curiosity combined in the classroom, as grandparents and their grandchildren collaborate on these projects. They’re equally willing to learn from the instructors —and from each other—while creating lasting memories.

They might not know it yet, but this Purdue experience at such a young age will help with their college decision in a few years.

My mother started working at Purdue when she was pregnant with me, so I’ve been familiar with the university my whole life. Many of my childhood memories are associated with different parts of campus, and these memories played a big part in my decision to attend Purdue. I was going to a place that I knew—a place I already considered a home away from home. In the same way, when these children make their college decisions, they will already have built connections with Purdue through Grandparents University.

It will also help they already have a Purdue degree!

At the end of GPU, the kids graduate just like regular students by walking across the stage of Elliott Hall of Music. They even have their own caps to decorate and keep—which is great because robe rentals would be a nightmare.

I had been to nine commencement ceremonies before my own in May, so I’m well-versed in Purdue graduations. Nevertheless, it was still fun to watch this one.

These children had learned so much more than what was taught in their major. They learned more about their grandparents and strengthened their connection with them. They learned about the university and what’s in store for them when they (hopefully) become Boilermakers. And at the Block Party, they befriended students they had never met before and hung out on Memorial Mall—just like regular college students.

It was almost exactly what I experienced throughout my college career. Yes, I got my degree and now have a job as was intended on this life path. But I also made lifelong friendships and went outside my comfort zone in ways that helped me grow as an individual.

Purdue shaped me and continues to shape me. I credit a lot of my growth as a person and a professional to my college career here, and a lot of what I know to the professors and instructors I had throughout my education.

Through Grandparents University, you have the opportunity to provide the same transformative experience for future Boilermakers. You can be the Purdue instructor that inspires a path that lasts a lifetime.

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.