Purdue News
Purdue NewsHerr has been director of donor relations in University Development since 1993. In her new position, she has responsibility for four areas: donor relations, research, information systems, and gift processing and receipting. She reports to Charles B. Wise, vice president for development.
"This move to consolidate our development services under one director will help the Development Office implement one of its Excellence 21 projects, namely increased efficiency with how we process gifts and acknowledge donors," Wise said. "Patty's new position also puts together a cluster of support activities with common service functions for 'customers' of gift information, such as deans, school development officers and donors."
Excellence 21, based on the Total Quality Improvement concept developed by Motorola, is a comprehensive program designed to build quality improvements among all departments and areas of Purdue.
Herr received her bachelor's degree in communication from Purdue in 1988. She was one of 10 college graduates in the Indiana Governor's Fellowship Program from 1988 to 1989, holding rotating assignments with several state agencies. From 1989 to 1991, she worked for Indiana Design Consortium in marketing communications. In September 1991 she joined the corporate relations area of Purdue's Development Office where she wrote and coordinated proposals, developed corporate strategic plans as part of the university's $250 million fund-raising campaign, and managed relationships with Purdue's corporate partners. In 1993 she was promoted to director of donor relations, handling communication and follow-up with donors about their gifts.
A native of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., she is pursuing a master's degree through the Weekend Executive Master's Program in Purdue's Krannert School of Management. Classes in the three-year program are held on Saturdays.
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