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

Military

From the Gridiron to the Green Berets

From the Gridiron to the Green Berets

Silver Star recipient Antonio Gonzalez ’94 placed his trust in faith, football 

Children growing up in the predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles in the 1980s and ’90s lived on the razor’s edge between childhood innocence and gang violence.

Plagued by high violent crime rates, struggling public schools and poverty, those who yearned to escape the concrete jungle of Boyle Heights saw two options — go to college or enlist in the military. In time, Army Sgt. Maj. Antonio Gonzalez ’94 would do both, earning a football scholarship to Kansas State University and receiving a Silver Star Medal recognizing his gallantry in action.

Leading with Integrity

Leading with Integrity

Rear admiral Peg Klein anchors virtue and ethics at the center of decision-making

Raised near Naval Air Station South Weymouth outside of Boston, MA, Rear Admiral Peg Klein ’81, USN (Ret.), developed a passion for aviation at an early age. Her father, a professor of aviation science and a Navy reservist, frequently took Klein flying. 

“I remember when my dad got his private pilot’s license,” Klein said. “I would look over his shoulder while he was studying for ground school. I waited for him at the airfield while he took flight lessons. The first time he flew me over Cape Cod, it was thrilling. I loved being in the air. I loved what you could see from the air.” 

Model of Leadership

Model of Leadership

Janie L. Mines blazed a trail for future women of color at the Academy

Four years at the Naval Academy tests the mettle of many midshipmen. For Janie L. Mines ’80 some days on the Yard were downright harrowing.

Dauntless, she persevered to become the first Black woman to graduate from the Academy. It’s a subject she speaks about openly in her book, No Coincidences, where she reflects on the faith-centered upbringing that prepared her not only to endure trying circumstances, but to excel in spite of obstacles and to lead the way for the others who would follow.

Happy Birthday, Doc

Happy Birthday, Doc

K-State’s oldest living football player turns 100

As a boy, Russell “Doc” Hardin ’46 dreamt of becoming a veterinarian. He never thought he’d have an opportunity to pursue that dream. Raised on a farm north of Knightstown, Indiana, during the Depression, there was a time when the family’s only income came from milking their 20 head of cattle — a chore Hardin started at age 9.

Lt. Bardach Comes Home

Lt. Bardach Comes Home

Remains of soldier killed in Vietnam return to Indiana after 51 years

Ann (Bardach) Vollmar (LA’67) will never forget the cold January day in 1968 when an army captain from Fort Harrison knocked on the door of her family’s Westfield, Indiana, home. Her father was away in New York City for business, and her mother was still at work in downtown Indianapolis. Vollmar was home alone with her younger brother, and the two of them knew the captain’s visit must be related to their oldest brother, 1st Lt. Alan Bardach (M’66), who was fighting in Vietnam.

Team V

Team V

One of the first things a young cadet learns is how to properly shine military-issue leather shoes.

ROTC programs are designed to model operational military units for which customs and courtesies — including a meticulously presented uniform — are the foundational basis for etiquette and conduct.

Col. Chris Moss (LA’90), commander of the 30th Space Wing and Western Range, Vandenberg Air Force Base, in central California, fondly remembers shining shoes with his flight, the two dozen junior cadets for whom he served as flight commander in ROTC. In those days, patent leather shoes were a privilege afforded to senior cadets, which meant Friday night gatherings for underclassmen, replete with cotton balls and wax.