Chief Development Officer // Lyles School of Civil Engineering

Over the past year, there have been repeated reminders of just how important civil engineering is to society. You may recall last winter, Texas was within minutes of losing its electrical grid and the ability to power and heat major cities. In the southeast, sudden and unexpected tragedy struck when a Miami condominium facade collapsed in the middle of the night. Repeatedly, we were reminded of aging roads and bridges as legislators in Washington, D.C., debated the merits of various transportation infrastructure bills. And in March of this year, the Ever Given cargo ship crashed into the side of Suez canal and we were shown how significant international waterways are to the global economy.

Throughout this year we have been reminded that civil engineering is not only interesting, it is critically important.

Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, the 567 undergraduate students and the 393 graduate students enrolled in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering this year are being well trained to make their mark on the world. Their lives as Boilermakers are only beginning and over the course of their careers, they will join a robust community of Purdue alumni who are expected to address great challenges around the world. They will begin their first steps into a lifelong identity as a Purdue-trained engineer.

The spirit of the lifelong community is expressed on campus as well. We are all becoming more familiar with the Purdue for Life Foundation identity which combined Purdue’s development function (University Development Office) and alumni engagement (Purdue Alumni Association) into one integrated organization.

The connection to your alma mater does not end with graduation and the Purdue for Life Foundation has three significant tenets; Stay Connected, Get Involved and Give Back.

Many of you reading this magazine have made those principles your own. We are grateful that you have stayed connected. We are grateful that you have chosen to get involved. And we are incredibly appreciative of your decision to fund scholarships, support faculty and the research and teaching mission of Purdue. You are contributing to the future opportunities of this generation of Boilermaker students and I hope you enjoy some of the personal stories we have been able to highlight in this edition of Transitions.

There is one additional point of pride to share with you: thanks to your generosity, 170 of the 567 undergraduate students received scholarship support this year representing nearly 30% of the Lyles School undergraduate students. I find that simply amazing and appreciate all of the investments which have been made over the year to make this level of scholarship support possible.

I hope you are encouraged to know the difference you are making in the lives of today’s students, and I trust you will read and enjoy the insights on how much we value your partnership.

We continue to be grateful for the many ways you demonstrate your personal commitment to the Lyles School of Civil Engineering at Purdue. If you would like to start a new conversation about how you can Stay Connected, Get Involved and/or Give Back, I encourage you to email me at EAPutman@purdueforlife.org.

Hail Purdue – and Boiler Up!

Eric Putman
EAPutman@prf.org

Chief Development Officer, Lyles School of Civil Engineering
University Development Office, Purdue for Life Foundation