Boilermaker Educator

Fall 2024

Phil VanFossen standing at a podium in front of a presentation titled, Purdue AI in P-12 Education Conference.

Message from the Interim Dean

Dear Boilermaker, 

Greetings! I’m very pleased to introduce the latest issue of our e-magazine, Boilermaker Educator.

I’ve been using an economics metaphor to describe our impact as a College showing that we’re not a commodity, like a bushel of wheat interchangeable with other Colleges of Education. We view what’s happening here as evidence that we are ‘quinoa’ in a field of wheat and each story in this issue celebrates this. Here are a few of our ‘quinoa nuggets’:

  • Research & funding
    In September, the College was awarded the 6th largest grant in the entire history of Purdue University: Indiana GEAR UP (Virginia Bolshakova, PI) was awarded $34.9M from the U.S. Department of Education to serve 14,500 students and more than 3,000 educators from across the state!
  • University Search Team
    One of the ‘best-kept secrets’ at Purdue is the College’s 60-year history with the University Search Team. Along with partners Ball State, Indiana University, and Indiana State University, the College helps Indiana school districts vet and find their next superintendent. In this video, Prof. Alice Johnson describes the team and its role in giving back to Indiana as part of our land-grant mission.
  • Successful first conferences
    Since AI is a core element in Purdue President Mung Chiang’s ‘Purdue Computes’ initiative, two years ago I convened an AI/Data Science Working Group. Led by Prof. Bill Watson, it meets regularly to discuss how the College might leverage its comparative advantage in P-12 education . We just held the very first AI in P-12 Education Conference in Indiana (Nov. 11) with 250+ attendees!
    And for the first time at Purdue, we also hosted the Fourth International Conference on Literacy, Culture, and Language Education (ICLCLE) (Oct. 25-27) – with more than 150 faculty, students, and K-12 teachers attending.
  • Student successes
    Two College of Education students accepted Fulbright Grants this year: Sara Poulin, to teach English in Greece for a year; and Paige Fulkerson, to teach in Thailand. Another ‘Boilermaker Educator’, Arden Woodall (College of Liberal Arts/English Education) is teaching in Colombia. This is another example of how the College is ‘punching above its weight’ as these students received three of the total 13 Fulbright awards at Purdue this year!

For more ‘quinoa’ examples, see our News webpage.

On behalf of the Purdue University College of Education, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season!

Phillip J. VanFossen
Interim Dean, College of Education

AWARDS AND GRANTS

Paul Asunda, Marisa Exter, Muhsin Menekse

3 faculty receive NSF grants

Hua Hua Chang

Chang receives Messick Award

INTERNATIONAL AND INDIANA IMPACT

Group photo of pa

ELRC collaborates in Somali education intervention

Traynor (seated, near middle) with students in master's data science and undergraduate psychology, Universidad de Nariño

Traynor awarded Fulbright in Colombia

AI/DATA SCIENCE INITIATIVE

Two hands operating a pair of technological equipment.

First AI in P-12 Ed Conference

Headshot of Bill Watson surrounded by a blue futuristic artificial intelligence design.

College leads Purdue Online’s intro course for new MSAI

An over-the-shoulder view of a student using a computer.

GER2I’s summer AI class

CHANGING FACES

Combination graphic of Laura Bofferding, Karen George-Friedman, and Rebecca Marcum
  • CONGRATULATIONS to Laura Bofferding, appointed as the new Associate Department Head of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction!
  • GOOD-BYE & THANKS to Karen George-Friedman, “semi-retiring” as COE’s Grant Development Specialist on Dec. 31, 2024. Karen plans to continue working part-time with Indiana GEAR UP on scholarships. “The College has such a great group of people and I’ve gotten to work with them on so many wonderful projects over the years!” she says. “But when I was working on the GEAR UP proposal I knew I wouldn’t be able to give that project up when we finished, so full retirement will have to wait a little longer.”
  • WELCOME Rebecca Marcum as our new Grant Development Specialist. Rebecca started working remotely on Oct. 14 from her home in Grinnell, Iowa. She holds an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Pennsylvania State University, where she worked for the past decade before starting in the College.
  • GOODBYE & THANKS to Robin Cunningham, who retired in August as our Managing Director for Online Programs. We miss your cheerful smile!
  • WELCOME Christopher Beck as the new Senior Managing Director for Education, Liberal Arts, and Science Online and Professional Education. Chris began on December 2. He has worked with Purdue University Online since 2018, is a recipient of many awards, and is currently a Senior Instructional Design Manager. He earned his PhD in History from Fordham University and has prior experience as a History instructor at Wright State University. 
  • WELCOME TERRON PHILLIPS, JR., as the new State Director of Indiana Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) which recently received a $34.9 million grant from the U.S. DOE to continue its fantastic work with students. Terron is currently a clinical assistant professor in educational leadership and policy studies.

Office of Development

Development Message From Katie Skeel

Thank you to all the alumni, students, and friends I’ve met so far through the many events, college visits, and conferences I’ve participated in. It’s been a pleasure learning about your passions and experiences with Purdue. I’m looking forward in the coming year to getting out and traveling more, so be on the lookout for an email from me soon if I plan to be near you.

As the year draws to a close, we hope you’ll consider the college and our university in your calendar year-end giving plans. It’s through your generous support we are able to make what we do possible while granting opportunities to our next leaders in Education. 

Here are Purdue’s calendar year-end deadlines for giving:

  1. All gifts sent via the United States Postal Service (USPS) must be postmarked by December 31, 2024, for the gifts to count on this year’s taxes.
  2. All gifts shipped via FedEx or UPS are considered delivered when we have received and signed for the package, so shipping via USPS can be friendlier as the December calendar closes. The date on the USPS envelope determines which tax year the gift falls into.
  3. We encourage all wire transfers and/or stock gifts to be initiated by December 13. Please reach out ASAP to receive our most recent transfer instructions.
  4. Online debit or credit card gifts can be made until 11:30 p.m. ET on December 31. Visit the Purdue for Life website and click on the “Give Now” button in the top right corner and choose the unit/designations of your choice from there. The online card limit is $100,000 per transaction. Multiple transactions are allowed.

If we can be of assistance to you, we are only a phone call or email away. I wish every one of you a joyful holiday season.

Boiler Up and Hail Purdue!

Katie Skeel
Senior Director of Development
College of Education

Katie Skeel

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