Office of Engagement Honors 2026 Award Winners
The Purdue University Office of Engagement proudly announces the recipients of the 2026 Engagement Awards, recognizing faculty, programs, and community partners whose work exemplifies Purdue’s land-grant mission through reciprocal, community-centered engagement. This year’s awardees reflect the power of sustained partnerships to advance teaching, research, and engagement while creating meaningful local and global impact.
Engaging Rising Star Award: Andrea Pires dos Santos
The Engaging Rising Star Award honors early- and mid-career faculty who demonstrate exceptional promise in integrating community engagement into scholarship and practice. The 2026 award recognizes Andrea Pires dos Santos, Associate Professor of Veterinary Clinical Pathology in Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Santos’ work exemplifies engaged scholarship at its best by connecting rigorous research, student learning, and long-term community partnerships through a One Health approach that advances human, animal, and environmental health. Her community-engaged research, developed in close collaboration with Indigenous communities, conservation organizations, and public health agencies in Brazil, addresses infectious and zoonotic diseases affecting vulnerable populations. Notably, her work contributed to a 2025 federal policy shift in Brazil formally integrating veterinarians into the Indigenous public health system.
Equally impactful is Dr. Santos’ commitment to engaged teaching. As founder and director of the faculty-led study abroad program Pathobiology of Native Brazilian Wildlife: A One Health Approach, she immerses Purdue students in reciprocal, community-designed learning experiences that often extend well beyond the initial program. Across research, teaching, and service, Dr. Santos’ work reflects a deep commitment to ethical, sustained engagement that strengthens community capacity while expanding Purdue’s global reach.
Engaged Unit/Program Award: Purdue Kenya Partnership
The Engaged Unit/Program Award recognizes a Purdue unit or program that fully integrates engagement across teaching, research, and service. The 2026 award is presented to the Purdue Kenya Partnership (PKP), housed within Purdue’s College of Pharmacy.
Established in 2003 through the AMPATH Consortium, the Purdue Kenya Partnership is one of the longest-standing and most impactful global pharmacy partnerships in the United States. For more than two decades, the program has worked alongside Kenyan universities, hospitals, and community organizations to expand access to high-quality healthcare while training future global health leaders. What began as HIV-focused pharmacy services has expanded into 16 areas of patient care, including chronic disease management, oncology, reproductive health, cardiovascular care, and youth outreach. These services are co-developed with local partners and supported by sustainable, Kenya-based infrastructure. PKP has educated nearly 800 Kenyan and U.S. learners and generated more than 300 scholarly publications and presentations, millions in extramural funding, and policy-relevant research outcomes. In recognition of its leadership and impact, PKP has been designated the only Clinical Pharmacy Center of Excellence in Kenya.
JoAnn Miller Exemplary Community Partner Award
The JoAnn Miller Exemplary Community Partner Award honors nonprofit organizations, schools, and government entities whose sustained partnerships with Purdue advance teaching, research, and engagement while benefiting both the university and the community.
One honoree is the Wabash River Enhancement Corporation (WREC), a long-standing Purdue partner dedicated to improving water quality and strengthening connections between communities and the Wabash River. Since 2006, WREC has collaborated with Purdue faculty, staff, and students across more than 15 service-learning courses and numerous research initiatives. Through this partnership, more than 2,500 students have applied classroom learning to real-world environmental challenges, while thousands more have participated as volunteers, citizen scientists, and research assistants. These efforts have produced lasting environmental improvements and shaped engaged professionals.
Another honoree is Thomas Miller Elementary School, a Title I school serving more than 400 K–4 students in the Lafayette community. Through a partnership with Purdue, Miller Elementary has become a national hub for innovative, movement-based science education via The League of VetaHumanz. Embedded Purdue faculty work alongside teachers and staff to deliver the VetaHumanz-Moves curriculum, blending physical activity with science learning. The results have been transformative, with fourth-grade science proficiency increasing more than fourfold and the model now scaling nationally.
Together, the 2026 Office of Engagement Award recipients reflect the impact of Purdue’s engagement ecosystem. From local watersheds and elementary classrooms to global health systems and Indigenous communities, these awardees demonstrate how long-term, reciprocal partnerships strengthen communities, advance scholarship, and create lasting benefits.