Trustees ratify appointment, approve PNC degree program
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Feb. 3) ratified the appointment of a named professor and approved a bachelor of science in psychology degree program at Purdue University North Central.
The board approved Sylvie Brouder as the Wickersham Chair of Excellence in Agricultural Research. A professor in the agronomy department, she has been at Purdue since 1995.
Brouder's research focuses on plant nutrition and agro-ecology. It has led to the development of nutrient management guides and technologies that decrease greenhouse gas emissions and improve water quality by helping to balance the amount of carbon and nitrogen in soil, plants, water and air.
She has developed an upper-level course on plant mineral nutrition and has received both industry and federal funding for graduate education.
Brouder has received several awards, including the Purdue University Spirit of the Land-Grant Mission Award, which recognizes a faculty member whose work integrates the university's land-grant mission of discovery, extension and learning. She has published 41 papers in refereed journals, eight book chapters, 35 Extension publications and 50 technical publications and has been invited to speak at 70 national and international conferences.
She received her bachelor's degree from Harvard University and her doctorate from the University of California.
In other business, trustees approved a bachelor of science in psychology program for Purdue University North Central. The degree will prepare graduates for future employment in several fields related to psychology, said Timothy D. Sands, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.
"The American Psychological Society lists more than 50 jobs in social and human services for which a degree in psychology is appropriate," said Sands, who also is Purdue's Basil S. Turner Professor of Engineering. "Many of these jobs are found in northwest Indiana and are experiencing an increase in demand. PNC graduates also will be well prepared for acceptance in graduate programs in psychology."
He said no new state funding is needed for the program, which is scheduled to begin in the fall 2012 semester, subject to approval from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
Writer: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu
Sources: Timothy Sands, 765-494-9709, tsands@purdue.edu
Sylvie Brouder, 765-496-1489, sbrouder@purdue.edu