Guide to Purdue University
Purdue University (Purdue) in West Lafayette, Indiana is a land-grant, public university. It was founded in 1869 when the Indiana General Assembly taking advantage of the Morrill Act of 1862, accepted a donation of land and money from Lafayette businessman John Purdue. In terms of student enrolment, Purdue is the largest university in Indiana and is the flagship campus of the Purdue University System. Purdue is particularly noted for its engineering, agriculture, and business administration programs, which consistently rank among the very best in the country and the world.
Location
Purdue is situated in West Lafayette, Indiana which is separated from Lafayette by the Wabash River. Purdue is 65 miles Northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana and 125 miles Southeast of Chicago, Illinois. I-65 is the main North-South interstate that comes from Michigan and passes East of Chicago and then to Lafayette and Indianapolis and on to Florida.
Time
The Lafayette - West Lafayette area is on Eastern Standard Time Zone and will be observing Day Light Savings Time from March 11th, to November 4th, 2007.
Reaching by Air
Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is a major airport served by airlines like American, United, TWA and Southwest among others. Lafayette (LAF) is served by Northwest from Detroit. The drive from Indianapolis including end effects of getting a car and parking is approximately two hours.
Purdue is also accessible from O'Hare International Airport, Chicago by mini-van service and reservations can be made from their website. Those travelling to Midway Airport, Chicago can use the Omega Shuttle to travel to O'Hare Airport and then take the Express Air Coach
You can travel to Purdue by Lafayette Limo, a mini-van service from Indianapolis Airport and costs around $25/-
Reaching by Road
The Lafayette Transportation Center is home to Greyhound and Amtrak. City bus provides campus loops and routes throughout the area and is free for students, faculty, and staff for all fixed routes in the West Lafayette - Lafayette area. The campus is also serviced by Taxi-cabs and various car rental agencies.
Lodging
You can choose from a variety of lodging options including Hotels & Motels, Bed ‘n Breakfasts and Camping.
What to do in Purdue?
Visitors to Purdue enjoy strolling across the well-tended campus with its scores of stately red-brick buildings and welcoming green spaces. The Purdue Visitor Information Center is a good place to start where general and specialized tours can be arranged with prior notice. First-timers may be overwhelmed by the campus covering 2000 acres with more than 375 buildings. Here are some of the popular places to visit.
Academy Park, Founders Park, Memorial Mall, and Purdue Mall
On Memorial mall, founding benefactor, John Purdue is buried in front of University Hall, the oldest building on campus.
The Purdue Memorial Union
The union is a gathering place for students, faculty and visitors with a variety of dining options, games rooms, galleries, banking facilities etc.
Purdue University Galleries
Purdue has several art galleries like Robert L. Ringel Gallery, Purdue Memorial Union and Stewart Center Gallery that showcase a variety of art forms and exhibits. The exhibits change every 2–3 months so there is always something new to enjoy and are free and open to the public.
Purdue University Horticulture Gardens
The Horticulture gardens display annual and perennial flowers and vegetable cultivators suitable for Indiana gardens. The gardens are open daily to the public.
Purdue University Libraries
There are subject specialty libraries on the Purdue campus but they all function as one unified library system.
Dauch Alumni Center
The alumni center celebrates the history of Purdue and its alumni. It has interactive exhibits that allow visitors to learn more about Purdue’s contribution to the country’s history including its astronauts, developments in agriculture and engineering.
Besides these, Purdue has a variety of performing arts production groups/organizations which perform throughout the year. Some of these are Purdue Bands, Purdue Black Cultural Centre, Purdue Convocations, Purdue Musical Organizations, Repertory Dance Company, Purdue Theatre.
So no matter which time of the year you decide to visit, there is always something to do and enjoy in Purdue for everyone.