For anyone who has known Dr. Mark Russell, you’ll probably know that he often likes to get people thinking about the best thing they can do next in their lives and careers — their best next thing. Asking questions about what students want to accomplish is a big part of what has motivated Russell.
“One of the important things we do as advisors or instructors is to help a student get from where they are now to a place where they experience personal and professional growth,” he said.
Fostering that growth is one of the reasons why Russell focused his teaching and scholarship on international education and community engagement using service-learning pedagogies and interdisciplinary development projects. In addition to the U.S. Animal Industry Spring Break Travel course which he co-led for eleven years, his international work was evident in co-leading undergraduate study abroad trips to China, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Haiti, and Peru.
Dr. Mark Russell speaks at his retirement reception in December 2024 in the Deans' Auditorium. That growth also led he and his wife Laurie to create the Russell “I Go to Grow” Transformational Experience Endowment. The funds help support students participating in a College of Agriculture Transformational Experience (CATE) and International Programs in Agriculture (IPIA). The funds will be used for internships, studying abroad, or attending conferences. The goal is to give students more opportunities to go outside their comfort zones to learn and grow. In that way, they become stronger professionals and people.
“It's not only technical content and skills that we seem to think the university and jobs are all about, it’s if you have a desire to grow,” Russell said.
So, it seems natural to ask Dr. Russell what his best next thing would be when he retired from Purdue in December. For him, his goal of helping students grow continues to motivate what he does.
“I’m volunteering to go on study abroad trips with other program leaders” he said. “And I’m starting a teacher-led high school applied agricultural sciences study abroad program through the I Go to Grow, LLC.”
The goal is to help people who might have been on a study abroad experience with Russell who are now teachers to take their own students abroad.
“I have three teachers that are recruiting now and building potential programs for 2026 to Peru and to Romania. So, it's instilling in those former students/now teachers that don't just go and enjoy for yourself, but you too can lead these experiences,” Russell said.
His goal is to stay connected to the things he finds valuable, particularly helping others grow — and being involved in that growth himself.
“I will really miss the first two weeks of classes where I’m getting to know new students,” Russell said. “I’m looking for ways to engage with students, but not so much that it’s got to be at 7:30 in the morning every day.”
Donate to the Russell “I Go to Grow” Transformational Experience Endowment.
