Purdue forms Purdue For Life Foundation to coordinate alumni engagement

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University President Mitch Daniels announced Wednesday (March 11) the creation of the Purdue For Life Foundation, an organization designed to deepen ties to alumni and to drive and coordinate all alumni-facing activities for the university.

“Our Purdue graduates and friends number in the hundreds of thousands,” Daniels said. “Purdue For Life will lead us to new connections and better engagement with this entire alumni universe. In a world of continuous learning and online education and networking, the Purdue experience must become not four years but literally lifelong.”

Purdue For Life will encompass the Purdue Alumni Association, the University Development Office, John Purdue Club and President’s Council and is intended to improve alumni engagement and communication by aligning development and stewardship activities across campus and with alumni and friends. The Purdue Alumni Association board has approved the move to the integrated model. 

Matt Folk, a 1991 Purdue electrical engineering graduate will serve as a Purdue vice president for university advancement and alumni engagement and will be the chief executive officer of Purdue For Life, overseeing the combined activities and goals of the aligned units. Folk has recently retired as president and CEO of Technology Marketing Corp. (a semiconductor sales and marketing company).  He was a founding member and has been serving as president of the Boiler Business Exchange in Indianapolis for many years. Additionally, Folk led the Purdue For Life investigation committee, which was made up of Purdue alumni who have been studying university integrated models across the country over the past year.

“Our goal is to strengthen ties both internally and externally, continuing our efforts to come together as one Purdue,” Folk said. “Working alongside the incredibly talented people already in place, we see a future of improved events, improved communication, the addition over time of a lifetime learning component for our Purdue alumni family and much, much more.”

Folk will report to a five-member board of directors that includes Daniels, three members of the Purdue Board of Trustees and one member of the Purdue Alumni Association board. The alumni association will maintain its alumni board and membership levels, and will retain its responsibility to nominate three members to the Purdue Board of Trustees.

“The Purdue Alumni Association Board supports taking steps to continue its mission within the Purdue For Life concept through an integrated engagement and advancement model,” said Dan Dawes, chairman of the Board of Directors for the Purdue Alumni Association. “We see Purdue For Life creating a pathway for enhancing lifelong engagement and enabling these three alumni-facing organizations to better serve our alumni. Purdue For Life will provide greater access to personal, professional and intellectual development. As an alumnus of this great university, one can expect to be more aware of what Purdue has to offer them today and through every stage in their life. The idea of a broader and strengthened outreach is well in line with the mission of the Purdue Alumni Association which it has been pursuing for more than 140 years.”

With the transition to the Purdue For Life alumni engagement model, Amy Noah, Purdue vice president for development, will resign from her position effective March 13. Greg Kapp will take on the role of interim vice president for development. Kapp, currently the senior associate vice president for development operations, has more than 40 years of experience leading companies and nonprofit agencies, including the last 20 focused on community and higher education advancement. Kapp has led Purdue’s advancement services organization through two major capital campaigns.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

Contact: Tim Doty, 765-494-2080, doty2@purdue.edu