Dr. Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program marks 50th anniversary

Tim Coleman (M’90) never planned to attend Purdue. An outstanding student in high school, the Indianapolis native had his eye set on Northwestern University, where he later earned an MBA at the Kellogg School of Management. But one conversation with the venerable Cornell Bell (PhD EDU’72, HDR M’07), the longtime director of the Krannert School of Management’s Business Opportunity Program (BOP), changed the course of Coleman’s life. 

“I was about to commit to Northwestern when Dr. Bell called and visited my home in Indianapolis,” Coleman says. “It soon became apparent that my parents were getting excited about what he had to say about the success of BOP graduates and their corporate accomplishments, the excellent internship and full-time job opportunities for Krannert students, and the program’s supportive community. Dr. Bell was very persuasive. I’m glad that I listened.”

The BOP was established in 1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. to increase diversity and provide underrepresented minority students with access to a world-class management education. BOP, which enrolled 11 students in its first year, was one of the first student success programs to promote inclusion within a major business school and the first diversity program at Purdue. 

In the program’s second year, Bell was hired to direct its growth. Under his leadership, BOP blossomed into a nationally recognized program that recruits, enrolls, educates, and provides support for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing management careers. In 1996, the program was renamed in his honor. 

Today, Coleman still credits much of his career success to his experience to Krannert’s Dr. Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program, which marks its 50th anniversary in 2018.

“BOP provided a supportive community that inspired me to build valuable skills and strive for success at work and every aspect of life,” Coleman says. “It taught us to be professional in appearance and approach, exhibit Boilermaker grit and determination, show initiative, and be trustworthy and reliable in meeting our commitments. Perhaps the most important skill I learned was the power of building strong relationships in the business community, which is the engine of progress.”

Bell’s passion for helping students find career opportunities led Coleman to an internship with Eli Lilly following his freshman year and a full-time position with the company upon graduation. He now serves as vice president of information technology in the global pharmaceutical company’s Medicines Development Unit. 

“Diversity initiatives like BOP will continue to thrive and succeed only if we step forward and share our gifts, grace, and example with future generations,” Coleman says. “Creating a level playing field is vitally important. Everyone needs and deserves the same opportunities we received.”

A New Era

Now under the direction of BOP alumnus Darren Henry (ME’02, MBA’07), who was among Bell’s final class of MBA recruits, the program has more than 1,400 alumni worldwide and boasts a six-year graduation rate of 80 percent. That’s higher than Purdue’s overall six-year graduation rates of 76 percent for all students and 70 percent for underrepresented students.

“I had a difficult time as a Purdue undergraduate early in my career, so I thought adding an MBA would ensure my success,” says Henry, who spent several years working in industry before Bell lured him back to the West Lafayette campus to pursue his MBA. 

While completing his MBA and serving as the lead course instructor for Contemporary Thought of Minorities in Management, Henry formed strong bonds with BOP undergraduates and followed the footsteps of his mentor to take the helm after Bell’s retirement in 2006.

“Never in a million years would I have thought I’d work at Purdue, but it was meant to be,” Henry says. “Now I get to help ensure that students don’t have to face the same struggles I had to overcome.”

Although Henry describes his predecessor as “one of a kind” and “irreplaceable,” the latest generations of BOP students now look to him just as he and other alumni of the program looked to Bell.

When Brianna Cook (M’14) was considering her college choices as a high school senior in 2010, Purdue wasn’t even on her short list despite being the first university to send her an acceptance letter. 

“I had offers from other schools and had committed to Ohio State before visiting Purdue, thinking, ‘No way am I going to this place.’ Then I met Darren Henry and learned about the Business Opportunity Program,” Cook says. “He had so much passion for the program, its students, and for the University that I changed my mind.”

Cook, now a sales manager and analyst at Shell Chemicals, describes the BOP summer session as “one of the favorite periods of my life.” But it’s the support she received throughout her Purdue experience that made the biggest impact. 

“There were times I felt like I was in over my head, but BOP always gave me the encouragement to keep going. By the time I graduated, I felt knowledgeable, prepared, aware, confident, and capable. That persistence, attitude, and shared experience is a blessing worth celebrating, and I’m just as excited and honored as an alumna to help move BOP forward into the next 50 years.”