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leaders take part in groundbreaking ceremonies
From left, Purdue Provost Jay Akridge, trustee Vanessa Castagna, Marc Hagle, President Mitch Daniels, Sharon Hagle, director of bands Jay Gephart, and Vice Provost for Student Life Beth McCuskey take part in groundbreaking ceremonies for Marc and Sharon Hagle Hall on Thursday (Nov. 12). (Brent Russell/Purdue Bands)

Purdue University breaks ground on Hagle Hall, the new home of bands and orchestras

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Marc and Sharon Hagle joined Purdue University officials on Thursday (Nov. 12) for the groundbreaking ceremony of Marc and Sharon Hagle Hall, the new home of Purdue Bands & Orchestras.

Approved by the Purdue Board of Trustees in December 2019, the $20 million, 37,500-square-foot, four-story facility will be built at the southeast corner of Third and Russell streets. It will be along Third Street’s Student Success Corridor, which connects student residential areas with the campus’s academic center.

“This is a momentous day for Purdue Bands & Orchestras, its over a thousand current students and its more the 15,000 alumni around the world,” Purdue President Mitch Daniels said. “Thanks to the tremendous generosity of Marc and Sharon, as well as other donors to the project, our world-class program will have this wonderful new facility to develop and showcase its tremendous talents.”

The facility is named for Marc and Sharon Hagle in honor of their $10 million leadership gift.

“Sharon and I are excited about a world-class home for one of the best bands in the land,” Marc Hagle said.

Hagle Hall will provide dedicated space for the 134-year-old Bands & Orchestras program, which has operated in Elliott Hall since that facility’s completion in 1940.

Preparation work for the construction of Hagle Hall got underway in August. Gilbane Building Co., based in Providence, Rhode Island, is serving as construction manager. Purdue Bands & Orchestras anticipates taking occupancy in July 2022.

Since fall 2013, Purdue – which has no music school – has seen a 65% growth in participation in Bands & Orchestras and currently counts more than 1,036 students in more than 30 ensembles, concert bands and jazz bands, as well as the marching band. These students – 72% of whom are in STEM disciplines, including 41% in engineering – boast an average grade-point average of 3.28, which is higher than the campus average.

“We are excited about the future and for what this new facility will mean for all of our students,” said Jay Gephart, the Al G. Wright Chair, director of bands and professor of music. “What we have done and will do, as alumni and friends working together, will be remarkable.”

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://purdue.edu/.

Media contact: Aaron Yoder, yoder50@purdue.edu

Sources: Mitch Daniels, president@purdue.edu; Jay Gephart, jsgep@purdue.edu; Marc Hagle

Source: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2020/Q4/purdue-university-breaks-ground-on-hagle-hall,-the-new-home-of-bands-and-orchestras.html

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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.