About Us >> Exponent History

Exponent History

Distinguished Alumni

• A former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
• Former special events coordinator (World Series and All-Star Game) for Major League Baseball.
• An Indiana Supreme Court Justice.
• Former U.S. ambassadors to Mongolia and Belize.
• Former speechwriter for President Clinton.
• NY Times editorial board member.
• A former president of the Purdue Board of Trustees.
• Co-anchor of Fox & Friends of Fox News.
• A current Indiana State Senator and a State Representative.
• The first woman to become a vice president at Campbell's Soup.
• An Emmy Award winner.
• A Pulitzer Prize winner, and another finalist.
• A member of the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board.
• The former magazine and financial features editor at the Chicago Tribune.
• A law professor at Indiana University School of Law.
• Animator for "A Bug's Life."
• Columnists who have worked at the San Francisco Chronicle, Detroit Free Press and Chicago Sun Times.

History

• The Exponent began publication on Dec. 15, 1889.
• The Exponent became a daily newspaper in 1906.
• In 1967, the Exponent bought its own printing press. The Exponent is one of only seven college newspapers that owns its own press. The press is housed in the basement of the Exponent Journalism Center.
• In 1969, the Exponent became an independent newspaper, owned and operated by the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation, a not-for-profit, educational foundation. Board members include seven students, three Purdue faculty members and three community members. As an independent college newspaper, the Exponent receives no money from the university except from advertising.
• Purdue University was the legal publisher of the Exponent from 1889 until 1969. At that time, the Purdue administration removed William Smoot, the editor of the paper. The reasons for Smoot's removal as editor included criticism of President Frederick Hovde's administration and the use of profanity in the newspaper. The student staff of the Exponent reinstated Smoot, creating a standoff between the student journalists and the administration. As a result, the national media started covering the issue. To find solutions, Hovde appointed a 13-member commission headed by John Osmun, a professor of entomology. On the commission's recommendation, Hovde officially reinstated Smoot. The commission also recommended that the Exponent become an independent operation.
• The Exponent started free distribution of the paper in 1975. Almost overnight, the paper's circulation jumped from 2,500 to 10,000. The Exponent now prints 17,500 copies per day, making it one of the largest collegiate dailies in the country.
• On May 15, 1989, the Exponent moved from the basement of the Purdue Memorial Union to the Exponent Journalism Center, 460 Northwestern Ave. The building, which cost $1.9 million to construct, includes 22,500 square feet of space. It became the first college newspaper in the U.S. to build its own building from its own funds.
• On Sept. 9, 1996, the Exponent launched its electronic edition of the newspaper.
• The Exponent moved from a tabloid publication to broadsheet in August 2002.

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