On November 8th, Bill Nye will be speaking at Purdue University, as part of the Ideas Festival, the centerpiece of Purdue’s Giant Leaps Sesquicentennial Campaign in the area of Space: Earth, Exploration, and Economics.
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Good evening. I am President Mitch Daniels and am happy to be here with all of you tonight. At Purdue University it all started with one hot air balloon. In 1859, ten years before Purdue University was even founded, John Wise made the first airmail delivery carrying 123 letters and 23 circulars approximately 25 miles from Lafayette to Crawfordsville, Indiana. (That adds a whole new dimension to the term “snail mail”, doesn’t it?)
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From traveling 25 miles in 1859 to sending Neil Armstrong 290,000 miles to the moon in 1969, I think it is appropriate to say that we have, in fact, made some giant leaps.
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Now, almost 160 years later, Purdue University is proud to be known as the “Cradle of Astronauts”. 24 of our alumni have journeyed into space. We have played a leading role in the field, producing graduates and engineers that have transformed space exploration for our country.
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I am proud to be a part of a university that is committed to such innovation, research, and technology. I am honored to walk down the same halls as those who have walked in space, and on the moon. We at Purdue have pushed the boundaries of science and engineering, and will, without a doubt, continue to do so.
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It is my absolute pleasure to introduce our speaker, Bill Nye. He has ignited curiosity in science and technology in many, if not all, of you here tonight. As he states, “ When we explore the cosmos, we come to believe and prove that we can solve problems that have never been solved.” Well, here at Purdue we feel the same, and are thrilled to have Bill Nye here on campus tonight.
Please, sit back and enjoy, as the next giant leaps in space is discussed by the man who, most likely, made you want to take your first small step into the exploration science and technology.
Capital Campaign Speech written for President Mitch Daniels of Purdue University
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I’m going to start off paraphrasing an author I’ve read recently, “Relying on directive instruction and assignments written only for the teacher may suppress student development of inner speech and retard their cognition.” Well, we here at Purdue University don’t want to do that, do we?
At Purdue University we are continuously looking for innovative ways for all kinds of knowledge to be applied across all areas of study. The results of the efforts of professors, researchers, students, and alumni have impacted the course of history. The education we provide transcends the walls of the classrooms and labs in which we teach and learn.
Founded as a land-grant university, our goal is to continue to spread the benefits of higher education to all. As much as Purdue strives to produce real-world innovations, we can’t let the state of the real world obstruct motivated people from accessing higher education. We have to tear down the metaphorical walls of our institution in order to spread the benefits of higher education to those who are earnest in their academic endeavors. Because of your continued support, we are well on our way to accomplishing this undertaking.
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We have taken the last of the 150 years of giant leaps. The EverTrue campaign, our largest fundraising effort in Purdue history, is concluding. I invite you to learn as much as you can about what we have accomplished since 2012. Applications are up by 67%. Enrollment and graduation rates are at an all-time high. Despite the tuition freeze we have added 75 tenured engineering professorships and have increased the number of students earning STEM degrees. A Purdue education is more affordable and accessible than ever. We could not have done that without your support.
Reimagining the classroom is setting Purdue University apart from the rest. Even though we are at the end of one chapter of Purdue’s 150 year-long history, we can’t stop developing, innovating, and re-creating traditional methods of instruction. We can’t give up. As Boilermakers, leaders in our own chosen fields, we don’t know how to.T his is why, at the end of the EverTrue campaign, we begin the 150 Giant Leaps Forward Campaign.
Help keep the Purdue University education attainable and current. Help make sure we are filling all forms of classrooms, traditional and modern, with students who believe they have something to offer. Believe they have something to offer, because they do.
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I have a confession to make. I didn’t write this speech. My speech writer didn’t write this speech. This speech was written by a Master’s student studying at Purdue’s Brian Lamb School of Communication. As a writing assignment a class had to write a speech that I would give to alumni and donors. You may be thinking, “ Why for such an important event would President Daniels put his faith in the writing abilities of a master’s student?” Why? Because I believe in our system. I believe in our professors. I have faith in the minds of students and working adults that drive our businesses, economy, and innovations.
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We do things differently at Purdue. We engage our students and put them in real-world scenarios. Help Purdue University continue to offer students an educational experience set apart from the rest. Help our university reinvent traditional higher education norms and help reinvent it for the real world.
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We don’t need to make 150 giant leaps forward now, we can just begin with one step, but my hope is that your support, if not in the first, second, or even 100th leap, help guide the direction of our next 150 years forward.