The Community and Possible Housing

Purdue University is the Indiana link in a nationwide chain of 68 land-grant colleges and universities. Purdue is a public university that, like its sister land-grant universities, was made possible by the Morrill Act, signed by President Lincoln on July 2, 1862. In 1865 the General Assembly of Indiana voted to avail itself of the provisions of the act and took the steps to establish a new university. Competition from various state communities for the new school ended in 1869 when the assembly accepted $150,000 from John Purdue, $50,000 from Tippecanoe County, and 100 acres of land from local residents. In appreciation of this gift, the legislators named the institution Purdue University. The first regular classes began September 16, 1874, and the first degree was awarded in June 1875. Purdue enrolls approximately 39,000 undergraduate and graduate students at its main campus in West Lafayette and approximately 30,000 at its campuses in Hammond, Fort Wayne, Westville, Indianapolis, and at Statewide Technology sites.

During the fall semester of the 2006-2007 academic year, nearly 7,023 graduate students were enrolled in the Graduate School of the West Lafayette Campus. Represented in the total enrollment, including graduate and undergraduate students, are 50 states and the District of Columbia, 3 territories, residents abroad, and 123 foreign nations. The West Lafayette Campus of Purdue University has a full-time faculty of almost 2,500 men and women who teach and engage in scholarly activities and research within more than 159 principal buildings located on 2,474 acres.

The West Lafayette Campus of Purdue University is located across the Wabash River from Lafayette. The population of the two cities exceeds 70,000, not including Purdue's student population. The Greater Lafayette area is easily accessible, whether traveling by land or air. It is 65 miles northwest of Indianapolis, the state capital, and 126 miles southeast of Chicago. The Purdue University Airport provides scheduled air service. Amtrak trains make daily stops in Lafayette en route to Chicago and Indianapolis, and major bus lines also serve the area.

For a copy of the brochure, Your Home Off Campus , email www.ssinfo.purdue.edu or write to: Off-Campus Housing Services, Purdue University, 1096 Schleman Hall, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1096, or call (765) 494-7663. Students also can locate housing through the Journal and Courier, www.jconline.com , a Lafayette daily newspaper, and the Exponent , www.purdueexponent.org/ a daily student newspaper.