Farewell to two special retirees

In December, the College of Education celebrated the retirements of Robin Cunningham, the College’s Online Programs Director, and Karen George-Friedman, Grant Development Specialist. Both provided outstanding service to the College over the past decade and more.

Cunningham helped establish much-needed policies and procedures and a comprehensive handbook which has proven invaluable to guide the growth and expansion of the College’s online programs.

“Under Robin’s leadership we have not only increased the number of our online programs, but have also moved up in our U.S. News and World Report Rankings each year, putting our programs among the top in the nation,” said Wayne E. Wright, associate dean for research, graduate programs and faculty development. “Our faculty greatly appreciated Robin’s assistance and expertise, and her passion for high-quality online programs.”

According to Wright, George-Friedman was extremely generous and flexible with her time, meeting at odd hours late into the evenings and even on weekends when necessary to finalize grant proposals.

“Under Karen’s dedication and expert assistance to our faculty, we have more than doubled the amount of grant funding that comes into the college each year,” Wright said. “In her over ten years with the college, Karen never once missed a submission deadline. She ended her career on a high note with a perfect score on the recently awarded $34M Indiana GEAR UP Grant.”

“As Karen steps away from her Grant Development Specialist role, we are excited to see her step into a new role working directly with Indiana GEAR UP,” Wright added.

“The College is deeply indebted to both Robin Cunningham and Karen Geoge-Friedman for their enormous contributions to the success of both our funded research and our online portfolios,” said Phillip J. VanFossen, interim dean. “We wish them the best—but they will be missed!”

Source: Wayne E. Wright, wewright@purdue.edu