Company Profile
Purdue Research Foundation
Company Overview
The mission of the Purdue Research Foundation is to advance Purdue University’s quest for preeminence in discovery, learning and engagement through effective stewardship of assets.
Company History
Purdue Research Foundation was founded in 1930 by David E. Ross, a prolific Indiana inventor, and Josiah K. Lilly, then president of Eli Lilly and Co. Recognizing value in collaborations between industry and research, Ross, a former President of the Purdue University Board of Trustees, and Lilly, a Purdue University Board of Trustees member, each provided $25,000 to establish the Purdue Research Foundation. The goal was for the Foundation to provide the groundwork for Purdue to collaborate with private industry – an action that the publically funded university was prohibited from doing.
Today, Purdue Research Foundation is valued at more than $1 billion. As envisioned by Ross and Lilly, the Foundation remains at the forefront of protecting Purdue's intellectual property, technology transfer activities and commercialization enterprises. The Foundation also accepts gifts, acquires property and performs other actions to support the mission of the University.
The revenue generated to support the mission and operations of the Foundation is largely composed of earning from long-term investments, gift income and real estate holdings.
The Foundation continues to support economic development through the Indianabased Purdue Research Park network where nearly 4,500 people work in about 250 companies. The average annual wage of employees working in the park network is $63,000, nearly double the Indiana average.
In 2013, the Foundation expanded its dedication to the original mission outlined in 1930 by becoming even more actively involved with helping Purdue innovators move their technologies to the public through a number of avenues.
Benefits
Purdue Research Foundation offers a variety of contemporary and comprehensive benefits.