$875,000 “Chapman Challenge” Endowed Scholarships Announcement Part of PFW's Day of Giving

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Purdue University Fort Wayne’s initial participation in the Day of Giving initiative, started by Purdue University in West Lafayette six year ago, started off with a major announcement this morning.

Purdue Fort Wayne Chancellor Ronald L. Elsenbaumer announced the completion of the “Chapman Challenge,” a campaign to help fund 25 endowed scholarships started by Howard and Betsy Chapman just over a year ago.

“Once other donors stepped up to accept the challenge, it wasn’t long until we had all 25 scholarships funded. And that could have been the end of it. But Howard and Betsy had different ideas. The Chapmans then increased their commitment by another 10 scholarships for a total of 35 in all,” said Chancellor Elsenbaumer. “Today, we are pleased and proud to announce that we now have commitments for all 35 scholarships—and the Chapman Challenge has generated a total of $875,000.”

Chapman explained why he and his wife began the campaign, “Betsy and I wanted to encourage the funding of new endowed scholarships that will be around forever and will help the university and students for years to come. We had no idea when we started this last February and March that it would be so successful and completed in just over a year,” said Chapman.

Chancellor Elsenbaumer thanked the Chapmans, noting “Today, on this Day of Giving, we pause to thank and recognize Howard and Betsy Chapman for their wonderful generosity and their unwavering support.”

Vice Chancellor for Development Ruth Stone also thanked the Chapman family for their many gifts over the years. She also spoke about the background of some of the new endowments.

“One of the scholarships was established by a dedicated faculty member for General Studies students because she has seen, first-hand, the difficulties these students often face on their pathway to graduation. The first-ever endowed scholarships for Women’s Studies, Women’s golf, Women’s basketball, the Student-Athlete Leadership Team, Biochemistry majors, and the Student Leader of the Year were created. Another one was a surprise for a staff member celebrating 10 years with the university, and two others are connected to Chapman Scholars: one is the first endowed scholarship by a Chapman Scholar, and the other will provide funding for future students’ educational travel experiences.”

Funds from some of the scholarships will be available to students as soon as this fall.

For more information on the Chapman Challenge or on how to become a donor on the Day of Giving, contact Ruth Stone at 260-481-6962.

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