Looking back and looking forward.

This year’s Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry was a very special one, as we celebrated Purdue’s 150th anniversary by inviting four of my predecessors to help us take a look back and a look forward at our college, the agriculture industry, and the land grant mission. Former Deans Bob Thompson, Vic Lechtenberg, Randy Woodson, and Jay Akridge and I had a great discussion, moderated by agriculture broadcaster Max Armstrong. Our audience of about 1,500 enjoyed the recollections and the laughs, but one thing that came out loud and clear is that our land grant mission will continue to be central to the College of Agriculture and to Purdue University for the next 150 years. Teaching, research and Extension in both a local and a global context require hard work, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and they are as central to what we do now as they were many years ago. 

At the Fish Fry, we introduced a number of new ideas that reflect that hard work and entrepreneurial spirit. One of the great successes of the day was the new Boiler Tracks Ice Cream. The recipe was developed in a Food Science Senior Design class and then was developed and marketed by Craig and Christy Coon of Round Barn Creamery in Kewanna, Indiana. I have no doubt that you’ll see more of this ice cream in the future! 

A group of Agriculture students also introduced a commemorative edition of The Purdue Agriculturalist, a magazine that was written and produced by Purdue students from 1906 to 1969. Under the guidance of Associate Dean Marcos Fernandez, Kevin Smith and Allan Goecker worked with our students to produce current edition of the magazine featuring great stories about the future for each of our departments, along with excerpts from some of the previous issues of The Purdue Agriculturalist highlighting many of our alumni. You can read a bit about the history of The Purdue Agriculturalist here, and the commemorative issue will be online soon.

Along Agriculture Avenue was a section called the “Purdue Startup Farm” where individuals with startup companies developed at Purdue could show off their products--from Professor Torbert’s Orange Corn through Gryfyn, a digital agriculture company that develops advanced software for predictive analytics.

Even one of the more traditional features of the Fish Fry, the Certificate of Distinction Awards, honored individuals representing the innovation, hard work, and entrepreneurship of the land grant mission: Ted and Dana Huber, who launched Indiana’s first winery; Ken Huseman, who for many years has represented Purdue as a volunteer on the Council on Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching; Donya Lester, who introduced many new programs and activities during her tenure as the Executive Director of the Purdue Ag Alumni Association; Jim Moseley, who not only runs his own farm but served two stints with the USDA for a total of six years; Steve Shifley, who during a long career with the US Forest Service Northern Research Station saw the potential of using computer modeling to analyze forest trends; and Paul Singleton, who helped beginning farmers get their start by making and servicing more than 500 loans over 35 years.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the hard work and innovation led by Danica Kirkpatrick, who played two roles at this year’s Fish Fry. She guided her team to pull off a very successful 150th anniversary celebration (the photo below my message shows the great job they did in making the anniversary front and center on the stage), and she addressed the audience for the first time as the Executive Director of the Purdue Ag Alumni Association, telling great stories of her background, her career and her connections at Purdue.

All of these people have had an impact on Purdue Agriculture and they have made a difference in the lives and livelihoods of others.  So while our programs have changed over the last 150 years, we have built a solid foundation for continued impact in the US and around the world, in the classroom, the laboratory and the field, fulfilling the land grant mission in the 21st Century and beyond.

All the best,

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Purdue Memorial Union Club renovations to begin this summer

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