Appointments, honors and activities

Faculty and staff honors:

Tiffany Laitola, an academic department chair in Purdue Global’s School of Business and Information Technology, is serving on a committee for the Working (non-traditional) and Minority Students Initiative through the National Security Agency’s National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity program. She is a U.S. Navy veteran, holding several leadership roles as well as 30 years of experience in the fields of cryptologic communications, cybersecurity/IT, and education and training.   

Kathryn Cramer Brownell, professor of history, is the 2024 recipient of the Eugenia M. Palmegiano Prize in the History of Journalism, presented by the American Historical Association. Brownell is being recognized for her book, “24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News.”

Student honors:

The board of directors of Alpha Lambda Delta announced three graduate fellowships for first-year student success were awarded to recent or soon-to-be Purdue graduates. The awardees were Jenna Swihart (Class of 2023), Noelle Plucinsky (Class of 2024) and Emma Kruyer (expected graduation 2025). Swihart was the recipient of the Dr. Martha Wade Graduate Fellowship, Plucinsky was the recipient of the Dr. Susan Melson Huffman Graduate Fellowship and Kruyer was the recipient of the Dr. Maude Etheredge Graduate Fellowship.

The Board of Directors of Alpha Lambda Delta announced four Jo Anne J. Trow Undergraduate Scholarships awarded to current Purdue undergraduates. The awardees were Haseung Jun, Benjamin Gerber, Jack Weaver and Kailey Sanders. The award is for the 2024-25 academic year.