Purdue University is a land-grant university, founded in 1869. As a land-grant university, our focus has always been on service to the public good — providing excellent education and research results for the betterment of the world around us. While many universities take great pride at their faculty’s leverage of research to launch new companies or publish many academic papers, we’ve always been very focused on delivering a truly world-class education and performing “game changer” discovery.

The Purdue community just celebrated a reunion of astronaut alumni — a visible symbol of the spirit of service and exploration inherent in our makeup. Purdue is the alma mater of more astronauts than any other university; the first and last men to walk on the moon were Purdue alumni. They did not do it for profit or fame — they did what they did to advance science, to push back boundaries of ignorance, and to give others something to dream about. Purdue’s story is full of people like that, from around the nation and around the world. Our students come from well over a hundred countries, and our graduates go out to improve the lives of people in at least that number.

Our history of exploration and being there “first” extends to many other area, including the first degree-granting CS department (founded in 1962), the first dedicated freshman engineering program, the first television broadcast, and having the fastest campus supercomputer in the world. (A few other notable firsts are detailed here and here .)

But more to the point of this blog, Purdue is the location of CERIAS — the first multidisciplinary institute in cyber security and privacy research, and the home of the first defined degree in information security.

CERIAS is not a department within the university. We are a cross-cutting, multidisciplinary institute at the university, supported largely with soft funds: the vast majority of our funding has always come from small, outside donations by companies and foundations. Our finances depend on the generosity of others, but we are structured so as to not be beholden to the government or one or two big commercial entities that can dictate the direction of our efforts. Instead, we investigate those ideas that our faculty think will solve real problems and help others in what they want to do. Some of our organizational donors are partners in our program, providing advice and research assistance for our efforts, and they reap the rewards in new hires and new ideas (see the link for information on how your organization can join the program).

Historically, we have not done much to solicit others to support CERIAS, although it has always been possible for anyone to make a donation. But that will change, for one special day, April 30th. And we would like everyone who cares about our mission and our future to consider making a donation, even if it is only a small amount.

The first-ever Purdue Day of Giving, a 24-hour online event designed to boost Purdue visibility and support, will take place Wednesday, April 30. CERIAS, and many other campus units, will be promoting Purdue efforts -- granting opportunities, launching dreams, and achieving greatness while promoting an affordable and accessible Purdue.

Plus, every (tax-deductible in the US, at least) donation to CERIAS will receive an additional percentage match from the University. Thus, your donation on April 30th will support CERIAS at even a great extent than your donation alone! This is a special one-day-only opportunity for your gift, large or small! Also, If your employer does charitable matches, please be sure to let them know to match your donation, thus, increasing your impact even further!

Your donation can be made through the website http://dayofgiving.purdue.edu/ (click on “CERIAS” near the bottom of the page), by texting “PurdueCERIAS” (case non-sensitive) to 41444 (you will receive a reply text with more details) or by the telephone at 1-800-319-2199.

But the Purdue Day of Giving is much more than an opportunity to support CERIAS; it’s about helping spread the word about us, our great history and our brighter future along with Purdue's drive to re-define college education. If you’re associated with Purdue and whether you make a donation or not, you can help by posting your story -- or sharing/re-tweeting one of ours – in social media; just add @cerias and #PurdueDayofGiving to your posts and tweets. The University has contests and incentives in place for CERIAS and other units who have friends and alumni posting about #PurdueDayofGiving.

Track our progress and enjoy the day-long series of announcements and highlight videos (one of them featuring on a certain bearded professor known for his fondness of bowties) at http://dayofgiving.purdue.edu/. Don’t wait until April 30 to join the fun; visit http://dayofgiving.purdue.edu/ now, view videos of some of the exciting student success stories, plus sign up for an email to remind you on the 30th to pay it forward. And please, pass along a link to this blog entry to others who you think might be interested in helping.

Thank you to all of our friends, alumni, and partners for their past support, and thank you in advance for helping to “spread the word.” We do hope that you will take this opportunity to provide a donation that day — even if it’s a small one — to help us advance our work towards a more safe and security future.