Any Colombian graduate student at Purdue would agree that Juan Diego Velásquez has been indispensable and extremely helpful prior and after their arrival to this institution. His strong Colombian roots, and love and dedication for his Alma Mater, Purdue University, allows him to understand the needs and concerns of upcoming Colombian boilermakers.
Juan was born and raised in Bogotá, and joined Purdue University in 1994 as an undergraduate student in Industrial Engineering. As an undergraduate student, he balanced his academic life with being involved on campus: he was President and Treasurer of Delta Upsilon Fraternity, Calendar Chair for Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, Director of Current Issues for the Interfraternity Council and President of Order of Omega (a Greek honor society). He completed his graduate degrees (MS '03, PhD '09) in our beloved institution, and his research topics were "Dynamic programming-based heuristics for minimizing maximum lateness on a single machine with family set-up time" for his MS degree under the guidance of Dr. Reha Uzsoy, and "Best-Matching heuristics in collaborative e-Work" for his PhD degree under the mentorship of Dr. Shimon Nof.
After completing his studies, Juan worked as Assistant Director of TA and Curricular Development at Purdue for 4 years, designing and implementing instructional development programs for Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA), as well as new GTA orientation programs in collaboration with the Teaching Academy and the annual New Faculty Teaching Orientation. He assisted the departments with campus-wide service learning initiatives, consulted with faculty and GTAs regarding instruction, evaluation and other curricular issues, and facilitated micro-teaching sessions - all in the spirit of continuous improvement of Purdue's educational enterprise.
When Juan joined the Office of Strategic Planning & Assessment in the College of Engineering (CoE) in 2012 as Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives, the scope of his responsibilities expanded to include primary operations to support two major faculty and staff led initiatives: the Purdue Systems Collaboratory (PSC), and the Colombia-Purdue Initiative (CPI). Both 'teams' are unique. They went from CoE-led, CoE-focused, and team-driven activities to university-wide initiatives with leadership shared with colleagues outside of Engineering and they serve Purdue's Discovery, Learning and Engagement missions across all the University's academic and service units. They are big ideas with broad reach and potential for tremendous impact.
Juan serves CPI in so many visible and unseen ways. He is a connector of people, a builder of strong relationships, a dedicated facilitator of partnerships, and an innovator of programs that reach across the university and across Colombia. He is compassionate and service oriented, but can dish out a bit of tough love when it is needed. He is passionate about bringing Purdue to Colombia and Colombia to Purdue. Juan makes it his business to know all the Colombian graduate fellowship grantees from Fulbright, Colfuturo, and Colciencias as well as others who have been admitted and need assistance navigating all the details of matriculating as graduate students at Purdue. He doesn't just know the students who come here to study, but every Colombian undergraduate researcher who visits Purdue, as well as all the visiting professors who come to strengthen their English skills and who they connected with while here. The list of who he knows could go on and on; but one thing is certain, once you know him, you are in his hug forever.
"Juan's energy and tenacity to overcome obstacles, find ways to make things happen, and connect the right people to the right projects is impressive, in fact, sometimes miraculous! He has a fire in his belly to build a forever bond between Purdue and Colombia that is truly awe-inspiring. And, while I have seen the fiery side of him when dealing with the tough stuff, he is the hardest working, kindest, most joyful person I know and have had the pleasure to work with. CPI and all our stakeholders are fortunate to have his leadership. The Colombia-Purdue Initiative would not be where it is today without his contributions," says Carolyn Percifield, Director of Strategic Planning and Assessment of the CoE at Purdue.
"I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to merge the two worlds that are at the core of who I am today: Colombia and Purdue. I like to think of myself as a Colombia-Purdue ambassador with the dual job of promoting Colombia across our university and promoting Purdue in the Colombian academic and corporate worlds. My job has allowed me to experience Purdue from a broader vantage point, beyond the borders of Engineering, while exploring opportunities for Purdue to engage with Colombia. Similarly, I have been exposed and educated on the 'new' Colombia as I work to build collaborations between Colombian universities, agencies, local governments, alumni, etc. Seeing the growth in the Colombia-Purdue familia is what makes my work at Purdue be so fulfilling," explains Velásquez.
We thank Juan for his kindness and dedication towards the well-being of our future and current Colombian students. We don't know what we would do without your hardworking spirit.
Last modified: December 4, 2023