June 19, 2009

Appointments, honors and activities

— Brent Bowen, the chair of the Parks College Department of Aviation Science at St. Louis University, will join Purdue as the new department head for the Department of Aviation Technology in the College of Technology. Bowen's appointment is effective July 1. He is the founder of the national Airline Quality Rating, which he will bring to Purdue. Bowen started the ranking, which will be done in conjunction with Wichita State University, in 1990 to study the performance and quality of major airlines. A Purdue search committee, co-chaired by professors Marvin Sarapin and Duane Dunlap, selected Bowen.

• Faculty and staff honors

— The Department of Communication's student-produced TV newsmagazine "Fast Track" received a spring 2009 DV award for its April 24 show. The DV Awards acknowledge achievements in digital video production. "Fast Track" covers Purdue and local news each semester. Clinical assistant Patricia Saul Rochon is the "Fast Track" producer.

— Karen S. Yehle, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing, will present an oral research abstract at the annual meeting of the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses. The meeting is scheduled for June 25-27 in Minneapolis. Her abstract, titled "Baccalaureate Student's Knowledge of Heart Failure Education Concepts," was chosen as one of the top abstracts in the oral presentation session. Karen Chang, also an assistant professor in the School of Nursing, was the co-principal investigator on the research study.

• Student honors

— Several students were honored for their leadership and work with the Black Cultural Center during the center's annual awards banquet this spring. Sydney Garrett, a senior from Merrillville, Ind., received the Howard G. McCall Award. Bryan Gilliam, a senior from Indianapolis, was awarded the Nettie L. Hubbard Award. JoBeth Robison, a senior from Elgin, Ill., was given the Morgan Imani Guice Award. Keeanna Reid, a junior from Carmel, Ind.; Demetrius Warren, a sophomore from Gary, Ind.; Zeina Marie Saba, a senior from Safat, Kuwait; Shalyse Tindell, a sophomore from Oxford, N.J.; Nicholas D. Krebs, a junior from Billerica, Mass.; Wenxin Zhang, a senior from of West Lafayette; Loren Cobb, a junior from West Lafayette; Philindia Gant, a senior from West Lafayette; and Brian Williams of West Lafayette were recipients of the Donna Hall Academic Excellence Award.

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