Purdue Notebook

October 21, 2005

Faculty and staff honors

– Vickie J. Maris has been named the director of non-degree programs for Purdue Engineering Professional Education. Maris will oversee non-credit seminars that will support the graduate degree programs already offered by the academic unit. Engineering Professional Education offers a number of master's degree programs through distance learning, including aerospace engineering, systems engineering, electrical and computer engineering, industrial engineering and mechanical engineering. Maris previously worked as marketing manager for the Center for Food and Agricultural Business in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue and for the university's human resources department.

Alumni honors

– Pamela Mader, a graduate of Purdue's College of Technology, has been named one of the 100 most influential women in the North American auto industry. Mader, who earned a bachelor's degree from the Department of Industrial Technology, has worked in a variety of production and manufacturing roles with General Motors and currently serves as the plant manager for the company's Morraine, Ohio, manufacturing facility. The award recognizes women who are leaders in the automotive field, make major decisions and have significant influence at their companies.

– Jennifer Nichol Ping, who earned a bachelor of arts in history in 1995, was named a member of the Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series' 16th class. By participating in this leadership program, Ping will receive specialized training to serve in governmental and political positions. Ping, of Indianapolis, is one of 20 women from Indiana selected for this program. She is a government telecommunications specialist for North American Communications Resource Inc.

– Rita R. Colwell, who earned a bachelor's degree in bacteriology and a master's degree in genetics from Purdue, was one of 10 people induced into the National Women's Hall of Fame during ceremonies Oct. 7-8 in Seneca Falls, N.Y. Colwell became the first woman and first biologist to head the National Science Foundation in 1998, spearheading the agency's emphasis in K-12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education/training and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has received numerous awards and 43 honorary degrees. Colwell currently chairs Canon U.S. Life Sciences and is a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Student honors

– The Purdue Student Union Board has announced the winners of several Homecoming competitions. In the pep rally contest, Alpha Phi placed first, the Public Relations Student Society of America placed second, and Zeta Tau Alpha placed third. In the window-painting contest, Alpha Phi placed first, Phi Sigma Rho placed second, and Purdue Student Government placed third. In the banner competition, Purdue Student Government won first place, Naval ROTC placed second, and Phi Sigma Rho placed third. In the parade contest, first place went to Naval ROTC, second place went to Harrison Hall, and Wiley Hall placed third. The overall winners were Alpha Phi, first place; Naval ROTC, second; and Purdue Student Government, third.

Campus activities

– "The Politics of Religion: Nation, Identity and Difference" symposium is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 3 at the Purdue Memorial Union, Room 118. The speakers will address current religious issues in South Asia. The speakers are Sumit Sarkar, professor emeritus of history at Delhi University; Tanika Sarkar, professor at the Center for Historical Studies at Jawarharlal Nehru University in New Delhi; Barbara Metcalf, professor of history at University of Michigan; and Ali Riaz, professor of politics and government at Illinois State University. The event is sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Liberal Arts, the Office of the Vice President for Human Resources, the departments of English and history, and the interdisciplinary programs of religious studies, women's studies and Asian studies. For more information, please contact Tithi Bhattacharya, assistant professor of South Asian history, at tbhattacharya@cla.purdue.edu.

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