Appointments, honors and activities
November 21, 2014
• Faculty and staff honors:
- Caroline E. Janney, professor of history, has received the 2014 Charles S. Sydnor Award in recognition of a distinguished book in southern history. "Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation" was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2013. The award was presented by the Southern Historical Association at its annual meeting in Atlanta earlier this month.
- A College of Education faculty member, graduate student and alumnus won awards at the National Association for Gifted Children Convention. Marcia Gentry, professor and executive director of the Purdue Gifted Education Resource Institute (GERI), received the Distinguished Scholar Award. Graduate student Jiaxi Wu received the Doctoral Student Award and alumnus Scott Peters received the Early Scholar Award. Gentry is Wu's adviser. She was major adviser to Peters, who is an associate professor of educational foundations at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. College of Education faculty, graduate students and alumni presented 19 papers at the convention.
- The France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center project has received an AIA Ohio Design Merit Award for excellence in architectural design and an Athletic Business Facility of Merit Award for design. According to its website, the AIA Ohio Design Awards program "promotes projects that have distinguished themselves, through attention to high quality design, performance and commitment to the Society of the American Institute of Architects' 10 principles of livable communities." A rotating panel of architects reviews entries and chooses 10 facilities to receive the Facility of Merit Awards, announced in the November issue of Athletic Business. Facilities are selected "on the basis of plan efficiency; functional relationships and measures taken to maximize use of space; interior finishes, detailing and color schemes; exterior design; relationship of building to site; and cost of construction for value received.")
- Renée McKee, assistant director of Purdue Extension and Indiana 4-H youth development program leader, is the 2014 recipient of Epsilon Sigma Phi's Ruby Award. She received the award during ESP's national conference in Indianapolis. The Ruby Award is ESP's most prestigious recognition, designed to recognize outstanding thinking, performance and leadership in Extension. McKee began her Extension career in 1977 as a 4-H youth agent in Carroll County and served as an Extension educator in Warren County from 1981-1997. In 1997, she became the Extension specialist for 4-H teen leadership and volunteerism. She moved into her current role in 2003. McKee has held numerous leadership roles within the Extension system, including serving on the national board of directors of the 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System and the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy's 4-H Working Group. As program leader for 4-H youth development, McKee leads the Indiana 4-H youth development program. She also works with the director of Extension to ensure federal compliance of the Indiana 4-H program efforts.
