This week’s ‘Thumbs Up’ recipients

Those who helped with Purdue IT contract

We recently needed to get a time-sensitive contract out the door, and Jim Slopsema (Purdue IT); Nate Cummings and Jason Dietz (both Purdue IT Business Office); Rich Murphy (Purchasing); and Ben Terhune, Taylor Bates and Steve Schultz (all Office of Legal Counsel) came together on extremely short notice and allowed us to get it out, even though they themselves did not have very much time to work on processing all the pieces needed for the contract to go out. Several of them even worked on their day off — thanks, Ben! These are truly the unsung heroes of the Purdue world, and without their assistance, we would be unable to function. We appreciate you all! — Sundeep Rao and the members of Purdue IT’s Enterprise Resources team

National and International Scholarships Office team

A huge, mahoosive thumbs-up for the NISO team — Dr. Rosanne Altstatt, Veronica Schirm, Leah Criss, Kathryn Smith and Jennifer Kawlewski. I have had the great privilege of working with this outstanding team for three-plus years, and I am so grateful to each NISO team member for their support, hard work and commitment to Purdue students. An additional thanks to NISO’s “satellite members” — Michael Russell, Jessi-Alex Brandon, Allison Roberts and Maggie O’Connor, who have been exceptional colleagues and absolutely integral collaborators. I think so highly of each one of you, and I am a very lucky duck to have worked alongside such upstanding, hardworking and, most importantly, good-hearted people during my time at Purdue. Thank you! — Lindsay Sheedy (National and International Scholarships Office)

Cindy Salazar, Abbie Rogers, Rabern Simmons, Will Patton and Sana Doty

Thank you to Cindy, Abbie, Rabern, Will and Sana (all Botany and Plant Pathology) for your outstanding efforts in hosting a middle school group visit to the greenhouses and herbaria to learn about plant science. A special shoutout to Cindy for her exceptional coordination and organization of the event. Cindy ensured every detail was handled smoothly, creating an engaging and educational experience for the students. Thank you to Abbie, Rabern, Sana and Will for facilitating hands-on activities and sharing your expertise, making plant science come alive for these young learners. Your teamwork and dedication to outreach exemplify Purdue’s commitment to education and community engagement. Great job! — Amy Deitrich (Botany and Plant Pathology)

Stacey Drake

A huge thumbs-up to Stacey (Vice President for Ethics and Compliance) for all the support she’s given the Disability Resource Center! She jumped right in to help us build some amazing trainings and made the whole process fun and collaborative. Stacey’s creativity, follow-through and positive energy made such a difference in a short amount of time. Working with her was awesome, and we’re so grateful for everything she did to help our team. — Mandie Greiwe (Disability Resource Center)

Clayton Kibbey

Thank you, Clayton (Engineering Technology), for always going above and beyond! I’m especially grateful for your support in covering the foundry during casting night, sending me the guitar lab documents so quickly and sharing all your knowledge about the School of Engineering Technology. — Dustin Schultz (Engineering Technology)

Liz Fitzgerald

Liz (Purdue Global, Center for Teaching and Learning) does an amazing job planning, managing and executing the flawless Purdue Global Village online conference. This four-day event features 58 informative live sessions, where 119 presenters provide faculty and staff with valuable knowledge and resources to implement in their classrooms or departments. Over 30 volunteers are also recruited to assist in hosting the sessions. This year’s event saw record attendance, with more than 3,300 joining the live sessions! There is so much behind-the-scenes work that goes into implementing such a successful event, and I wanted to make sure Liz’s efforts do not go unnoticed. Job well done, Liz! — Beth Smith (Purdue Global, Office of the Provost)

Donna Rush

We would like to thank Donna (Purdue IT Enterprise Solutions) for her hard work and dedication during the budget testing. Donna is always looking for the best solution, ensures that code is reliable and sustainable in the long term, and is always open for discussion and ready to help. Her quick updates in the system allow our team to complete testing on schedule. Thank you for your help with budget testing. — Kirsten Reynolds, Marsha Bundy, Mel Zimmerman and Olga Povolotska (Financial Aid)