EVPRP establishes Stacy L. Brown Outstanding Performance Award

February 20, 2018

Amy Wright, assistant director of financial affairs for the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships (EVPRP) Office, and Donna Brown, assistant director of financial affairs for Discovery Park, are the inaugural recipients of the Stacy L. Brown Outstanding Performance Award.

The award was established last year by the EVPRP in memory of Brown, who served as the office’s director of financial affairs until her death in 2017.

“Stacy will always be remembered for her cheerful attitude, her dedication to excellence, her strong work ethic and her commitment to exceptional customer service,” said Suresh Garimella, executive vice president for research and partnerships. “She filled several roles during her career at Purdue, meeting each challenge with the desire to do her best for herself, her department and the university. This award honors the deep commitment that Stacy had to her colleagues and to Purdue.”

Wright has been with the university since 1990, serving as clerk, account clerk and account assistant before moving to Sponsored Program Services in 2006. For the next ten years, she served in various leadership roles with SPS before being named to her current position in 2016. As assistant director of financial affairs, Wright supports EVPRP operations, assisting with interpretation of university, federal and sponsoring agency policies and procedures and helping to oversee daily business activities and financial transactions.

Brown began her career at Purdue in 2012 as a clerk in the College of Science. She then served as business manager in the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Discovery Park before being named to her current position as assistant director of financial affairs in 2015. In her current role, she helps oversee the submission and management of large interdisciplinary research grants in Discovery Park, daily business office needs and special projects.

“Amy and Donna have always been very committed to their jobs, taking deep pride in their work,” Haddock says. “In the months following Stacy’s death, they willingly took on additional responsibilities in order to ensure that the EVPRP and Discovery Park business offices continued to maintain a high level of customer service despite the sudden loss in leadership.”