Purdue Notebook

November 19, 2004

Appointments and promotions

– Thomas Berndt, professor of psychological sciences, has been named associate dean for research in the College of Liberal Arts, effective July 1. Starting Jan. 3, Thomas Adler, professor of English, will serve in this capacity in the interim. The associate dean of research oversees liberal arts work in discovery, which brings in more than $12 million of external research funding. Berndt has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and chapters on the development of friendships during childhood and adolescence, and the effects of friendships on development. He also studies the processes and outcomes of peer influence, as well as reasoning about social relationships. He has been at Purdue since 1984, and he served as head of the Department of Psychological Sciences from 1997 to 2003. Adler, who has been at Purdue since 1970, served as head of the English department from 1997 to 2002 and as interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1995 to 1997. In addition, he has served as associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts, assistant and associate dean of the Graduate School, and assistant head of English. He is a specialist in modern British and American drama. Howard Zelaznik, professor of health and kinesiology, served as associate dean from 1999 to 2004. He returned to a full-time faculty position this fall.

Faculty and staff honors

– Yasser El-Hariry, a master's degree student in foreign languages and literatures, has received the Juliette S. Benhamou Fellowship Award for his dedication and scholarship in French literature. El-Hariry is in Francophone studies, which is the study of all literature written in French outside of France. The award will provide assistance for El-Hariry's studies at the Université Marc Bloch in Strasbourg, France.

Student honors

– Purdue's chapter of College Against Cancer was named Chapter of the Year on Nov. 13 at the National Leadership Summit for Colleges Against Cancer in Dallas. The American Cancer Society's Colleges Against Cancer program gives college students a chance to participate in programs and services while making a difference in the lives of people facing cancer. Purdue students Nicole Pitello, chapter president, and Julie Johnstone, chapter secretary, attended the summit, which provided an opportunity for the chapters to network and discuss programs. Purdue chapter events raised nearly $50,000 last year for the American Cancer Society.

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