100 YEARS
THE NU CHAPTER CENTENNIAL
cruitment of minority engineers. Hardi- man help establish Eli Lilly’s recruiting programs at Tuskegee University, Prairie View A&M University, and North Caro- lina A&T University. From 1998 to 2001, he served as an executive on loan to Advancing Minori- ties' Interests in Engineering (AMIE), a non-profit organization whose purpose is to expand corporate, government, and academic alliances in order to advance underrepresented minority students in engineering careers. He was full- time executive director of AMIE from 2001-2017 after retiring from Eli Lilly. since then. In 2010, Purdue recognized Hardiman's outstanding accomplish- ments with the School of Civil Engi- neering Alumni Achievement Award. In addition to serving as Nu Polemarch, Hardiman has a long distin- guished within the Fraternity including serving as the Indianapolis (IN) Alumni Chapter Polemarch [1985–1987], North Central Province Polemarch [1990–1995], Grand Board of Direc- tors [1995–1999], and a member of the Grand Chapter Planning Committee. Hardiman also served as Chief of Staff – Operations for the 32 nd and 33 rd Grand Polemarchs. Brother Kirtley was one of the found- ers of NSBE. Kirtley graduated in 1975 Purdue with a B.S. in Civil Engineer- ing and an M.B.A. degree from Keller Graduate School of Management. He was vice president of Client Community relations for ASC Services Company, L.L.C., an architectural-engineering design and construction management based in Chicago, IL. He was an advisory board member for the School of Civil Engineering at Purdue and a member of the Industrial Advisory Board for the Purdue Chapter of NSBE. Kirtley passed in 2005. Dr. Meriwether, a charter initiate of Nu Chapter and a graduate of the Indiana University School of Dentistry, Dr. Lucian B. Meriwether practiced dentistry serving the Indianapolis Afri- can American community for decades. He was a civic leader in the community, including serving as a city council-
man. He organized the East Side Civic League, founded and was president of the Progress Investment Club, and was treasurer of the local N.A.A.C.P. branch for ten years. Meriwether was a plaintiff in the 1920 lawsuit known as the “Spite Fence" case. Meriwether purchased in 1920 and home on the 2200 block of North Capitol Avenue in Indianapolis. The Meriwether family was the first African American family to move into this neighborhood. Consequently, white homeowners next to the Meriwether home erected tall fences to barricade the home and formed a home association to prevent other African Americans from residing in the neighborhood. Meri- wether filed suit and won. Meriwether passed away in 1982. Anthony W. Miller (Nu 1980) served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Edu- cation. U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Miller to this role in 2009, and Miller served until 2013. After graduating from Purdue, Miller earned an MBA degree from Stanford Univer- sity. In addition to his extensive educa- tion management experience, Miller worked for ten years at McKinsey and Co. and private equity firm Silver Lake before his presidential appointment. Mamon Powers (Nu 1967) is presi- dent Powers and Sons Construction. Powers graduated in 1970 from Purdue with a B.S. degree in civil engineering. In 1996, Indiana Governor Evan Bayh appointed Powers to Purdue University's Board of Trustees where he served until 2011 including a term as vice chair- man. In 2002, he was the recipient of the Purdue University Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award. In 2003, he was a recipient of the Purdue University Schools of Engineering awarded Pow- ers with its Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award. William Raspberry (Nu 1957) was a Pulitzer-Prize winning syndicated public affairs columnist. After graduating from the University of Indianapolis in 1958, Raspberry worked for the Indianapolis Recorder before the U.S. Army drafted him. After his honorable discharge in
1962, he went to work for the Washing- ton Post newspaper as a teletypist and become a columnist for the newspaper in 1966. In 1994, Raspberry famously published a scathing rebuke of the culture of hazing in the Washington Post newspaper days after the tragic death of Michael Davis. After several times a fi- nalist, Raspberry won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1994. Raspberry passed away in 2012. Tarrus L. Richardson (Nu 1988) is a Guy L. Grant Awardee who, as an undergraduate, was the first African American elected Student Body Presi- dent at Purdue. Richardson graduated with a B.A. in accounting and earned an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. Richardson has spent 24 years in private equity. He co-founded ICV Partners, a $440 million minority-owned private equity firm from 1998-2010. He worked at JLL Partners, a private equity firm with over $2 billion of AUM, and Citibank (formerly Salomon Brothers). Currently, Richardson is CEO of IMB Partners, a private equity firm based in Bethesda, MD. Fredrick L. “Rick” Smith (Nu 1989) was a starting defensive safety on the Boilermaker football team and elected team captain. After graduating in 1992, Smith stayed as his alma mater as an assistant coaching before obtaining a position with the Denver Broncos as a scout. After working Broncos front office, including as the team's Director of Player Personnel, the Houston Texans franchise hired Brother Smith in 2006 as its new Executive Vice President and General Manager. At the time of hire, Smith was the youngest person General Manager in the NFL and one of three African American General Managers in the NFL. Smith left the Texans fran- chise in 2017 to care for his wife. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nu initiates delayed its three-day celebratory centennial event in West Lafayette, IN until October 2021.
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Publishing achievement for more than 105 years
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