Thanks to a generous donation by alumni Bill and Barbara Rakosnik, University Residences has established the Bill and Barbara Rakosnik Legacy Experience Fund. The fund will be used to establish the Rakosnik Annual Semi-Formal Dance, with the inaugural event slated for spring 2024. 

Bill (mechanical engineering ’69, MS industrial engineering ’70) and Barbara (health and human sciences ’70) each served as resident assistants, then called hall counselors, during their time at Purdue – Bill at Cary Quad and Barbara at Meredith. The two share cherished memories of their time on campus together, including concerts, ballet and opera in Elliott Hall of Music, movies and chamber music concerts in Fowler Hall, plays in Loeb Playhouse, athletic events and hall dances.

The Rakosnik Annual Semi-Formal Dance will provide RAs and Residential Life staff with a special event to reward them for their exceptional efforts to create an inclusive, safe and vibrant community in University Residences. RAs and Residential Life staff will also have the opportunity to help plan the event, which will be held in iconic Ross-Ade Stadium.

The inspiration to create such an event draws on Bill and Barbara’s memories of attending formal dances while they were students during the late-1960s. Women’s and men’s residence halls would then each hold formal dances at different times of the year. Couples would meet and dine in their respective residence halls before heading to Purdue Memorial Union to dance the night away. Bill and Barbara first attended their first formal dance in December 1966, just a few months after the couple first met. 

“There would be a live band,” Barbara recalled. “The dance would fill up both ballrooms and there would be bumper-to-bumper people, but we had the best time. Bill and I walked through the Union a lot that night. We did some dancing, too. We sat on a sofa and talked, looked at the Christmas tree, and walked and talked some more. We had the best time being a couple and had a good evening together.”

Barbara even recalls the dress she wore that night – white with red velvet ribbons, green holly leaves and red sequins, topped with a white, full-length brocade coat – all carefully made by her mother. Bill says other dances stick out in his memories as well, including a Polynesian-themed dance that included special decorations in Owen Hall and dancing at the Union.

“The lounge was turned into a kind of Polynesian garden,” Bill reminisces. “All of the furniture was moved out and we had some fake palm trees and real orchids. Each of our dates got an orchid lei instead of a corsage and we all had a nice dinner there and went to the Union.”

These types of experiences, Bill and Barbara say, are reminders of all the experiences – and fun – that Purdue has to offer outside of classrooms and studying.  

“Purdue is more than just the academics – it’s the whole experience,” Bill says. “With some help, we thought about some of the things we enjoyed when we were on campus that might be revived in a modern way. Everything is different now than it was then, but perhaps there are modern counterparts that we can create that students would be interested in, participate in and enjoy. This is where we got to.”

The Rakosniks often find themselves back on campus as a result of their ongoing support of the University through endeavors such as the Student Life Advisory Council, the Griffin Society, President’s Council and the Purdue Alumni Association. On a recent visit, Bill and Barbara were on hand for the awarding of the Rakosnik RA and REA of the Year awards, named in thanks of their ongoing support, at University Residences’ end-of-year banquet. The couple met with each of the honorees over lunch the following day. Whether it’s in one-on-one conversations or through a student-led tour of an academic building, Bill and Barbara say meeting with students is a highlight of their ongoing relationship with the university. 

“It was very exciting and their enthusiasm for their particular group was all over the place,” Barbara said of the banquet. “It was fantastic. Then you’d hear another award announced and students across the room would be yelling and screaming. They’re rooting for each other and happy about what’s going on.”

“The students are great,” Bill adds. “When we come to campus, we always arrange to meet with multiple groups of students to talk to them and see what’s going on. This time, we met these two students for lunch and it was a great talk from our perspective. They even wanted to hear our story of how we met and so we went through that.” 

The Rakosniks are now retired. Bill spent more than 30 years in production control and distribution management at IBM, while Barbara worked in architecture and later started her own embroidery business, Periwinkle Promises. Looking back on their successes, Bill and Barbara say family has been a constant pillar. The influence of their parents and now, their role as the matriarch and patriarch of their own family have played a central role in their lives. This feeling of family extends to their alma mater.  

“Purdue is our other family,” Bill says. “This is where it all started. We enjoyed our four years together here. It helped mold us into how we viewed life and handled the ups and downs of what we encountered.”

“This where we grew from older teens into adults,” Barbara adds. “The more we come back and visit with different groups and people, the bigger our family is getting. We feel like we were very lucky to have had the chance to have gone here. We remember a lot of the lessons we learned here and if we can help pass some of that on to some of the students we meet, give advice to deans or anyone else, we’ll put our two cents in.”

The Rakosniks’ support of University Residences was part of a generous commitment to Purdue University in conjunction with the School of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Psychological Sciences. The commitment supports graduate students and necessary programs and services in these areas. The commitment includes $125,000 to establish endowments and a $10 million trust fund that will provide continued support.

Written by: Matthew Vader, Writer, Student Life Marketing