11 employees are awarded MaPSAC grants for professional development

The Management and Professional Staff Advisory Committee has awarded individual professional development grants to 11 management and professional staff members for the spring application cycle.

Grants of up to $750 are awarded twice each year. After reviewing 74 eligible applications, MaPSAC presented a total of $4,853 to the 11 spring 2026 awardees. The fall 2026 grant application period will begin in October.

The recipients, their positions and the areas in which they work are:

• Miranda Baer, lead academic advisor, Biological Sciences, College of Science

• Amy Balser, clinical services coordinator, Large Animal Hospital, Purdue Veterinary Hospital

• Elizabeth Barajas, director of academic excellence and globalization, Office of Globalization, Purdue Polytechnic Institute

• May Cheng, senior program administration specialist, Student Success Technologies, Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning

• Colleen Coulter, associate director of graduate recruitment and success strategy, College of Engineering

• Kristy Foster, director of college outreach, College of Liberal Arts

• Anna Ochs; lead academic advisor; Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences; College of Health and Human Sciences

• Alexcia Plummer, lead contract analyst, Sponsored Program Services

• Meridith Slager, senior IT business analyst, Purdue IT

• Summer Vanasdalan, senior academic advisor, Mitch Daniels School of Business

• Yao Yang, assessment specialist, Institutional Data Analytics + Assessment