McClure

“You cannot argue with the quality of an education from Purdue University,” says Myron McClure, BS ’99, a graduate assistant in Purdue Agriculture’s Office of Academic Programs who recruits students from underrepresented groups.

But just getting a first-rate education, McClure admits, does not make for a well-rounded, world-class campus experience, particularly if the student is a member of a minority race.

“Students who come to Purdue are going to get a world-class education, that is a given. But the university doesn’t always do such a great job promoting the other aspects of life on campus,” McClure says, “the parts of a student’s life that complete the overall educational process.”

That’s why McClure, who came to Purdue from Los Angeles on a track and field scholarship, always carries a booklet published by Purdue’s Black Cultural Center called “Campus and Community Connections for African American Students.” He readily shares it with fellow students who may feel like he did on the College of Agriculture campus in the mid-’90s — slightly out of place.

“It lists the simple things,” McClure says, “like where to get a haircut, or listen to jazz. It contains things to know and tips, like where to go to church, or who are minority faculty members you can talk with. It is the little things we tend to overlook that are so important to help minorities succeed, not just in the College of Agriculture, but at Purdue in general.”

McClure originally enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts. But it was the College of Agriculture, McClure found, that was able to steer him along his career path.

“I realized people always need to eat, that no matter how bad things got, there would always be jobs in the food industry,” he says.

So McClure transferred out of the College of Liberal Arts, became student president of MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences), and got his degree in agricultural systems management. He also began to change opinions, one friend at a time.

“Every time I would go home to Los Angeles, my friends would ask me why I was in agriculture. ‘What are you going to do, be a farmer?’ they asked.

“I found it very rewarding to be able to completely change the viewpoint of my friends. I think that kind of brought me into recruiting,” McClure says.

McClure is now the adviser to the MANRRS chapter he once led as a student. In his role as a recruiter while working on his PhD, McClure is focusing on the retention of minority students, hoping they will come for the education but stay for the experience.

“I call the College of Agriculture a discovery college,” McClure says. “People come in as freshmen, or transfer from other schools, and discover a whole new world of things here they can study and build a career out of. There are so many different opportunities here for everyone. I firmly believe that if you really want to do something, Purdue will find a way to make it happen.”
Contact McClure at mdmcclure@purdue.edu