Purdue sets records for research funding and giving

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University on Tuesday (July 10) announced record totals in both giving to Purdue and in sponsored research funding for the 2018 fiscal year, which ended June 30.

Giving to Purdue hit a record $451.5 million, the first time that contributors — alumni, faculty, staff, retirees, students, corporations, foundations, parents and friends — have contributed more than $400 million to the university in one year.

Sponsored research programs also set a record for the 2018 fiscal year with $454.5 million, which was an increase of $36 million over the previous year.

For sponsored research programs, it is the fourth consecutive year of record funding for the university.

For giving at Purdue, this is the second consecutive year that Purdue donors contributed a record amount, the sixth straight year that funding for student support has increased, and the fifth year in a row that the number of donors has increased.

Purdue Research and Partnerships

Suresh Garimella, executive vice president for research and partnerships, and Purdue's Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, said that the record $454.5 million funding for scientific and engineering research also comes from a broad range of funders.

"The success of our faculty and staff is reflected not only in the increased federal grant funding, but also the continued strong support from corporations, such as Eli Lilly and Company and Rolls-Royce, as well as from many of the nation's largest foundations," he said. "Our portfolio of funders is the broadest I remember, and we were honored to be named as the site of two prestigious national engineering research centers.

"This is a testament to the work of our talented researchers and to the advanced facilities found at Purdue."

The National Science Foundation named Purdue as the location for the national Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources, and the Semiconductor Research Corp. named Purdue as the site for its national Center for Brain-inspired Computing Enabling Autonomous Intelligence.

Giving to Purdue

Individual donors also found reason to support Purdue. "Ever True: The Campaign for Purdue University" was announced in October 2015 and has now raised $1.964 billion toward its goal of $2.019 billion. The campaign concludes, as the goal suggests, in 2019 during the university's 150th anniversary year.

Amy Noah, vice president for development, said Purdue also set a university record in FY2018 for the largest number of individual donors, with 86,176.

"This outpouring of generosity equips Purdue for even greater excellence," she said, "and it brings powerful momentum to the final year of our ‘Ever True’ campaign. We are grateful for the thousands of supporters who are each helping Purdue take the next giant leap."

The total raised includes $88.2 million for student support, up from last year's $75.4 million. This comes on the heels of the announcement that Purdue has admitted its largest freshman class ever — 8,300 students — for the fall of 2018. 

Writer: Steve Tally, 765-494-9809, steve@purdue.edu, @sciencewriter

Sources: Suresh Garimella, 765-494-6209, sureshg@purdue.edu, @svgarimella

Amy Noah, 765-494-1704, arnoah@prf.org

Note to Journalists: A release focusing on the record year in research and partnerships is available here. A release focusing on the record year in donations is available here.