Ways our alumni are staying involved

1. Old Masters

Each year, students select 10 successful professionals to participate in Old Masters, often — though not always — Purdue alumni. Defining success as “honesty, personal integrity, and a good philosophy,” Old Masters is a way of inspiring current students to future success. More than 600 people have participated in the annual event since its inception in 1950. In 2018, masters included Julie Wainwright (M’79), founder and CEO of The RealReal; Matt Booty (ECE’88, MFA’92), head of Xbox Game Studios at Microsoft; and Andrea Chavez (AAE’88), director of national defense operations and planning for Ball Aerospace & Technologies.

2. Alumni Philanthropy

From class gifts — like the Gateway to the Future arch from the classes of 1958 and ’59; A Place in the Sun, the courtyard outside Purdue Memorial Union, from the class of 1980; and the Purdue Mall Water Sculpture from the class of 1939 — to the thousands of volunteer leaders who serve Purdue in various capacities around the world, our university wouldn’t be the same without the support of our alumni. Purdue graduates constantly demonstrate what it means to be “ever grateful, ever true” through their gifts to the University and their commitment to the success of future generations of Boilermakers. 

3. Special Boilermaker

Established in 1981, the Special Boilermaker Award honors a member of the Purdue faculty or staff who has contributed significantly to the improvement of the quality of life and/or the betterment of the educational experience for a substantial number of Purdue students. Awarded by the Purdue Alumni Association, the honor includes a handsome pewter locomotive keepsake presented on the field during a Purdue home football game. Additionally, the names of the winners are etched into the achievement obelisk on the Engineering Mall.