Fifty years ago, Helen Bass Williams, the first African American professor at Purdue, played a leading role in establishing the first learning center on campus. Purdue’s Board of Trustees recently approved changing the name of that facility to the Helen Bass Williams Academic Success Center.
After celebrating a record number of gifts during its 12th annual Day of Giving, Purdue continues to set the standard for single-day fundraising in American higher education. The 24-hour online, social media-driven fundraising effort brought in $105.1 million through 36,875 gifts—bringing Purdue Day of Giving’s cumulative total since its launch in 2014 to $602.1 million.
The Jean and Bernas Downing Charitable Trust has committed $5 million to Purdue Extension to establish the Downing Endowment for Community Vitality.
