{"id":16168,"date":"2022-06-24T08:58:52","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T12:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qa.vet.purdue.edu\/news\/?p=16168"},"modified":"2026-05-13T13:56:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T17:56:50","slug":"purdue-alumna-and-animal-lover-sets-pace-for-giving-in-veterinary-medicine-and-across-campus-pvr-s2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/purdue-alumna-and-animal-lover-sets-pace-for-giving-in-veterinary-medicine-and-across-campus-pvr-s2022.php","title":{"rendered":"Purdue Alumna and Animal Lover Sets Pace for Giving in Veterinary Medicine and Across Campus"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Joanne
Joanne Troutner with her two dogs, Billie Sue and Brandy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine launched its fundraising effort to secure support for the new Purdue University Veterinary Hospital facilities, it was at the time of its 60th<\/sup> anniversary in 2019. The need was for donors to step forward as leaders and \u201cset the pace\u201d for raising the needed private funds for the new hospital project. So, the college created the 60 Pacesetters giving initiative, connecting the occasion of the 60th<\/sup> anniversary with the call for donors to provide leadership gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the first individuals to respond was Purdue alumna Joanne Troutner, a graduate of the College of Liberal Arts, who is an animal lover and longtime friend of Purdue Veterinary Medicine. Setting the pace as a leader in giving to the college suited Joanne perfectly, and she provided a wonderful example when the campaign needed it most. Many others also stepped forward at that time and in the months that followed and the campaign proved wonderfully successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, you can see evidence of Joanne\u2019s pacesetting role in giving to the college when you step into the Joanne Troutner Reception Area at the front of the brand new David and Bonnie Brunner Small Animal Hospital. But her pacesetting giving extends to many other areas, both in the College of Veterinary Medicine and across the University. Her giving also not only involves financial donations, but also gifts of time and talent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joanne\u2019s generosity reflects the reality that for her, Purdue University is more than her alma mater. It\u2019s a family. \u201cHow could I not want to give back?\u201d she asks in a story on The Persistent Pursuit<\/a> website that shares inspiring features about Purdue graduates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joanne earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in English and media science at Purdue in 1974 and then pursued graduate study, earning her master\u2019s degree in library science two years later. She describes Purdue as a launchpad \u2014 \u201cA place where I was allowed to be excellent.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She went on to have a decades-long career as a K-12 educator, which only makes her passion for giving back to Purdue burn brighter. \u201cBeing an educator, you look at how can you impact the future. What can you do for students?\u201d Joanne says. \u201cPurdue gave me a lot. So they\u2019re entitled to expect me to do a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joanne describes herself as someone who thinks broadly, and today she is translating that into giving broadly. She is one of the University\u2019s most frequent, and most passionate, donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through her giving, Joanne supports diverse areas across Purdue\u2019s campus, including the library system, a number of student scholarship programs (including one in the College of Agriculture named for her parents and another in the history department named in honor of her husband, Lary W. Troutner), and the Purdue Women\u2019s Network, as well as the College of Veterinary Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Troutner kids have always been four-legged, so they go to Purdue as their vet,\u201d she says. \u201cOf course I would support the vet school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Joanne
Longtime friend and supporter of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Joanne is pictured in the David and Bonnie Brunner Small Animal Hospital reception area named in honor of her generosity ahead of the hospital’s dedication ceremony on April 8. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For Joanne, supporting the University is about securing the future and sustaining the community. \u201cThat is the heartbeat and foundation of our University,\u201d she says. \u201cWithout those relationships, you don\u2019t learn. You don\u2019t progress. You don\u2019t pursue excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joanne met her husband at Purdue when the two were undergrads, and the University remained integral to the Troutners until Lary\u2019s passing in 2011. And to this day, Joanne stands tall among the University\u2019s most enthusiastic supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joanne\u2019s interests include wanting to do her part to make the Boilermaker community \u2014 the Purdue family \u2014 as welcoming and inclusive as possible. \u201cI felt it was very important to have an opportunity to give back in the area of underrepresented students, staff, and faculty,\u201d she says. \u201cWe need to be ready to prepare leaders. It\u2019s essential that Purdue continue their pursuit of excellence by including underrepresented students and faculty and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Joanne\u2019s biggest passions is mentoring young Purdue women. \u201cIt\u2019s just part of who I am,\u201d she says. \u201cI wish I had someone do that for me when I was that age.\u201d She also is quick to point out that she has learned just as much from students she has mentored as they have from her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to the future, Troutner is optimistic. \u201cI see Purdue is still a leader across the nation. I see Purdue pursuing excellence. I see Purdue taking those giant leaps \u2014 sending the first person to Mars, making a vast number of improvements in medicine, from the Cancer Research Center to veterinary medicine to biology. The future\u2019s so bright, because of our students and the caliber of students that we recruit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, that impact is what it\u2019s all about for Troutner. \u201cYou leave your legacy; you give back to areas that are your passion \u2014 what you find important and impactful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to view the entire feature article about Joanne<\/a>, which includes video clips from an interview she did this spring with one of her mentees, Molly Grotjan, a graduating senior with a major in agribusiness.  In the interview, Joanne shares about the importance of relationships as the foundation of the Boilermaker community; the importance of giving, regardless of the amount; and her hopes for the future of the Purdue community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine launched its fundraising effort to secure support for the new Purdue University Veterinary Hospital facilities, it was at the time of its 60th anniversary in 2019. The need was for donors to step forward as leaders and \u201cset the pace\u201d for raising the needed private funds for the new hospital project. One of the first individuals to respond was Purdue alumna Joanne Troutner, a graduate of the College of Liberal Arts, who is an animal lover and longtime friend of Purdue Veterinary Medicine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":16172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[268],"tags":[121,811,560],"class_list":["post-16168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-giving","tag-giving","tag-pvm-report","tag-summer"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16168"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33924,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16168\/revisions\/33924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}