The Inclusive Community at Purdue's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics

We strive to create a place where people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to excel. Below is a list of resources and activities available to all students to ensure everyone feels welcome, heard and understood in our community.

 

Our Community-Building Activities Include

  • Making topics of effective practices a prime concern in the department
  • Hosting listening sessions with students concerned about being marginalized
  • Responding to university communications that foster discussion and reflection
  • Holding faculty and staff conversations on how to implement effective practices such that all students, staff, and faculty can thrive and attain their best potential

​Resources are available to Purdue students through the various student organizations and university offices listed in the sections below.

 

How We're Building a Strong Community

We at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics are committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming to individuals of all backgrounds. We strive to recruit, retain, and celebrates the varied lived experiences of our students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. We strive to provide to implement effective practices giving everyone the opportunities and training they need to excel personally and professionally. As aeronautical engineers at Purdue, we are taking intentional steps to act against all forms of discrimination and other ineffective practices embedded in the fabric of our society. We understand that this is a long-term endeavor. We affirm our commitment to sustainable efforts that create a welcoming and supportive environment within our academic institution.

We strive to educate ourselves on the many different ways that students can thrive. We commit to actively celebrating and learning from the variety of races, religions, political alignment, colors, ages, national origins and ancestries, genetic backgrounds, marital and parental statuses, sexes and sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, disabilities, and socioeconomic and veteran statuses that individuals bring to our school. Our mission remains the same:

To be the premier source of scientific discoveries and of well-educated aeronautical engineers, fostering strong academic and industrial ties.

Indigenous Caretakers

To learn more about the Indigenous Nations represented at Purdue University, visit our Native American Educational and Cultural Center.

 

Purdue has more than 1,000 student organizations and clubs to get engaged in, from student government and volunteer organizations to club sports.

University-Wide Offices for Inclusion and Success

College of Engineering Offices for Inclusion and Success

  • Minority Engineering Program — Established in 1974, our programs have been nationally recognized and replicated to advance engineering learning, discovery, and engagement in fulfillment of the Land Grant promise through outreach, recruitment, and retention of historically underrepresented students in their pursuit to become extraordinary Purdue engineers.
  • Women in Engineering Program — From mentoring to career development, WIEP continually encourages current and future women engineering students by providing interesting and engaging programming relevant to their lives. WIEP programs are a place to learn, discover, and explore aspects of engineering and connect with others who are also interested. They are a place of encouragement, support, and positive perspectives for those who are interested in following their dreams by pursuing an engineering degree.

Faculty and Staff

West Lafayette

 
  • In the event of an emergency, call 911 on campus, or call PUPD main phone number. The Purdue Crisis Intervention Team are accessed through dialing 911 (on West Lafayette campus only).
  • The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) — SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline — call 800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 — is available 24/7 with crisis counseling and other support for people who are going through emotional distress from a disaster, including infectious disease outbreaks. Spanish speakers text Hablanos to 66746.
  • Crisis Text Line — Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor. The Crisis Text Line connects you to a live, trained volunteer who can provide support — medical advice is not provided.
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline — call 800-273-TALK (8255) — The Lifeline provides 24/7 free and confidential support.
  • If concerned about the immediate safety of a student, call 765-494-8221 for Purdue University Police Department to conduct a ‘Welfare Check’ (they will go around to a student’s residence to make sure they are OK).
 

Student Enrollment in Aeronautics & Astronautics at Purdue

Preliminary figures, Fall 2024

  • 1880 total students; 1240 undergraduates, 640 graduates​
  • 81% male, 19% female
  • 10% underrepresented minority students​
  • 27% International students 

Aerospace Engineers Overall

2019 figures from datausa.io.

  • 135,424 aerospace engineers in the U.S.
  • 87.6% male, 12.4% female
  • 61.3% White (non-Hispanic), 12.3% Black, 11.5% White (Hispanic), 6.3% Asian
 
 

Students

Faculty, Staff and Postdocs

  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP) — confidential professional on-site counseling
  • Center for Healthy Living — available for faculty staff, retirees, and their family members 8 weeks and older including J-1 Visa plan participants. Services to treat common illnesses, manage chronic conditions, provide preventive care and promote overall health.

Greater Lafayette

  • IU Health Arnett Hospital Emergency Medicine, 5165 McCarty Ln, Lafayette, IN. Phone: (765) 448-8000
  • St. Francis Emergency Room, 1701 S Creasy Ln, Lafayette, IN. Phone: (765) 502-4000
  • Franciscan ExpressCare West Lafayette, 909 Sagamore Parkway West, West Lafayette, IN. Phone: (765) 463-6262
  • Sycamore Springs, 833 Park E. Blvd., Lafayette, IN. Phone: (765) 743-4400
  • River Bend Hospital, 2900 N. River Rd, West Lafayette, IN. Phone: (765) 464-0400

Online Mental Health Resources

  • NIH OITE is also concentrating heavily on wellness. They have offered workshops, small group discussions etc. Most of the workshops have been recorded so if you have missed them you can still have access to the information.
  • National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) — the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization — educates, advocates, listens and leads to help build better lives for those affected by mental illness. NAMI Helpline can be reached at 800-950-NAMI (6264), 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or email info@nami.org. Crisis Text Line can be reached by texting “NAMI” to 741741 – 24/7-crisis support via text message.
  • Mental Health America (MHA) — the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness. The Crisis Center Hotline can be reached via 765-742-0244 (call or text) or toll-free at 877-419-1632 for any problem at any time.
  • Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) — SPRC has compiled a set of resources specific to helping mental health and COVID-19.
  • Parent / Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope – COVID-19 (PDF)
  • USA Mental Health First Aid — Compilation of tips from the Mental Health First Aid curriculum to help you care for your own and your loved one’s mental health.
  • Supporting Families During COVID-19 — Child Mind Institute
 
  • Office of Institutional Equity — Reporting sexual harassment (including sexual violence or sexual exploitation), relationship violence, or stalking
  • Center for Advocacy, Response and Education (CARE) — provides confidential options and resources related to sexual harassment (including sexual violence or sexual exploitation), relationship violence, or stalking, is available through CARE website and by calling 765-495-2273 any time of the day or night.
 

All Students

  • Office of the Dean or Students (ODOS) — ODOS provides resources and support for students Center for Advocacy, Response and Education, Counseling and Psychological Services, Fraternity, Sorority and Cooperative Life, Off-Campus Housing, Parent & Family Connections, Student Health Services, Student Legal Services, and Student Rights and Responsibilities. These include helping students with withdrawals after drop/add deadline or if they are planning on withdrawing from registering from classes for an extended period of time. If student is struggling even after accommodations from the Disability Resource Center, ODOS can provide a student support specialist.
  • Disability Resource Center (DRC) — Students can set up accommodations with DRC before or during the semester. A DRC support specialist is assigned to each student and will discuss the student’s specific needs/ advice regarding courses and research.
  • Student of concern report can be used by faculty, staff, graduate assistances and others to send information to the Office of the Dean of students to aid a struggling student.
  • Purdue University Student Health (PUSH)

Undergraduate Students

Graduate Students and Postdocs

 
  • ACE Campus Food Pantry is open to all faculty, students and staff with a Purdue ID
  • Emergency loans are available through Student Support Services for financial assistance
  • QPR Suicide Prevention training — a 2-hour free training for faculty, students, and staff to learn how to recognize the warning signs for suicide and assist those in need

On-campus Life