Past Speakers

Jay Akridge (MS A'83, PhD A'86)

PROVOST AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DIVERSITY, PURDUE UNIVERSITY

As Purdue's chief academic officer, Akridge reports directly to the president and is responsible for all academic programs; academic strategy and priorities; faculty-related matters; student academic/cocurricular activities; and diversity and inclusion initiatives. He leads the academic enterprise of the University with a total budget of approximately $2 billion, student enrollment of more than 44,000, and 10 academic colleges with 2,700 faculty members and 8,000 staff. He previously served as the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture for more than eight years.

Lance Connolly (HHS'09)

ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR SPECIAL EVENTS, PURDUE FOR LIFE FOUNDATION

Connolly manages a team of event professionals focused on a range of development, engagement, and signature University events. Known for his out-of-the-box ideas and keen design sense, he has placed Purdue in a spotlight all its own. In 2017–19, he took on additional responsibility as the executive producer for Purdue’s yearlong sesquicentennial celebrations, which afforded him opportunities to produce international events and bring publicity to the University on a global level.

Jimmy Cox (LA’09)

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT-ALUMNI PROGRAMS, PURDUE FOR LIFE FOUNDATION

Cox oversees student programs, recent graduate initiatives, and alumni relations for fraternities, sororities, and cooperative houses. His team also manages the Boilermaker Station Welcome Center in Stewart Center. He previously served as a consultant for Theta Chi Fraternity International Headquarters—addressing recruitment, risk management, academics, and member education—and worked in the student affairs office at Marian University in Indianapolis. He currently serves on his local school board and chamber of commerce board of directors.

Matt Folk (ECE'91)

PRESIDENT AND CEO, PURDUE FOR LIFE FOUNDATION

Folk oversees all aspects of alumni-facing organizations and fundraising for Purdue University, including communications, learning, engagement, living, volunteerism, mentorship, and stewardship. He previously was president and CEO of Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC). During his 28-year sales and marketing career, he held engineering, distribution, sales management, divisional VP, and corporate-management job functions, including multiple CEO stints. For many years, he has served as president of the Boiler Business Exchange of Indianapolis, a group of more than 2,000 business owners who are all graduates or die-hard fans of the University.

Jillian Henry (T'04)

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENGAGEMENT, PURDUE FOR LIFE FOUNDATION

Henry is responsible for all alumni engagement efforts, including alumni clubs and affinity networks, volunteerism, mentorship, and lifelong learning. She previously was vice president of organizational development and strategic leadership for the Purdue Alumni Association and corporate secretary for the association’s board of directors. She still serves as governance council for the board as a nonvoting member. She has received extensive training in facilitation, grant writing, fundraising, creative problem-solving, accelerated learning, and appreciative inquiry.

Scott Hinkel (LA'88, MS HHS'90)

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, LYLES SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Hinkel has worked as a director of development since 2014. In this role, he has helped secure more than 20 new scholarship endowments of $25,000 and above for the Lyles School of Civil Engineering. He values nurturing relationships with current students, faculty, and alumni and is passionate about impacting others in a meaningful way. He began a 20-year coaching career at Purdue in 1993 and served as the assistant wrestling coach for 13 years and the head wrestling coach for seven years.

Tim House

SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR, PURDUE ATHLETICS; ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT, PURDUE FOR LIFE FOUNDATION

House drives the long-term goals of the John Purdue Club, which include funding the entire Purdue Athletics scholarship bill of more than $12 million and supporting more than 10,000 members. He also leads major-gift acquisition for facility and capital projects. He helped established the Boilermaker Athletics Representative program and the Boiler UPgrade initiative that was instrumental in the growth of the annual fund from $6.75 million in 2018 to $8.1 million in 2019.

Courtney Magnuson (M'04, MS HHS'06)

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH AND VOLUNTEERISM, PURDUE FOR LIFE FOUNDATION

Magnuson is responsible for leading the Purdue for Life Foundation’s office of volunteerism, which enables people who love the University to stay connected and provides opportunities for them to give back with their time and talent. She has served in alumni outreach and engagement roles at Purdue for more than four years. As a Purdue student, she was a walk-on turned full-scholarship athlete and captain for the varsity track and field team.

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.