Appointments, honors and activities

• Faculty and staff honors:

- Nancy Edwards, an associate professor of nursing in the School of Nursing, was recognized as the 2014 Nurse Educator of the Year at the annual Indiana Salute to Nurses event in Indianapolis. A video of Edwards and the honor is available online. The Salute to Nurses honor was featured in the Indianapolis Star on May 4. Edwards played a major role in the development of the School of Nursing's gerontology expertise and graduate nursing program. She is the coordinator for Purdue's Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Program and former director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program and the Graduate Nursing Program. She teaches courses on adult health, gerontology and pharmacology. She is also a faculty member for the Center on Aging and the Life Course and the Center for the Human-Animal Bond. Her gerontology research focuses on quality of life, nutritional status, utilization of robotic animals, exercise promotion and the influence of staff education on disruptive behaviors in individuals with dementia. She coordinates the local Parkinson's support group, leads a senior exercise group and is a speaker for the Alzheimer's Association.

- Marifran Mattson, professor of communication, has been named the head of the Brian Lamb School of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts. Mattson, whose research focuses on the relationship between communication processes and problems related to human health and safety, has served as the interim head of the school since July 2013. Her research and teaching focuses on university-community engagement by exploring the intersection of designing, implementing and evaluating health communication campaigns, health advocacy initiatives and service-learning curriculum.

- JoAnn Miller, a professor of sociology, has been named the associate dean for engagement and head of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Liberal Arts. The appointment was effective April 1. Previously, Miller oversaw the interdisciplinary studies programs in the College of Liberal Arts. The School of Interdisciplinary Studies was launched this year and will house the college's 15 interdisciplinary programs.

• Notables:

 - Purdue Dining and Catering received a bronze Sustainability Award from the National Association of College and University Food Services. The awards recognize institutions that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the promotion and implementation of environmental sustainability. More than 55 colleges and universities submitted entries in four categories: procurement practices, outreach and education, waste management, and energy and water conservation. A team of collegiate dining professionals including foodservice directors and sustainability coordinators judged each entry. The mission of NACUFS is to foster exceptional campus dining programs through a passion for food and by leadership in education, professional development, networking, and information exchange.

- Purdue University is one of 23 U.S. universities to receive a grant from the Global Innovation Initiative, a joint effort between the U.S. and British governments to support new university partnerships and foster multilateral research collaboration with higher education institutions in Brazil, China, India and Indonesia. The grant of nearly $250,000 is one of 10 awarded to U.S.-led partnerships by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It will support a new two-year research partnership between Purdue University and De Montfort University in the Great Britain and UNESP University in Brazil that aims to establish a research framework to realize the smart grid benefits in every segment of participating countries regardless of their economic status. 

• Rankings:

 - The Krannert School of Management was 57th overall and 25th among public universities in the 2014 Bloomberg Businessweek undergraduate rankings. That is up from 58th and 26th a year earlier. The rankings are based on student surveys, recruiter surveys, starting salaries, MBA feeder schools, and academic quality as measured by SAT scores, faculty/student ratio, average class size, percentage of students with internships and class prep hours. More information on the rankings is available at http://www.businessweek.com/reports/business-schools/best-undergraduate-business-schools-2014

- Purdue's Center for Professional Selling, a part of the Department of Consumer Science in the College of Health and Human Sciences, has been named a 2014 top university sales program by the Sales Education Foundation. Programs that are recognized by SEF offer sales-specific courses, sales internships and university recognition for individuals completing the program. More information on SEF is available at http://www.salesfoundation.org/