Photo by Tom Campbell

For the past two years, Rachel Cumberbatch has had a seat at the table of the Purdue Board of Trustees as the student representative.

One hundred and ninety-three black-and-white portraits ring the Purdue University board of trustees’ conference room in Stewart Center. Anyone who ever voted yea or nay as a trustee occupies an 8-by-10-inch place of honor.

Right above the likeness of John Purdue himself is a photo of Rachel Cumberbatch, BS ’07. The Milwaukee, Wis., native (her family now lives in Lebanon, Ind.) was appointed to the board by Gov. Mitch Daniels when she was a sophomore. In April, Cumberbatch was named the 2007 winner of the Flora Roberts Award as the top graduating female student at Purdue.

“She’s done it all at the university, from the Department of Animal Sciences to the College of Agriculture, right up to the university level,” says her undergraduate adviser in animal sciences, Mark Diekman.

Photo by Tom Campbell

Cumberbatch, who welcomed France Córdova to the Purdue family during a May 7 campus event, says, “The ceremony was the culmination of nearly a year of hard work. I am proud of the selection of Dr. Córdova as president, and I was honored to have a role in the ceremony.” Web Bonus: Photo gallery from ceremony.

Cumberbatch is the fourth student from the College of Agriculture to win the prestigious Roberts Award, following Melissa Ashlock, BS '80, Stephanie Warner, BS '04, and Tanya Hadley, BS '06.

The $500 prize honors graduating seniors, but it is earned over an entire collegiate career. Cumberbatch was identified as an outstanding student as early as her freshman year by President Martin C. Jischke.

“Patty (Mrs. Jischke) and I first got to know Rachel her freshman year at Purdue when she took part in our Leadership Class at Westwood,” Jischke says. Westwood is the home occupied by Purdue’s president.

“She is an outstanding student with great leadership abilities. Her dedication to volunteerism and service learning is inspiring. As a member of our board of trustees, she has been a key player in helping Purdue move forward. Rachel

is the kind of student who makes my work as president very rewarding and enjoyable. Her future looks very bright indeed.”

She helped pick new president

“I want to make a change in the world, not just put a Band-Aid solution on things.”
– Rachel Cumberbatch

The irony is that Cumberbatch’s greatest contribution as a two-year trustee has been her role in helping select France Córdova, the chancellor at the University of California-Riverside, to succeed Jischke, who will retire July 31.

“The presidential search has been an amazing process,” says Cumberbatch, who will enroll this fall in Purdue’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

“I was in on the ground level of seeing how a vision is implemented. Dr. Córdova is a remarkable woman. She has a passion for students and education.

“I have been most impressed with her philosophy on diversity and undergraduate education. She is a person of great vision, and I am confident she will build on the success of the past seven years and raise Purdue to new heights.

“When I started my term on the board of trustees, I expected a lot. But what I have received, what I have learned, has gone way beyond my level of expectation.”

Which speaks volumes, considering that Cumberbatch has such lofty expectations.

“I am always looking for a way to reach a sustainable goal in anything I am involved with,” she says.

Résumé goes on and on

As an undergraduate, Cumberbatch maintained a 3.56 grade point average in animal sciences while serving as an animal sciences ambassador. She studied abroad in Honduras and China, interned with Elanco Animal Health and Kentucky Equine Research, provided medical service to the needy in Ecuador through the Timmy Foundation, assisted John Patterson’s swine and poultry research, guest lectured in introductory agriculture classes, made more than 20 public speaking appearances, and has been awarded more than 20 scholarships.

And she volunteered at the Purdue Small Animal Clinic at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and the Tippecanoe County Humane Society animal shelter.

“Rachel is an amazing person,” says Terry Stewart, one of her professors in animal sciences. “I would think of her as a very successful student if she only did half of what she has done.

“She excels academically, is heavily committed to service, is a leader supported by her peers, can converse on a wide range of subjects, and does this all with a positive yet humble attitude. I cannot think of anyone who is a better role model, both for young and not-so-young people.”

Extra semester = extra minor

Cumberbatch had enough credits to graduate in December but chose to stay in school to fulfill her term as the student appointee on the board of trustees.

She used the extra semester to pick up a minor in international studies and take a few classes she never had time for, such as Spanish, personal finance, and international political economics.

“It pushed me to use the other half of my brain,” she jokes.

After completing vet school, Cumberbatch plans to get her PhD in public health. After that, not even she knows what the future could hold.

“What I love about my future is that it is so wide open. I could go to work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or work in government policy or somewhere in the animal health industry,” she says.

But first comes another seven years of studying.

All aboard for return

The trustee experience has had such a profound effect on Cumberbatch that she would someday like to return to the board.

“The whole process of being on the board during the presidential search has been quite amazing. It started with looking at where Purdue is. From there, we were able to assess the type of candidate we felt was needed to take Purdue toward a successful future. It was a privilege to serve with the other nine board members. They are each remarkable and have been great mentors to me, personally, but I’ve got a lot of work to do on this career of mine,” Cumberbatch says. “Eventually, I’d like to see myself back at this table.”

If that happens, it certainly wouldn’t surprise Diekman, even if she occupies a different, more prominent seat at the table.

“She really is the kind of person who could come back and be the president of this university in 15 or 20 years,” Diekman says. “Who knows? She may have helped appoint the person she succeeds.”

Perhaps it’s more than a coincidence her photo occupies a spot so near John Purdue’s.

Contact Cumberbatch at rcumberb@purdue.edu