Biography

Purdue traces its roots to the signing of the Morrill Act by President Lincoln on July 2, 1862. Three years later, the General Assembly of Indiana voted to take advantage of public lands available under this act to support colleges to teach agriculture and the "mechanic arts." John Purdue donated land and money for Purdue in 1869. Six instructors taught 39 students when school opened on September 16, 1874. The first president, Richard Owen, worked out the University's structure. The first graduating class had 14 students. Enrollment now comprises nearly 38,000 students on the West Lafayette campus and 21,000 on the regional campuses. Originally, Purdue had only six buildings. Today, the West Lafayette campus contains more than 158 major buildings on 1,579 acres. In addition, nearly 15,000 acres in the state are under university control and are used for agricultural research. Diversified research is conducted in some 400 labs. There are more than 12,000 faculty and staff on the West Lafayette campus.

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