The Krannert Drawing Room has been a frequent gathering place for the Business Opportunity Program family over the years, both formally and informally. When Dr. Cornell A. Bell retired in 2006, faculty, staff, students and alumni honored him with a reception in the Drawing Room, where a display case now memorializes the diversity leader’s life. (Archive photo)
Building relationships
When Tim Coleman (BSIM ’90) was appointed in May to a three-year term on the Indiana Economic Club’s board of governors, it added to a growing list of honors for the longtime Eli Lilly and Co. executive that includes a “Top 40 Under 40” award from the Indianapolis Business Journal and a “Top 50 Under 50” award from Diversity MBA Magazine.
Coleman, who currently serves as vice president of information technology in the global pharmaceutical company’s Medicines Development Unit, still credits much of his career success to his time at Purdue and his experience in BOP.
“BOP provided a supportive community that inspired me to build valuable skills and strive for success at work and every aspect of life,” Coleman says. “Dr. Bell taught us to be professional in appearance and approach, exhibit Boilermaker grit and determination, show initiative, and be trustworthy and reliable in meeting our commitments. Perhaps the most important skill I learned was the power of building strong relationships in the business community, which is the engine of progress.”
Sustaining that progress through philanthropy has become a personal mission for Coleman, who continues to support BOP, Purdue and his community not only by giving financially and sponsoring scholarships, but also by giving his time to mentor students and recruit young talent for Lilly. He especially enjoys his work in sponsoring STEM youth development programs.
“Diversity initiatives like BOP will continue to thrive and succeed only if we step forward and share our gifts, grace and example with future generations,” he says. “Creating a level playing field is vitally important. Everyone needs and deserves the same opportunities we received.”
Holistic success
Ted Jackson (MSM ’98), vice president of operations for the Duro Division of Novolex, was recently recognized by Chicago United with a 2017 “Business Leaders of Color” award for driving transformational change and making an impact in the business community.
Jackson says those same attributes characterized Bell during his 37-year tenure as director of BOP.
“He was unique in his enthusiasm and perspective for being vested in our holistic success,” Jackson says. “It didn’t take long for me to understand that having support from Dr. Bell was an incredible advantage as I successfully navigated both the rigors of Krannert and my life as a young adult. I learned that I could visit his office — most of the time unannounced and at odd hours — as a temporary place of refuge and come out feeling reinvigorated.”
Among the many lessons Jackson learned during those visits were the importance of work ethic, discipline, investing in the right strategic relationships, teamwork and leadership. “Effective and authentic mentoring was one of Dr. Bell’s special gifts,” he says. “The foundation of skills and portfolio of experiences gained from my time at BOP and Krannert have been invaluable in my career progression.”
Jackson is committed to sharing those gifts and BOP’s benefits with future generations of students.
“Alumni taking a leadership role in the sustainability and growth of the program is critical,” he says. “Dr. Bell was big on ‘paying it forward,’ so it’s important that all BOP alumni develop a plan to leverage their unique talents that can include a contribution of time, economics or other resources to ensure that this legacy lasts another 50 years.”
