President Daniels at the Inaugural Entrepreneurial Alumni Reunion- Nov. 9-11, 2023

Source - Purdue University

Hello all, I am Mitch Daniels, Purdue University President, and I humbly welcome and thank you for joining us at this Entrepreneurial Alumni Reunion 2023. Many of you have collaborated with me on different projects; for those who don’t know me well, I graduated from Princeton University with International Affairs in ’71 and got a law degree from Georgetown University in ’79 (Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. Biography. n. d). I know the difference we, as alumni, were able to make for future generations. Moreover, having a successful career in business and being a part of the top management gives me the purview of why top talent and technological innovation are critical for business progress. 

We have heard some great conversations at this Inaugural Entrepreneurial Alumni Reunion, including my favorite, uncovering exciting emerging Purdue technologies. Now, we are here to explore the role of educational institutions within the innovation ecosystem and the importance of investing in the future of Boilermaker innovation (Reunion Schedule. 2023).

Purdue University innovations can be found in all 50 U.S. states and about 100 countries worldwide. Millions of people benefit from the cutting-edge research that takes place at Purdue. Purdue is the nation’s most innovative university and ranked 5th worldwide for the number of issued U.S. utility patents (South-Hurt, 2023). Thanks to the dedication of our professors and staff, students, and their families who encourage them to carry on and be their best. We provide these students with a high-caliber education and industry exposure to focus on skill sets that elevate the caliber of our students.  To increase their knowledge and talents, like a diamond with more facets has a higher brilliance.

We are grateful to our corporate supporters, who provide state-of-the-art facilities and enable our students to work in real-world environments. Such efforts helped us maintain the top 10 most Innovative Schools in the U.S. for five years (Schultz. 2022). We are stronger Boilermakers thanks to your endowments, and you have seen the results. We were able to recruit more professors and increase our student count. We provide more inclusion opportunities for our staff and students to ensure they feel at home. We understand creative solutions evolve when people are comfortable and have the facilities and the dedication to drive it to the end.

We are honored that two distinguished alumni are here to highlight the importance of investing in Boilermakers. Both have been transformational leaders in their fields throughout the past decades. Bill Elmore, BSEE ‘75 and MSEE ‘76. He co-founded Foundation Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in enterprise, finance, and consumer technology. He is now a General Partner at Handshake Ventures and continues to invest full-time in promising technology startups. He served as a director of numerous private and public companies and as Director Board of Director of Purdue Research Foundation. He was awarded the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award in 2017 by the University’s College of Engineering and the Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineer Award in 2003. He gave $25 million and named the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering after several of his family members who were educated here.

Our alumnus, John Martinson, is an equally well-known figure, MSAAE ‘71. Martinson founded Edison Partners and now serves as the Managing Partner at Edison Ventures and served on 80 technology businesses as the board of directors and chairman of the National Venture Capital Association. John is leading the way in Transformative Education 2.0, and to honor his gift of $25 million, the Purdue University Board of Trustees named Honors College for Martinson. His gifts established the John Martinson Entrepreneurial Center and have supported the INSPIRE Research Institute for Pre-College Engineering, EPICS, and Women in Engineering.

Both have led Purdue alums from the front and showed the impact Purdue has made on their careers that, inspires them to give back to their alma mater so others can receive the same benefit that they have with the mission of Purdue. Purdue provides an innovative ecosystem to budding creators.

Reference

Engineering Advisory Council – Active. Purdue University. College of Engineering.
     https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/People/Committees/EAC

Entrepreneurial Alumni Reunion Schedule. 2023. Purdue for Life Foundation.
      https://www.purdueforlife.org/entrepreneurial-alumni-reunion/schedule/

Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. Biography. n.d. Office of the President.
      https://www.purdue.edu/president/mitch-daniels/about/biography.php

Purdue honors alumnus Bill Elmore for a transformational gift to name ECE. November 1, 2021.
     Elmore School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECE/
     News/2021/purdue-honors-alumnus-bill-elmore-for-transformational-gift-to-name-ece

Schultz, D. July 10, 2023. Purdue University ascends to the top 10 of the Global University
     Visibility rankings. Purdue University. News. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/
      2023/Q3/purdue-university-ascends-to-the-top-10-of-the-global-university-visibility-
      rankings.html  

South-Hurt, A. April 20, 2023, Purdue Innovates launches one united IP commercialization and   
    startup creation network. Purdue University. News. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/
    releases/2023/Q2/purdue-innovates-launches-one-united-ip-commercialization-and-startup-
    creation-network.html


Disclaimer: created as part of the requirements for a writing assignment and not meant to be published nor to represent the organization(s) listed herein

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