Celebrating Black Excellence

Honoring Boilermakers who have shaped our community 

Our university is committed to honoring the Black students, alumni, faculty and staff who have had pivotal roles in our history. We look up to the individuals who made memorable contributions and thank those who continue to do so today.  

Explore some of the outstanding achievements of Black Boilermakers and the giant leaps they have taken around the world. 

What can you imagine at Purdue?

The only barriers to what you can achieve should be the limits of your imagination.

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Purdue University professor in Indianapolis Katrenia Reed Hughes

A ‘forever professor’ for Purdue students in Indianapolis

Katrenia Reed Hughes feels a responsibility to help the students she teaches achieve long-term success.

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Stephen McKinley Henderson on his journey to the top

The Purdue alumnus says theater “makes us look ourselves squarely in the face.”

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Graduating from Purdue Polytechnic High School and Purdue University

For Kayla Owens, being a Boilermaker began before her freshman year of college.

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Purdue University
 Black Cultural Center 

A vibrant element of university life, the Purdue Black Cultural Center offers a wealth of programs and services for the entire campus community. The BCC brings together the diversity of the Purdue family by nurturing and presenting the rich heritage of the African American experience through art, history and cultural understanding.

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We support Black Engineers

The We Support Black Engineers Campaign was curated to celebrate and show support for Purdue’s College of Engineering Black students, faculty, staff and alumni. This campaign pays homage to the Civil Rights Movement and to the historical I AM A MAN imagery birthed from…
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Clara Bell

Clara E. Bell forged a personal footpath that developed her empathy for the complexities that faced Purdue University’s black students and her black colleagues. She shined a spotlight on the distinct needs of minority nursing students, minority faculty, and what…
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Erin Cook

Aspiring animation specialist Erin Cook’s love for beauty and creativity doesn’t stop with her major. To her, music comes hand-in-hand with athletics, and she knew she wanted all of it in her college experience. “I wanted a school with a…
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Lamar Lundy

Lamar Lundy (HHS’57) arrived at Purdue in 1953 from Richmond, Indiana. At 6 feet 7 inches and 200 pounds, he was a dominant presence in both basketball and football. A three-time letter winner, Lundy was named Most Valuable Player in…
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Dolores Cooper Shockley

The Minority Engineering Program Remembers the Legacy of: Dr. Dolores Cooper Shockley Ph.D. ’55 – A Historical Moment for Purdue and the Nation Dolores completed her early education at Booker T. Washington in Clarksdale, Mississippi until the tenth grade. She…
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Linda Jo Mitchell

Linda Jo Mitchell (LA’69) was born in Gary, Indiana, attended Toleston High School in Gary, and later went on to study the humanities at Purdue University. As an undergraduate, Mitchell was very involved in scholastic activities and was an energetic…
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