An $8 million gift lifts a Purdue Fort Wayne scholarship endowment past $14.9 million

The Chapman Charitable Trust has given $8 million to the Chapman Scholars Fund Endowment at Purdue University Fort Wayne, bringing the endowment to more than $14.9 million, the campus announced on Friday, October 9. The Journal Gazette and WPTA reported the gift.

By our subtraction, the endowment held more than $6.9 million before the gift. The gift carries forward the vision of Howard Chapman and his late wife, Elizabeth "Betsy" Chapman, who died in 2019, according to the university's release as reported by WPTA and the Journal Gazette.

What the scholarship covers

The Chapman Scholars Program, established in 2007, selects incoming freshmen each year who stand out for academic achievement and involvement beyond the classroom, WPTA reported. For each eligible fall and spring semester, scholars receive tuition and class fee credit for up to 18 credit hours, on-campus housing, textbooks and a food stipend.

The program initially supported four incoming students a year and now welcomes six, so up to 24 scholarships are active at a time, the Journal Gazette reported, citing the release. The couple also endowed the university's first professorship chair in 2001, and each received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Purdue in 2004, the release said.

What the family said

"Betsy and I wanted to help students receive an outstanding education and use it to make a difference," Howard Chapman said in a statement. "Our family's hope is that this legacy will continue through generations of PFW students, helping them build fulfilling lives while contributing to the businesses, organizations and communities that make northeast Indiana strong."

Chancellor Ron Elsenbaumer described the gift as a reflection of the family's confidence in the campus, its students and the region's future. "When our graduates bring their knowledge, creativity and leadership to local employers and communities, an investment in education becomes an investment in economic vitality," he said in a statement quoted by the Journal Gazette. "We hope the family's example inspires others to help build that future alongside us."

Why an endowment gift is different

An endowment gift is meant to last, which is why its terms matter. The money is invested and a portion supports the named program year after year, so a scholarship like this one can be planned around, in contrast to a one-time appeal. Our explainer on why a restricted gift is a promise you have to keep covers what a charity owes a donor when a gift carries conditions, and our recent story on a Colorado scholarship charity shows a different model for paying students' way.

The announcements do not say how much the endowment pays out each year, how many scholars the new money will add, or whether the trust attached conditions to the gift.

The Chapmans' history with the university also fits a pattern in recent reporting: donors who give repeatedly to one institution over decades, as in the story of Joe Long's gifts to Texas campuses.