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

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.

On and Off the Court

On and Off the Court

As a coach, Lindsey Hicks inspires students athletically and academically

Lindsey Hicks (LA’04) had no intention of coaching basketball. She’d just finished up playing professionally overseas for six season after college when she received a phone call that would change her life. The call was from Pam Stackhouse, who was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Purdue while Hicks was on the team.

“She called me on a random Wednesday, 11:00 a.m.,” Hicks says. “She asked me, ‘Lindsey, what are you doing?’ I told her, ‘Nothing. I’m not doing anything.”

Making Her Own Space

Making Her Own Space

Amber Johnson Purdue’s first black woman to earn computer science PhD

When Amber Johnson (PhD S’19) walked across the stage at Elliott Hall of Music, she knew she was making history as the first black woman to earn a doctorate in computer science at Purdue University.

“It’s cool that my graduation coincides with the 150th anniversary of Purdue,” Johnson says. “With Purdue having the first department of computer science, this moment has a lot of symbolism. It means a lot for the world. It shows that computer science is for everybody and anybody.”

On the Offensive

On the Offensive

Junior Kylie Hase persevered on the pitch, even when she wasn’t accepted

Kylie Hase doesn’t know how to take it down a notch. Growing up in Orland Park, Illinois, she started playing soccer at 3 years old in a church league. Her mother tells Hase she fielded concerns from other moms because Hase was very aggressive running around the field.

“I was competitive right from the start,” says the junior studying law and society in the College of Liberal Arts.

Culture is Key

Culture is Key

How Roger Follmer built a champion tennis program at WashU

Coaching at a division iii school puts the focus on the student part of student-athlete. Washington University in St. Louis doesn’t have scholarship money available to recruit top-tier athletes. Coaching tennis adds another layer of complication. It’s mainly an individual sport, and it’s not uncommon for college student-athletes to have little to no experience playing on a team.

Out of the Shadows

Out of the Shadows

Ryan Cline’s resiliency, patience pay off in his senior year

A lot of people might have given up. They might have transferred. They might have allowed their frustrations to get the best of them. They might have lost their patience. Not Ryan Cline. He knew his time would come.

As a senior at Carmel High School, Cline led his team to a state championship. He was in the running for Indiana Mr. Basketball, an honor bestowed on the top high school basketball player in the state. He came in second to Caleb Swanigan. The two became teammates at Purdue, where Swanigan dominated the court. Then Cline found himself in the shadow of a strong group of seniors. For his first three years, Cline didn’t see much playing time.

Surviving the Storm

Surviving the Storm

Houston Boilers rally to aid family recovering from Hurricane Harvey

Steve and Cathy Gurnell were prepared to wait it out. They’d lived in their home in Katy, Texas, a western suburb of Houston, for 19 years. No strangers to bad storms, they’d stayed through Rita (2005), Ike (2008), and other smaller hurricanes and tropical storms. As rain from Hurricane Harvey pummeled Texas, friends and family called and texted the Gurnells to check on their safety. Among those concerned were the couple’s middle child, Carrie (LA’10), an assistant volleyball coach at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.