2020 Special Boilermaker Award recipients announced

The Purdue Alumni Association has named Nancy Cross, Amy Glenn and Margie Jones recipients of the 2020 Special Boilermaker Award for their dedication to Purdue.

Established in 1981, the Purdue Alumni Association Special Boilermaker Award honors a member of the Purdue faculty or staff who has contributed significantly to the improvement of the quality of life and/or the betterment of the educational experience for a substantial number of Purdue students.

“Recipients of this award are the folks who are willing to go the extra mile to support Purdue alumni and students,” says Matt Folk, president and CEO of the Purdue for Life Foundation. “They’re really the glue of our community.”

Folk and Dan Dawes, chairman of the Purdue Alumni Association board of directors, presented the winners with pewter locomotive sculptures on the field at Ross-Ade Stadium. A recording of the ceremony will be played during Purdue’s virtual Homecoming live event at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 11).

Cross (MS HHS’78) is senior athletics director at Purdue. According to her nomination, “So many people are Ever Grateful that Nancy is Ever True.” Cross, the nomination continues, “knows every Boilermaker athlete by name and face” and combines “common sense and compassion” in an invaluable way.

Glenn (T’05) is associate director of the Purdue Office of Future Engineers. As part of her work, Glenn has expanded undergraduate recruitment to encompass outreach, recruitment, retention and alumni engagement, resulting in the creation of the Office of Future Engineers. “She takes a large, well-known university and makes it a small and intimate event for parents to answer questions and calm fears,” her nominator wrote.

Jones is assistant director of student involvement in Student Activities and Organizations and advisor to both Mortar Board and Old Masters. Her nominator says, “Because of Margie Jones, I knew someone in my life believed in me even when I did not.” Whether through innovative ideas, hugs or peanut butter pies, Jones is always there to improve spirits and reach goals, according to the nomination.

Dawes says, “When we’re weighing nominations for the Special Boilermaker Award, we’re looking for individuals who take initiative to bring people together. A lot of times, these are sort of the unsung heroes of our community who go above and beyond to support others and lift them up — and this year’s winners are no exception.”

The Purdue Alumni Association accepts nominations for Special Boilermaker Award from March 1 until June 1. Nominations may be made by any person or group affiliated with Purdue — students, faculty, staff or alumni. The names of recipients are inscribed on the recognition obelisk on Purdue Mall and on a plaque in the Purdue Alumni Association office.

For more information about the award, contact John Sautter, senior advisor at Purdue Alumni Association, at 765-496-6193 or jasautter@purdue.edu.

The Purdue Alumni Association will feature the Special Boilermaker Award during a Tuesday Tour at 9 a.m. Nov. 24. Tune in to the Purdue Alumni Facebook page to learn about the history of the award.