William E. and Florence E. Perry Head of Mechanical Engineering

Florence E. Perry was a long-time friend of the School of Mechanical Engineering and lived in Sarasota, Florida until she passed away December 10, 2011.  She and her husband, William E. Perry, created a strong legacy within the School of Mechanical Engineering through their philanthropy over the years.  Bill was a 1938 BSME and worked as a power engineer.  Inspired by an article about the need for private funding for research on artificial limbs and other subjects in “Perspective” written by President Arthur Hansen, Bill and Florence began making unrestricted gifts to the Purdue Research Foundation (PRF).  After a few gifts to PRF they decided to grow the legacy through the School of Mechanical Engineering and began building an endowment through income-producing Charitable Gift Annuities and Remainder Trusts. 

Frank Incropera (former Head of the School of Mechanical Engineering) worked with Florence on a gift to support a design lab and a design professorship.  When E. Dan Hirleman, successor to Frank Incropera as next Head of the School, first visited with Florence they discussed biomedical, nanotechnology, the information age, and how ME would impact and be impacted by these advances.  Florence was very conscious of how fast technology and therefore the world is changing and how this could have a profound impact on mechanical engineering.  These conversations brought Florence to the realization that it would be possible to endow something specific in ME that would not be impactful over the long run. 

ME is a vital discipline; all about machines that transport us, automate repetitive tasks, and build other machines.  The physical human body is the world’s most amazing machine, and MEs working on biomechanics, in-vivo sensors and circulation, and delivery of smart bombs for cancer and other diseases.  ME is ever changing, adapting, and leading.  Florence saw this and knew that the margin of excellence for Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering would come from private philanthropy.  She also knew that an essentially unrestricted endowment would give the School the flexibility to quickly impact the most pressing strategic problem of the time. 

Discussions with Florence resulted in her changing her endowment from one restricted to a design lab to one that would give the Head of the School the flexibility to quickly respond to the changing times and the most urgent needs of the School.  The result was the “William E. and Florence E. Perry endowment for the Head of the School of Mechanical Engineering.”  Her understanding of the world will have a major impact on Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering in perpetuity.

(Article Contributions by E. Dan Hirleman, John Sanderson, Gordon Chavers, and Laura Edwards)