PNW Announces the Newly Formed Purdue Northwest Alumni Community

PNW Announces the Newly Formed Purdue Northwest Alumni Community

Purdue University Northwest now boasts its own, independent alumni organization in the newly formed Purdue Northwest Alumni Community.

Purdue Northwest Alumni Community is a new separate, independent non-profit organization created solely for the purpose of supporting Purdue University Northwest, its students and alumni. All alumni of the Hammond and Westville campuses are welcome to become a part of the new, vibrant community.

The community’s 10 founding board members elected Scott Schaller, of Cedar Lake, as the first president and Katie Eaton, of La Porte, as the first vice president. Both Schaller and Eaton had been actively involved in their respective campus’ alumni boards. They have worked closely with the founding board members over the last year to create an organization that will build a strong alumni community for the future.

Schaller, who earned his bachelor’s degree and MBA at the Hammond Campus, noted, “It’s taken us more than two years to get to this day. We started as two separate alumni boards representing our legacy founding universities more than six months prior to the unification that was completed in March, 2016. Last summer, we combined as a single board under PNW Alumni Organization.”

Eaton, who earned her bachelor’s degree and MBA at the Westville Campus added, “Loyalty to Purdue Northwest and our founding universities is what brings us together to serve our alumni and most importantly current students striving to make an impact on Northwest Indiana. We are Purdue Northwest for Life!”

The new alumni community represents more than 60,000 alumni and membership is open to alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and all philanthropic supporters.

“The Purdue Northwest Alumni Community stands proudly with our new university and we believe we will present a strong, independent and unified voice in support of the university into the future,” said Schaller.

Graduates of Purdue Northwest or its founding Universities—Purdue Calumet or Purdue North Central - are invited to apply to join its new board of directors and applications are accepted through July 31. The expectations and responsibilities of board membership are available at Alumni.pnw.edu/getonboard.

Plans are in progress for a number of upcoming events including:

  • Homecoming – Sept. 2 through 9. The week of events will culminate in the Fall Sports Festival in Dowling Park.
  • Alumni Trivia Night Competition – Oct. 12. This will be a fun-filled night of alumni bonding, networking and competition that will raise support for the new PNW Legacy Scholarship to be awarded to PNW students who are children of alumni in the coming years.
  • Purdue Northwest Reunion Weekend – Spring 2018. The first-ever PNW Reunion Weekend will include all legacy university alumni, with special emphasis given to 40-, 45-, 50-, and 55-year graduates. The reunion will take place April 26 through May commencement celebrations.

Alumni Community Mission Statement The Purdue University Northwest Alumni Community serves as an essential resource to Purdue University Northwest, its Alumni and current students through strategic partnerships which enhance the lives of its constituents and manifest Purdue pride and loyalty.

Purdue University Northwest Purdue University Northwest (PNW), a comprehensive regional university within the Purdue University system, has two Northwest Indiana campuses in Hammond and Westville. With more than 15,000 students enrolled last fall and nearly 70 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, Purdue Northwest is Indiana’s fifth largest public university. For more information about PNW, visit www.pnw.edu.