Motto | Education, Research, Service |
---|---|
Type |
Public Flagship Land-Grant Sea-Grant Space-Grant |
Established | May 6, 1869 |
Endowment | $2.255 billion (2016) |
President | Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. |
Provost | Debasish Dutta |
Academic staff
|
3,055 (Fall 2014) |
Students | 40,451 (Fall 2016) |
Undergraduates | 30,043 (Fall 2016) |
Postgraduates | 10,408 (Fall 2016) |
Location | West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S. |
Campus | Large town: 2,602 acres (10.53 km2) plus 15,325 acres (62.02 km2) for agricultural and industrial research |
Colors | Black and Old Gold |
Athletics | NCAA Division I – Big Ten |
Sports | 18 varsity teams |
Nickname | Boilermakers |
Mascot |
Boilermaker Special Purdue Pete |
Affiliations |
Purdue University system AAU BTAA APLU URA |
Website | www |
University rankings | |
---|---|
National | |
ARWU | 35 |
Forbes | 127 |
U.S. News & World Report | 60 |
Washington Monthly | 45 |
Global | |
ARWU | 63 |
QS | 92 |
Times | 113 |
U.S. News & World Report | 90 |
Purdue University is a public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana and is the main campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture in his name. The first classes were held on September 16, 1874, with six instructors and 39 students.
The main campus in West Lafayette offers more than 200 majors for undergraduates, over 70 master’s and doctoral programs, and professional degrees in pharmacy and veterinary medicine. In addition, Purdue has 18 intercollegiate sports teams and more than 900 student organizations. Purdue is a member of the Big Ten Conference and enrolls the second largest student body of any university in Indiana, as well as the fourth largest international student population of any university in the United States.
In 1865, the Indiana General Assembly voted to take advantage of the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862, and began plans to establish an institution with a focus on agriculture and engineering. Communities throughout the state offered their facilities and money to bid for the location of the new college. Popular proposals included the addition of an agriculture department at Indiana State University or at what is now Butler University. By 1869, Tippecanoe County’s offer included $150,000 (equivalent to $2.7 million in 2016) from Lafayette business leader and philanthropist John Purdue, $50,000 from the county, and 100 acres (0.4 km2) of land from local residents. On May 6, 1869, the General Assembly established the institution in Tippecanoe County as Purdue University, in the name of the principal benefactor. Classes began at Purdue on September 16, 1874, with six instructors and 39 students. Professor John S. Hougham was Purdue’s first faculty member and served as acting president between the administrations of presidents Shortridge and White. A campus of five buildings was completed by the end of 1874. Purdue issued its first degree, a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, in 1875 and admitted its first female students that fall.