Andrew Purnell Jr. Memorial Scholarship
The Andrew Purnell Jr. Scholarship was established in March 2021. The scholarship is awarded annually to an Illinois State University student who demonstrates the qualities that Mr. Purnell embodied during his life. Andrew Purnell Jr. '57 passed away March 20, 2020. As a student at Illinois State, Purnell became one of the founders of the student chapter of the NAACP serving as the organization's chapter president. Purnell later worked to establish the ISU Black Colleagues Association in 1984, an alumni affinity group dedicated to keeping Illinois State affordable and accessible to Black students.