October 10, 2008

Appointments, honors and activities

— Susan M. Smith is the new director of development for the College of Consumer and Family Sciences. Smith is a graduate of Chapman College in Orange, Calif., and Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She previously worked as president and CEO of Family Services Inc., where her duties included fund development and financial management.

— Antonio D. Tillis, an associate professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures, has been named the director of the College of Liberal Arts' Latin American and Latino Studies program. The new program and undergraduate minor in Latin American and Latino studies, which was approved by the College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate in April, will be housed in the college's Office of Interdisciplinary Studies. The 15-credit hour minor will require the "Introduction to Latin American and Latino Studies" course. Then students can select other courses that include "Spanish and Latin American Cinema," "Hispanic Women Writers," "The Archaeology of the Ancient Andes" and "History of Mexico." Students also are required to demonstrate advanced oral and written proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese through testing or courses in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

— Jennifer Howard has been hired as an event planner for the Office of Special Events. Howard is a graduate of Indiana University and has experience in banquet management and event coordination.

• Campus activities

— Kirk Nugent, motivational speaker and poet, will speak at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at Purdue University's Experience Liberal Arts, a monthlong celebration highlighting the College of Liberal Arts. "Pursue Your Passion," which is free and open to the public, is at Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. The event is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts' Diversity and Retention Initiatives through Volunteering Education and Networking, also known as DRIVEN. Nugent uses poetry and personal stories of struggles to inspire students.

• Faculty and staff honors

— The Latino Faculty and Staff Association at the Latino Scholars Forum honored three faculty members and a staff member Oct. 1. Cecilia I. Tenorio, a continuing lecturer in the Department of Foreign Language and Literature, was given the Outstanding Latino Faculty Award. Kimber J. Nicoletti, minority outreach coordinator for the Communities Against Rape Initiative, was given the Outstanding Latino Staff Award. Susan Tharp, a field Extension educator in the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, was named outstanding community ally. Morris Levy, professor of biological sciences, was named Outstanding Padrino, or mentor.

— Eugene H. Spafford, executive director of the Center for Education Research in Information Assurance and Security, has received one of the Security 7 Awards for 2008 from Information Security magazine and SearchSecurity.com.  This distinction is decided by a vote of the editors of Information Security magazine, SearchSecurity.com, and a panel of independent security experts. The award recognizes the accomplishments of security practitioners in seven vertical market sectors: education, health care, financial services, telecommunications, government/public sector, and retail and manufacturing. Spafford was recognized in the education category for notable contributions to Purdue and the security community. The award will be presented at an industry conference in Chicago in November.  Additionally, Spafford is featured on the cover of the October issue of Information Security magazine, and he has a featured essay in the issue.

• Student honors

— Abelardo Molina, an aviation technology student from Hermiston, Ore., won the Outstanding Latino Student Award from the Latino Faculty and Staff Association at the Latino Scholars Forum Oct. 1.

— The Purdue University Finance Club placed fourth in the National Energy Finance Challenge Oct. 4-5 in Austin, Texas. The Purdue team analyzed a case written by Chevron executives involving ethanol supply, refining and investment strategies. The contest was sponsored and judged by executives from Chevron, ExxonMobil, McKinsey and Co., Merrill Lynch Global Commodities, Tesoro, Peabody Energy and the University of Texas Center for Energy Finance. The team members were Eric Tracy, Mayu Matsumoto, Manatar Sitohang, Tim Gold and Geoff Gauthier.

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

To the News Service home page