The Purdue Engineering family is mourning the loss of a pioneer, advocate, mentor, trailblazer and friend. Marion Blalock, 75, who led and served the Minority Engineering Program (MEP) from 1974-2008, died Sept. 12, 2023, in Lafayette.

Blalock created recruitment, retention and graduation initiatives for underrepresented minority students that were so successful they became models for universities across the nation. During her tenure, more than 2,300 Boilermakers came through MEP and left with engineering degrees.

Blalock

“Ms. Blalock understood all the intangibles associated with being a minority engineering student,” said Brian K. Ford (BSME ’07), who runs his own business in Atlanta in partnership with Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. “She was unapologetic about leveraging her influence to make sure each and every minority student enrolled in Engineering at Purdue felt welcomed and part of a close community.”

Angela Dodd, president of the Purdue Black Alumni Organization, recalled being a new Purdue student in 1980 and how Blalock took her under her wing.

“She was the one person my mother entrusted with her daughter away from home for the first time,” Dodd said.

Dodd went on to work for Blalock while on campus and marveled at her impact.

“I watched her tirelessly advocate for Black and Latinx students from all over the country with both the university and major corporations,” Dodd said in a video message. “Her legacy is now confirmed, and there’s no way possible to measure the difference she made. We all love you. We will miss you. Rest in peace.”

Ford met Blalock through MEP Preview, a program launched in 1975 to encourage students with admissions offers to choose Purdue.

“I knew after my first interaction with her that I was in good hands,” Ford said. “Her authentic care and concern for minority students studying engineering at Purdue was refreshing. The connections made by being actively engaged with the MEP program created lifelong friendships, many of whom I keep in close contact with to this very day.”

Going a step further, Ford admitted that the career he currently enjoys might not have been possible without Blalock’s support and firm hand.

“I’m fully convinced I likely would not have attended, nor graduated from Purdue with a degree in engineering, without the influence of Ms. Blalock,” he said.

Virginia Booth Womack (BSIE ’93, BA psychology ’93), who has been MEP director since 2004, was mentored as an undergraduate student by Blalock. Despite Blalock’s guidance, Womack left Purdue, heading on a different path and vowing not to return. She might’ve not earned dual degrees from Purdue had Blalock not persisted in the notion that Womack return to Purdue to finish her degrees.

“I stand on the shoulders of a great legacy,” Booth Womack said. “The seeds she has sown in the lives of thousands will continue to produce greatness. It is an honor to carry this torch and promote student success.”

Thomas Williamson (BSIE ’85) said Blalock’s efforts resulting in significant outreach, enrollment and graduation improvements rivaled those at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

“We’ve all heard a lot about HBCUs and the wonderful environments they’ve built and how supportive they are, and you know what? Marion built that same environment and community we experienced at Purdue,” said Williamson, president of Flying Eagle – Elm, Inc. in Illinois. “That meant a lot to arguably thousands of students who came through campus with lifelong memories and growth. What a wonderful life to celebrate. I’m very appreciative of everything she did.”

Donations to MEP may be made through an endowment established by Purdue for Life in Blalock’s name.  

Source: Pearl at Purdue: Marion Blalock offered mentorship, motivation that helped minority engineering students succeed

*Selected public remembrances for Marion Blalock

Shawn Taylor, Purdue Board of Trustees

“What a force in higher education. Marion blazed the trail for minority engineering students. My spirit is saddened by her passing. Her work and love for students is unmatched, and her legacy will live on. We honor a great leader. Thank you, Marion Blalock, for your life's work.”

Blalock

Percy Gilbert, vice president, product development and innovation, NXP Semiconductors

“Marion's impact was without question one of the most influential forces in the lives of thousands of engineering students and their families. When she 'found me' all the way down in Atlanta, Georgia, many years ago, I knew immediately that my life would never be the same. I consider her to be heaven-sent. She pushed us, she challenged us, and she cared for us. Hers was a life well-lived. I will be ever thankful to God and to her for what she did for me.”

Michele Lezama, chief executive officer of the National Action Committee for Minorities in Engineering

“Marion was a national pillar in the engineering community. She held seats where she was the ‘only one’ and then paved the way for so many to come behind her, including me. She was instrumental in me securing many of my positions, including the one I currently hold. She let me have it, more times than I can count. She was profound in having really tough conversations, where she gave me a perspective I would not otherwise consider. She is the reason I am where I am today.”

Stephanie Adams, dean of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair in Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas

“I met Marion when I was about 14 and a middle school student in Mishawaka, Indiana, through my dad. My parents thought it would be a good experience for me to participate in the PREFACE program that she directed the summer after my sophomore year in high school. This program was my first real exposure to engineering, and Marion was a force that would become a mentor, role model, adviser, second mom and friend. She remained a mentor and coach throughout my career. She will never be forgotten.”

*Some comments were edited due to space constraints.