Purdue University Northwest’s first Purdue Day of Giving experience turned into a day of giving galore.
By generating $693,515 during Wednesday’s (4/27) annual Purdue fundraising event, PNW’s two campuses—North Central at Westville and Calumet at Hammond—combined to more than triple the university’s original goal of $185,000. The 24-hour, online, social media-driven event spurred alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff, friends, businesses and other organizations across the Purdue system to participate in support of students and programs.
Some 356 donor gifts to PNW contributed to a record-setting, single day giving total of $18.3 million to Purdue campuses, colleges and programs. The monetary amount is believed to be the greatest total raised for higher education during a single-day campaign.
“We are truly grateful to the many alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of our Purdue Northwest campuses who supported Purdue Day of Giving,” Purdue Calumet Chancellor and Purdue Northwest Chancellor-Designate Thomas L. Keon said. “It was an exciting day and significant way to nurture and advance the PNW vision, particularly in support of educational opportunities for our students.”
Purdue University North Central Chancellor James Dworkin added, “Purdue Day of Giving brings together the entire Purdue family and represents the impact we can have as a unified community. Together, we can truly make a difference in the lives of students and build on the success of our two great campuses.”
Gifts to PNW, as designated by the donors, will be used to support student scholarships, academic programs, athletics and other university strategic initiatives.
“This Day of Giving success took an amazing team effort across both of our wonderful campuses to create this momentum in support of our students,” Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement Regina Biddings-Muro said. “This success shows that one plus one equals 693,515!”
Purdue Day of Giving headquarters were established Wednesday on both PNW campuses where live updates were displayed on large screens. Snacks were provided for visitors who followed giving progress and made contributions.
Purdue University Northwest
With recent approval by the Higher Learning Commission, Purdue University Calumet and Purdue University North Central have unified to become Purdue University Northwest (PNW), a comprehensive regional university within the Purdue University system. When it welcomes its first class of students this fall, PNW will become Indiana’s fifth largest public university, enrolling more than 15,000 students and offering 70+ degree programs. Current students are completing the spring semester as enrollees of Purdue Calumet in Hammond or Purdue North Central in Westville.