Purdue Global celebrates faculty and staff accomplishments with 2024 Distinction Awards

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Recipients of Purdue Global’s annual G.L.O.B.A.L. Distinction Awards were honored Thursday (Dec. 5) for their impact, innovation, best practices and measurable outcomes in three areas: Great Leaders, Organization Builders and Accomplished Learners.

“This year’s award recipients are being acknowledged for their hard work and dedication in providing our students with the best learning experience possible,” Purdue Global Chancellor Frank Dooley said. “Our faculty and staff continue to find innovative ways to make our students feel welcomed, meet their needs and deliver an exceptional education.”

Great Leaders Award: for promoting a culture of excellence and expanding the vision of making Purdue Global a great place to work:

• Individual recipient: Karen McGregor, executive director of Student Success, was honored for her work initiating PG’s inaugural coaching effort, Student Success Coaching. A team was assembled and trained, and implemented new processes, support options and reporting to help Purdue Global define activities that support student persistence. McGregor used her own background, time and energy to launch work that will be essential to how Purdue Global thinks about its ever-changing relationship with adult, working students. Her ability to maintain momentum as the university adapts and refines its understanding of student success is inspirational to her team and her colleagues. It represents the kind of leadership that strengthens Purdue Global’s future and merits this award.
• Team recipient: Pride@Purdue Global Employee Resource Group (ERG) Groundbreakers — Stephen Velky, Melissa Bahle, Kristin Mesikapp, Josef Vice, Nancy Santiago, Taryn Bromser-Kloeden, Lori Morrissette, Karla Drenner, Melinda Linscott, Kristina Setzekorn, Laurie Hansen and Brook Bernhardt. Through its offerings, the ERG fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion beyond its employees and students and supports their relationships with family and friends; underlines Purdue Global’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; and showcases networking, partnerships and collaboration within the community.

Organization Builders Award: for celebrating significant growth in Purdue Global from an innovative standpoint:

• Individual recipient: Zach Ballard, assistant director of academic administration, was honored for his quick mastery of technological innovations, openness to new ideas and adaptability to change, setting him apart as a key driver of Purdue Global’s progress. Ballard is known for his collaborative spirit, professional demeanor and unwavering support of colleagues. He consistently goes above and beyond to assist others in achieving their goals, embodying the values that make Purdue Global a better place to work and learn.
• Team recipient: Graduation Team — Beth Smith, Brenda Fresch, Jordan DiLeonardi, Laurie Hansen, Michele Bourst, Sarah Johnson, Amy Hawkinson, Adam Bartels, Liz Fitzgerald, Lisa Phillips and Glenn Walton. The team provides graduates a week’s worth of in-person and online commencement-related opportunities and programming. They tirelessly and personally answer hundreds of emails to ensure students have an experience exceeding their expectations. They work behind the scenes on video production and personalizing emails, videos and messages. They create volunteer teams that open the doors for future networking, partnerships and collaboration and underline the university’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging efforts for its employees. They set up and break down the venue, hosting and hospitably collaborating with on-site Purdue employees and contractors.

Accomplished Learners Award: for creating positive student momentum at Purdue Global via curricular enhancements, faculty initiatives or technological advancements:

• Team recipient: Bar Preparation Team — Quentin Huff, Steven Bracci and Michael Power. This team was recognized for the steps it has taken to improve performance, including creating a customized one-on-one and group mentoring and coaching program for bar takers; working with a third-party commercial bar prep provider to provide workshops tailored for Purdue Global Law School bar takers and to obtain and analyze real-time data on bar taker performance; and analyzing spaced repetition quizzes taken throughout students’ law school careers to help bar takers identify areas needing improvement. These measures led to significant outcomes achieved, including a steady increase in graduates’ bar exam pass rates, which was essential to the Indiana Supreme Court’s agreement to amend Indiana’s bar admission rules in July 2024 to create, for the first term ever outside of California, a path for Purdue Global Law School graduates to become licensed immediately upon graduation.
• Team recipient: Women in Criminal Justice Event Team — Richard Niebusch, Tomicka Williams, Aline Major and James Ebert. Purdue Global hosts an annual Women in Criminal Justice Roundtable as the featured event of National Criminal Justice Month. The roundtable began in 2021 with 45 registered participants. In 2024, it drew a record number of more than 200 registrants, with 129 attendees. Attendees represented internal and external constituencies including students, alumni, faculty, administrators, government officials and criminal justice practitioners.

About Purdue Global

Purdue Global is Purdue’s online university for working adults who have life experience and often some college credits. It offers flexible paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, military service and previous college credits, no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and backed by Purdue University. For more information, visit https://www.purdueglobal.edu/