There are stories behind every picture in a family photo album. Sometimes they melt your heart, and other times they break it. Sometimes there are inspirational stories of success and struggle; other times there are stories that make tears from laughter roll down your cheeks!
A new book honoring the history of Purdue University’s fraternities, sororities, and cooperatives is just like that—and filled with pictures of the family that you chose.
Pledge and Promise: Celebrating the Bond and Heritage of Fraternity, Sorority, and Cooperative Life at Purdue University, written by Angie Klink (LA’81), tells fascinating stories of how these organizations have evolved since 1875 while always holding true to their core values. With more than 250 photos, this pictorial also highlights people who have contributed to and benefited from these student groups.
The work behind Pledge and Promise began in September 2016 with a meeting between Klink; Katie Sermersheim, associate vice provost and dean of students; and Brandon Cutler, associate dean of students and director of Fraternity, Sorority and Cooperative Life.
Klink is the author of three books published by Purdue University Press, including The Deans’ Bible: Five Purdue Women and Their Quest for Equality.
“Angie was the obvious choice to author the book,” Sermersheim says. “Even though we didn’t yet have a clear understanding of the work and process that a project like this would require, we believed in the story and in Angie’s ability to tell it.”
Sermersheim and Cutler shared their goal for the book with Klink: to highlight the rich and lengthy history of Purdue’s fraternity, sorority, and cooperative community, share its successes and setbacks, and document the impact these organizations have made on Purdue—from the framework of providing housing to students to their remarkable Boilermaker pride.
Klink spent the next few years reviewing archival documents, conducting interviews with alumni and community stakeholders, and locating historic photos that would help tell the story of fraternity, sorority, and cooperative life at Purdue. The finished product is a reminder for Boilermakers of the good times that were had and the lasting friendships that were made throughout their formative years.
“I am honored and excited to share the research and interviews that led me to write many extraordinary and never-before-told stories of fraternity, sorority, and cooperative life at Purdue,” Klink says. “A special thanks goes to Dean Katie Sermersheim and Associate Dean Brandon Cutler for their vision, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections for assistance in gathering source documents and engaging photos, and Purdue University Press for guiding the publishing process and creating a beautifully designed book Boilermakers will enjoy for decades to come.”
You can purchase your copy of Pledge and Promise today! Proceeds from the sale will benefit the general department fund for Fraternity, Sorority, and Cooperative Life.
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 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.