Encouraging the 40 million Americans who have work experience and college credit but no college degree to fire up their own “comeback,” Purdue Global will partner with hometown favorite Conor Daly, as he makes his 10th career start in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
The Indianapolis 500 has been a Memorial Day tradition since 1911, making the partnership with Daly a natural fit for Purdue Global, Purdue’s online university for working adults. Purdue University is well-known for its support of military individuals and families, ranked by College Consensus as one of the best colleges in the nation for veterans. At Purdue Global, created in 2018, a remarkable one-third of its 35,000 students today have a military affiliation.
Daly’s pattern of success at the Indianapolis 500 is well-documented. In 2019, the Indiana native finished 10th, while 2021 left Daly with his own comeback story. He led the world’s biggest race for 40 laps before being struck by a loose wheel. Undaunted, a resilient Daly hustled back to an impressive 13th-place finish. In 2022, he again found himself at the front of the field, recording seven laps as the leader before crossing the finish line in the sixth position.
With similar persistence, Purdue Global is built for working adults who want to earn a degree online that they can be proud of and that employers respect. Purdue Global views the partnership with Daly as an opportunity to engage and encourage working adults, including active-duty military and veterans, to not simply go back to school, but come back to Purdue Global and move forward in their careers.
“With Purdue Global in the Purdue portfolio, in addition to our Purdue Polytechnic High Schools across the state of Indiana, Purdue is helping more individuals than ever access real education and opportunity for more,” said R. Ethan Braden, executive vice president, chief marketing and communications officer for Purdue University and Purdue Global. “We are thrilled to partner with Conor. He’s a fan favorite, with Boilermaker-like grit and a love for our country.”
The Indiana-born Daly is entrenched in Boilermaker culture, hailing from a family that includes his mother, Beth Boles, a graduate of Purdue University, and his younger brother, Carter, a current student there. With the new Purdue Global logo prominently appearing on Daly’s helmet, having Purdue Global along for the ride allows him to promote two areas closest to him: Purdue and our nation’s military servicemembers and veterans.
“The partnership with Purdue Global is exciting for me, especially given the connection with our family and Purdue’s commitment to our military,” Daly said. “The fact that so many of our nation’s service members and veterans choose to come back to Purdue Global is impressive. Purdue Global provides working adults a chance to earn their degree online on their terms, and the stories I am hearing as part of their new ‘This Is My Comeback’ campaign are inspiring.”
Over the weekend, Daly etched his name onto the Indianapolis 500 starting grid for the 10th time. Daly wheeled his No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet around the Brickyard’s famed 2.5-mile oval at a scorching speed of 232.433 mph. His effort placed him on the inside of row six, in the 16th position among the fastest field in Indianapolis 500 history.
Purdue University was recently named one of the World’s 20 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company magazine, the only university on the list, for freezing tuition for an unprecedented 12th year in a row and combatting our nation’s semiconductor shortage by training engineers and researchers with excellence at scale. Learn more at stories.purdue.edu.
Backed by Purdue, Purdue Global delivers personalized online education tailored to the unique needs of working adults, enabling them to further develop essential academic and professional skills with the support and flexibility they need to achieve their career goals. For more information, please visit www.purdueglobal.edu.