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Indianapolis

Welcome

Founded in 1890, the Purdue Club of Indianapolis is one of the oldest and largest of Purdue University’s Alumni Clubs. We are a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the educational mission and presence of Purdue in Indianapolis. The club highlights the strategic initiatives of the Association: Pillar of Strength for Purdue, Service and Relationships.

The Purdue Alumni Club of Indianapolis has multiple activities planned throughout the year. The club network is a great way to meet fellow Boilermakers, keep informed of campus activities, and show your Purdue pride. We’d love to see you at our next event! Hail Purdue.

Scholarship

Applications are due by March 1 and will be awarded on or before April 15 for the upcoming academic year.

We hope to hear from you soon! Hail Purdue!

Apply Now


History of the PAI Scholarship Program

Committee: In 1986, the Purdue Association of Indianapolis (PAI) named a Scholarship Committee under the leadership of Jim Wark, with the following members: Beth Brook, Bob Bruner, Bart Burrell, Frank Lambertus. The membership of the Scholarship Committee has changed over the years, but Jim Wark continued as Chairman until 2008.  Upon Jim’s retirement, Sue Wilson became Chairman of the Scholarship Committee. Gordon Mallett became Treasurer in 1994, and managed the scholarship funds until 2012.  In July, 2013, Tim Detterline became Treasurer.

Endowment Agreement: The committee determined to establish a Scholarship Endowment Account with Purdue University. An Endowment Agreement between PAI and Purdue University was signed on September 15, 1986.  Bart Burrell, PAI President, signed the Endowment Agreement on our behalf.  The Scholarship Endowment Account benefited from significant initial donations from members.

The Endowment Agreement specifies the terms of the scholarship award. Monies paid to our Endowment Account belong to and are invested by Purdue. Interest earned by the Endowment Account is used to pay scholars. Scholars must have graduated from a high school in Marion or any surrounding county that does not have a Purdue Alumni Club. Scholars must have maintained University scholarship grade requirements. Scholars must give evidence of financial need.

The first scholarship awarded was $500 given in 1988 to Ann Stanford. Jim Wark remembers that Ann came to the PAI lunch in Indianapolis, accompanied by the Financial Aid Director from Purdue University. The earliest available record shows that PAI awarded the next $500 scholarship in the Fall, 1994.  By that time, the Scholarship Endowment Account had grown to $35,866.38 by virtue of wise investment by the University and continued contributions from PAI.

Performance: In the years from 1995 to 1998, we gradually increased the number of scholarships to 4 and the amount of each scholarship to $1,500, and the Endowment Account increased to $152,348.  Since 2000, one scholarship has been named in memory of Joe Pierce, long time member of the Scholarship Committee. Since 2010, a scholarship has been named in honor of Jim Wark, Founding Chairman of the Scholarship Committee. In 2011, Endowment Account reached $250,000 and the scholarship amounts continued to increase as shown below.

Selection: Each year in April, the Financial Aid Office selects 8 candidates who meet our criteria.  The Scholarship Committee goes to the Purdue Alumni Association offices on campus, interviews the candidates and selects the 4 students who become the PAI scholars for the next academic year.

Annual Awards

Academic YearPAI ScholarshipsJoe Pierce ScholarshipJim Wark ScholarshipGordon Mallett ScholarshipTom & Linda Carroll ScholarshipTotal Awarded
1997-19984 @ $1,000 ––  –$4,000
1998-19994 @ $1,500$6,000
1999-20004 @ $1,500$6,000
2000-20013 @ $1,600$2,100$6,900
2001-20023 @ $2,000$2,500$8,500
2002-20033 @ $2,000$2,500$8,500
2003-20043 @ $2,000$2,500$8,500
2004-20053 @ $2,000$2,500$8,500
2005-20063 @ $2,000$2,500$8,500
2006-20073 @ $2,000$2,500$8,500
2007-20083 @ $2,000$3,000$9,000
2008-20093 @ $2,000$3,000$9,000
2009-20103 @ $2,000$3,000$9,000
2010-20112 @ $2,000$2,500$3,000$9,500
2011-20122 @ $2,300$2,600$3,250$10,450
2012-20132 @ $2,500$2,750$3,500$11,250
2013-20142 @ $2,750$3,500$3,250$12,250
2014-2015$3,500$3,500$3,500$3,500$14,000
2015-2016$3,500$3,500$3,500$3,500$14,000
2016-2017$3,750$3,750$3,750$3,750$15,000
2017-2018$3,750$3,750$3,750$3,750$15,000

The Future: At the beginning of this period, the interest from the Endowment Account was not quite enough to pay the entire scholarship amount, so PAI supplemented the scholarship account with earnings from silent auctions, raffles, and gifts – and we kept working to earn money to keep the Endowment Account growing.  Now, the Endowment Account is close to $250,000, and the interest it earns will cover our 4 scholarships. From time to time, we consider increasing our scholarships. Our scholarship Endowment Account is of perpetual benefit to Purdue University.  As long as Purdue exists, our Endowment Account will earn interest to fund future scholarships.  For the sake of the University and of future scholars, it is important that we increase our Endowment Account and the scholarship numbers and amounts can grow, and grow, and grow.  Hail Purdue!

Thank you to Gordon Mallett for putting this history into words!

Merchandise

You can now purchase Alumni Club of Indianapolis merchandise at the official Purdue for Life Foundation merchandise store. Offerings include branded shirts and outerwear for men and women, plus hats, blankets, tumblers, and more! Please note that you will be purchasing from Freckles Graphics, a preferred partner for merchandise.

Contact Us

Sara Nash
sara@nashams.com

Purdue for Life Foundationalumniclubs@purdueforlife.org

Social Media

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.