WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University will reward student leaders from urban areas in Indiana and Illinois with a new scholarship announced by the university on Friday (Oct. 2, 2009).

The first Emerging Urban Leader Scholars will be selected from the 2010 entering freshman class. No separate application is needed for this scholarship. Prospective students who submit their Purdue application, transcript and test scores by Nov. 15 will be considered. Students will be evaluated on their academic and leadership skills.

The Emerging Urban Leaders Scholarship program is made possible by a $6 million anonymous gift Purdue received in April 2009. The new scholarship, which is part of the university’s Access and Success Campaign, will offer $5,000 to select Indiana students from the Indianapolis Public Schools district and public schools in Hammond, Gary and East Chicago. Students from Chicago Public Schools Corporation also can qualify for a $15,000 scholarship. The scholarships are renewable annually for four years upon achievement of a 2.70 Purdue grade point average.

“Purdue is dedicated to making a college education accessible for students, especially those who succeed in the classroom and are proven community leaders,” said Purdue President France A. Córdova.

The first Emerging Urban Leader Scholars will be selected from the 2010 entering freshman class. No separate application is needed for this scholarship. Prospective students who submit their Purdue application, transcript and test scores by Nov. 15 will be considered. Students will be evaluated on their academic and leadership skills.

Purdue trustee William Oesterle pledged $250,000 to the program.

“This is another way we can ensure Indiana students are able to achieve a college education,” said Oesterle, an Indianapolis resident who also is chief executive officer and a co-founder of Angie’s List. “I really hope other people step up to help us expand this program so we can provide this opportunity to even more deserving students.”

Oesterle, who has been a trustee since 2005, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Purdue in 1987 and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

The Emerging Urban Leaders Scholarship program is part of Access and Success. The scholarship campaign was launched in 2007 and provides funding for a variety of scholarships and student programs. To date, more than $100 million has been raised for the Access and Success campaign.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Two students from Indiana have been selected as recipients of the Wade Steffey Memorial Scholarship. Trent Huckstep of Carmel and Kelli Chupp of Osceola are set to enter Purdue University in the fall. The scholarship provides $2,000 for each of the students for the 2009-10 academic year.

The Wade Steffey Memorial Fund was created by Purdue to honor Wade Steffey, who died Jan. 13, 2007, when he entered an electrical vault in the basement of Owen Hall, a Purdue student residence building. Steffey was a National Merit Scholar and Eagle Scout who was majoring in aviation technology at Purdue.

The Wade Steffey Memorial Fund was created by Purdue to honor Wade Steffey, who died Jan. 13, 2007, when he entered an electrical vault in the basement of Owen Hall, a Purdue student residence building. His body was found March 19, 2007, after extensive searches by police agencies, university staff and hundreds of volunteers. Steffey, from Bloomington, Ind., was a National Merit Scholar and Eagle Scout who was majoring in aviation technology at Purdue.

“I really hope that Wade is remembered as a good friend to all kinds of people and that he built bridges between groups and brought people together,” said Dale Steffey, Wade’s father. “He was smart, kind and honest. We hope that this scholarship honors Wade and that it helps the university remember the extraordinary coming together that occurred when Wade was missing.”

While at Purdue, Huckstep plans to major in pharmacy, and Chupp plans to major in science.

Huckstep and Chupp were selected based on their academic excellence, school and community involvement, and financial need.

Students eligible for the scholarship must be from Indiana and plan to attend Purdue.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A new Purdue University scholarship would aid those students who benefit least from most scholarship programs – the sons and daughters of middle-class Indiana families.

Purdue President France A. Córdova announced Friday (April 10) that the new Purdue Marquis Scholarship Program would be targeted to Hoosier students with family incomes of $40,000 to $100,000.

Qualifying students must be Indiana residents, have grade point averages and entrance exam scores that place them in the top 50 percent of admitted students, and demonstrate a family income of less than $100,000 and more than $40,000. Up to 50 students will be funded per year at $2,000 per year, starting with the 2009-2010 freshman class.

“We know middle-class families have been hard hit by the economic downturn and, for some, college savings have evaporated along with jobs and financial security,” Córdova said. “They also are the forgotten students when it comes to most financial aid other than loans. We intend to make sure going to college stays part of their dream.”

Córdova said she has directed a recent gift of $500,000 to help jump-start the effort.

Qualifying students must be Indiana residents, have grade point averages and entrance exam scores that place them in the top 50 percent of admitted students, and demonstrate a family income of less than $100,000 and more than $40,000. Up to 50 students will be funded per year at $2,000 per year, starting with the 2009-2010 freshman class.

“Even a modest amount of assistance could make the difference between whether or not a son or daughter gets to go to Purdue or any four-year college,” Córdova said. “It can help reduce their need for loans or let them cut back on excessive hours of outside employment, which can sometimes affect their grades.”

The gift is from the Werner C. and Juliet V. Triftshouser Fund of the Dayton Foundation and represents the proceeds of a life insurance policy held by Werner Triftshouser. Werner, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue in mechanical engineering in 1956 and 1957, respectively, was president and owner of Estee Mold and Die. Juliet earned her bachelor’s degree in consumer and family sciences from Purdue in 1959.

The Marquis Scholarships are part of a larger Purdue effort to help defray the cost of a Purdue education and create programs that improve student learning and academic success. The goal of the Access and Success campaign is to raise $304 million by 2014. To date, more than $90 million has been raised.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Applications are now available for the Purdue University Alpha Chi Omega chapter scholarship, which is awarded each year to a student whose college career has been touched by the arts.

The annual scholarship, which was endowed in 2002, is awarded to a Purdue student who has demonstrated excellence in visual or performing arts either through a major in arts or as a non-arts major who is eligible through participation in campus arts organizations. Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. Feb. 16.

Freshmen, sophomores and juniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and a previous semester index of 2.5 are eligible. The scholarship will be awarded for use during the 2009-10 academic year.

Applications for the scholarship are available at Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue Bands, Office of the Dean of Students, Student Activities and Organizations, Black Cultural Center and the Office of the Vice President for Student Services.

The scholarship will be awarded at the University Honors Convocation on April 19, and the winner will have his or her name added to an Alpha Chi Omega recognition plaque that is hung in Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts.

Alpha Chi Omega was founded in 1885 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., by seven women from the school of music. Today the organization is on more than 132 campuses. Purdue’s chapter was chartered in 1918 and is the 25th oldest chapter in the nation.