Features
Kat Braz
The Purdue Herbaria

An insider’s look at a university collection so valuable, the professor who built it once stole it back.

The earliest herbarium—a collection of plant samples preserved for scientific study—dates to 16th-century Italy, when the Bologna physician and botanist Luca Ghini (1490–1556) sought to make plant material available to his students in winter when the plants were dead or dormant.

The specimens were flattened between two pieces of paper to remove moisture. Once dried, they were mounted on paper sheets with notations on the plant’s name, where the plant was gathered, and any distinctive features. The pages were bound into volumes to enable transport from one location to another, thus making plant material from faraway places available indefinitely.

The Purdue Herbaria
Features
Kat Braz
A Window into Westwood Manor

The Stewarts at Westwood

Robert Bruce Stewart (HDR M’68), known as R.B., joined the Purdue University staff as controller in 1925. At that time, Purdue enrolled 3,000 students, the physical plant was worth $3 million, and the endowment totaled $340,000.

Stewart, who went on to become the university’s first vice president and treasurer, is credited by many with influencing the character and growth of Purdue University. He spent 36 years building the university both fiscally and physically.

A Window into Westwood Manor
Profiles
Kat Braz
A Story in Stones

Geochemist Marissa Tremblay ’12 analyzes Antarctic rocks to unravel Earth’s climate chronology and predict the planet’s future environment

A geologic field excursion to Death Valley during spring break her first year at Barnard set Marissa Tremblay ’12 on course to becoming a scientist. She entered college intending to pursue a law degree, but stepping foot on that vast, desolate desert landscape marked with sand dunes ignited a curiosity to uncover the stories in stones.

A Story in Stones
Features
Kat Braz
Call of the Wild

50 Years of Wolf Park

Founded by Purdue ethologist Erich Klinghammer in 1972, Wolf Park began as an experiment to study wolf behavior. The pioneering research conducted there over the past 50 years contributed to a better understanding of the apex predator and facilitated its reintroduction into the wild.

Call of the Wild
Profiles
Kat Braz
Come From Away

Twenty Years After 9/11 Longhorn Reflects on the Unexpected Detour—and the Subsequent Broadway Show—that Altered His Life’s Trajectory

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Kevin Tuerff and his then-partner, also named Kevin, were on an Air France flight bound for New York City. The couple had just wrapped up a European vacation and they were eager to get home. A sudden drop in elevation over the Atlantic Ocean was the first sign that something was amiss. Then came an announcement from the cockpit.

Come From Away

Features

The Purdue Herbaria

The Purdue Herbaria

An insider’s look at a university collection so valuable, the professor who built it once stole it back.

The earliest herbarium—a collection of plant samples preserved for scientific study—dates to 16th-century Italy, when the Bologna physician and botanist Luca Ghini (1490–1556) sought to make plant material available to his students in winter when the plants were dead or dormant.

The specimens were flattened between two pieces of paper to remove moisture. Once dried, they were mounted on paper sheets with notations on the plant’s name, where the plant was gathered, and any distinctive features. The pages were bound into volumes to enable transport from one location to another, thus making plant material from faraway places available indefinitely.

The RIP Squad

The RIP Squad

Meet students from the talented men’s practice team who help prepare Women’s basketball to face their toughest competition.

When Matt Collins drives to the basket and sinks a layup in Mackey Arena, he hears the thunderous roar of the crowd echoing across the rafters.

Often cited as the loudest arena in the Big Ten, nothing pumps a player up like the electric atmosphere created by 10,000-plus screaming fans on their feet. If it was a particularly challenging play, Collins might even throw a little celebration in to stoke the competitive juices of the opposing team.

A Window into Westwood Manor

A Window into Westwood Manor

The Stewarts at Westwood

Robert Bruce Stewart (HDR M’68), known as R.B., joined the Purdue University staff as controller in 1925. At that time, Purdue enrolled 3,000 students, the physical plant was worth $3 million, and the endowment totaled $340,000.

Stewart, who went on to become the university’s first vice president and treasurer, is credited by many with influencing the character and growth of Purdue University. He spent 36 years building the university both fiscally and physically.

Creating a Community of Belonging by Embracing Access for All

Creating a Community of Belonging by Embracing Access for All

Founded on a principle that education should be available to every citizen, Kent State is committed to breaking down barriers that inhibit access and hinder degree completion.

Kent State boasts a legacy of inclusivity that traces back to its first full academic year on the Kent Campus in fall 1913. With a class of 138 women and six men, Kent State Normal School began as a school for working adults, educating women at a time when many universities enrolled very few—if they were admitted at all.

My View from Seven Feet

My View from Seven Feet

Boilermaker basketball star-turned-artist Joe Barry Carroll explores his roots and shares his perspective on growing up in the impoverished South and traveling the world with the NBA through large-scale paintings that befit his imposing stature.

Joe Barry Carroll can’t answer the phone. His fingers are covered in paint.

When he calls back an hour later, his baritone voice exudes warmth. Carroll (M’80) grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Although he graduated high school in Denver, Colorado, he’s called Atlanta, Georgia, home since retiring from the NBA in 1991. There, he built a successful career as an investment adviser.

Finding Her Way

Finding Her Way

Alumna embarks on a 500-mile journey to grapple with her devastating diagnosis and advance breast cancer screening for others

The pilgrim gripped each stone, one by one, turning it over in her hand. She felt its weight and ran her finger over its surface before laying it gently down at the base of the Cruz de Ferro.

One stone for each of her four Sigma Kappa sorority sisters who had died of breast cancer, one of whom passed away since Leslie Ferris Yerger (M’84, S’85) embarked on her 500-mile pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago. She solemnly closed her eyes and thought of Toni Mark Hicks (S’84), Madelon (Moulton) Shahroozi (HHS’86), Nancy Keil Slamkowski (HHS’84), and Sally (Shock) Wurster (LA’87). Less than one year following her own diagnosis, Yerger reflected on their too-short lives.

Exploding the Board Game Industry

Exploding the Board Game Industry

Meet the Boilermakers behind some of tabletop gaming’s hottest titles

Sir Ragnar had been found. He was alive but badly hurt. The wizard only needed to escort the injured knight back to the staircase where the rest of the rescue party was waiting. Suddenly, an alarm sounded throughout the dungeon. Ulag, the Orc Warlord, and his minions began attacking. Ragnar was killed in the melee. The heroes had failed.

It was all a bit too much for then-9-year-old Brady Sadler (LA’09), who vividly remembers breaking down and crying after the defeat.