Changing students’ lives starts with PNW faculty and staff

At Purdue University Northwest, faculty and staff are passionate about helping students succeed.

Whether leading in the classroom or lab, helping students choose the right courses for their major, providing support, or keeping students safe, every employee makes a difference in helping our students persist to earn a degree from PNW.

Our financial contributions help relieve financial burdens and enhance opportunities for students – creating a ripple effect of positive change that extends well beyond our campuses.

The Office of Institutional Advancement recently kicked off a yearlong initiative to raise awareness among faculty and staff of the importance of giving back to support PNW students. Themed “Changing Students’ Lives Starts With Us,” the effort will highlight the profound impact of philanthropy on PNW students.

This academic year, we have great opportunity to increase our impact together.

Lisa Goodnight, vice chancellor of Institutional Advancement and professor of Communication

“We are profoundly grateful for the hundreds of PNW faculty and staff members who already make gifts to support scholarships, academic programs, athletics, student organizations and more. We are especially proud of the participation in the annual PNW Day of Giving, which raised more than $2 million from a record of more than 2,000 gifts in April 2024, the third-highest total number of gifts among all units in the Purdue system,” says Lisa Goodnight, vice chancellor of Institutional Advancement and professor of Communication. “This academic year, we have great opportunity to increase our impact together.”

She noted that events will be held during the fall and spring semesters, with the initiative culminating in the PNW Day of Giving on April 30, 2025. The first event will be Sept. 12.

PNW Faculty-Staff Alumni Appreciation Night

All PNW faculty and staff who earned a degree from any Purdue system campus (West Lafayette, Hammond, Westville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis or Purdue Global) should have received an invitation from the PNW Alumni Engagement Office to the PNW Faculty-Staff Alumni Appreciation Night, 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 12 in the Pride Café in the Student Union and Library Building. Questions should be directed to alumni@pnw.edu.

Register to Attend

Get your exclusive coffee mug!

Following The Year Ahead meeting on Aug. 23, more than 200 faculty and staff members happily picked up a free coffee mug as a token of PNW’s appreciation for all you do for the university. Plenty of mugs remain available – visit the following locations to pick one up!

Learn more about ways to support PNW students at pnw.edu/changing-lives.