Faculty Affairs

The Purdue University Trailblazer Award

The Purdue University Trailblazer Award is an annual award for mid-career faculty in the College of Education, College of Liberal Arts, College of Health and Human Sciences, and the Purdue University Libraries whose recent research, scholarship or creative work has made a significant impact in the disciplines of humanities, social sciences, and information sciences. The nominee’s work should be pioneering and innovative.

The Award

The Purdue University Trailblazer Award consists of a $2,000 monetary prize. It is bestowed at the annual Faculty Honors & Reception event in the spring. The 2025 event will be on May 5, 2025, and winners are expected to attend.

Who is Eligible

  • Eligibility includes all tenured associate professors on the West Lafayette campus with a maximum of ten years in rank, who focus on humanities, social science, and/or information sciences in their work, from the College of Education, College of Liberal Arts, College of Health and Human Sciences, and/or the Purdue University Libraries.
  • Previous recipients of a Trailblazer Award are not eligible.

Nomination Instructions

Nomination packets should be submitted electronically as a single PDF file to facultyaffairs@purdue.edu  by February 28, 2025. The nomination packet should include in the following order:

  1. A two-page statement from the nominee describing the trajectory, scope, and significance of the candidate’s research program; please highlight recent work that merits consideration for the Trailblazer Award.
  2. The nominee’s curriculum vitae.
  3. A letter from the department/school head endorsing the nomination.
  4. Two letters of recommendation/support from external (non-Purdue) faculty who can assess the impact and significance of the nominee’s contributions to the field.
  5. Any additional supporting information (such as reviews or citations) that the candidate considers to be significant in assessing their accomplishments.

Review Process

A selection committee, composed of previous winners of the award and representatives from the Faculty Awards and Recognition Committee, will review nominations and select a winner in February. The recipient of the Purdue University Trailblazer Award is notified via the Provost’s Office.

Recipients of the Award

2017

  • Stewart Chang Alexander,  Consumer Science
  • Mandy Rispoli, Educational Studies

2018

  • Stacey Connaughton, Brian Lamb School of Communication
  • Daniel Kelly, Philosophy

2019 

  • Cheryl Cooky, Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Sébastien Hélie, Psychological Sciences, Health and Human Sciences

2020

  • Karen Foli, School of Nursing
  • David Purpura, Human Development and Family Studies

2021

  • Sara Schmitt, Human Development and Family Studies
  • Louis Tay, Industrial-Organizational Psychology

2022

  • Heather Eicher-Miller, Nutrition Science
  • Kathryn Cramer Brownell, Department of History

2023

  • Trish Morita-Mullaney, Curriculum and Instruction
  • Zoe Taylor, Human Development and Family Studies

2024

  • Tara Grillos, Associate Professor of Political Science

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