Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, has announced a $25 million gift from alumnus John Martinson (’71) in support of the university’s Honors College.

The gift will provide support for undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity; leadership and professional development; global and community engagement; and innovative pedagogies. In recognition of the gift, the college will be named after Martinson.

Martinson, who earned a master’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue, has previously awarded nearly $9 million to the College of Engineering, including a gift to establish the John Martinson Entrepreneurial Center in 2019. Martinson founded Edison Partners in 1986 and is now chair of Martinson Ventures.

“The Honors College is unique among other higher education programs because of its individualized experiences housed within a public Research 1 university consistently named one of the Top 10 most innovative,” said Rhonda Phillips, dean of the Honors College. “With these resources, the Honors College serves as a test bed for designing and deploying creative pedagogy to equip our graduates with the research and entrepreneurial skills they need to lead in an era of unprecedented global change. The incredible Martinson investment in our distinctive offerings will establish the Honors College as a top program nationally with methods that can be exported to other colleges and schools for greater societal impact.”

(Photo credit: Purdue University)