Appointments, honors and activities
February 8, 2013
• Notables:
- Purdue received the Best Practices Award from the United Way of Greater Lafayette on Jan. 30 during the organization's annual meeting. The Best Practices Award recognizes an organization whose innovative strategies translated into positive results for its United Way employee campaign. Areas such as employee involvement and education, increased levels of giving, and implementing a dose of "fun" into the campaign are considered for the award. Maryann Santos de Barona, dean of the College of Education, and Dale Whittaker, vice provost for undergraduate academic affairs, served as the Purdue campaign's chair and vice chair, respectively.
• Alumni honors:
- The School of Engineering Education has named its Outstanding Alumni Award winners for 2013. All three earned degrees in the former Division of Interdisciplinary Engineering, which is now part of the School of Engineering Education. They are:
* Stan Jones, president of Complete College America. He earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary engineering, focusing on engineering management, in 1973.
* Eric J. Schmidt, corporate director of environmental engineering for RockTenn Corp. He earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary engineering, environmental engineering, in 1976.
* Michael W. Wells, president of REI Investments Inc. He earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary engineering, pre-law, in 1975.
More information on the award winners can be found at https://engineering.purdue.edu/ENE/People/AwardsHonors/OAA_13
• Student honors:
- Gabriel Rangel, an undergraduate student in the Department of Biochemistry, has been selected to receive a 2013 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study. The fellowship is a four-year award for graduate study in the biomedical sciences and includes a graduate stipend, fellow's allowance and educational allowance. Rangel is an assistant to Scott Briggs, associate professor of biochemistry, in his research on epigenetics.
- Stephanie Kasten, a graduate student in the College of Pharmacy from Green Bay, Wis., has been chosen as the National Association of College and University Food Services Student Employer of the Year for Purdue University. She is the student manager at Earhart Dining Court and her nomination will now be sent to the regional and national level.
