November 15, 2023
2023 Outstanding Leadership in Globalization Award winners announced; nominations sought for 2024
Purdue’s Office of Global Partnerships and Global Academic Committee are recognizing winners of Purdue’s 2023 Outstanding Leadership in Globalization Award, including Jill Newton, professor of mathematics education, who developed a Maymester in Tanzania program. (Photo provided)
During International Education Week (Nov. 13-17), Purdue’s Office of Global Partnerships and Global Academic Committee are recognizing the four winners of Purdue’s 2023 Outstanding Leadership in Globalization Award.
This year’s faculty winners are Jill Newton, professor of mathematics education in the College of Education, and Yuehwern Yih, director of the LASER PULSE Consortium, director of the Smart Systems and Operations Laboratory and professor of industrial engineering in the College of Engineering. The two staff winners are Gary Burniske, assistant director for program development in International Programs in Agriculture, and Rhonda Von Werder, PAGE and Global Fellows program manager in the College of Engineering.
These university-level awards are given annually to recognize faculty and staff for their dedicated efforts to increase Purdue’s global recognition as a leader in higher education, either comprehensively or within a specific land-grant mission pillar. Globalization in this context is defined as developing, facilitating and sustaining programs and activities — in partnership with universities, agencies and private-sector constituents outside the United States — that further Purdue’s institutional strategic goals embodied in Purdue's Next Moves. Specifically, the awards recognize exceptional endeavors that involve faculty and/or students from Purdue and international counterparts in learning, discovery and/or engagement.
Jill Newton – Faculty Comprehensive Award
Supporting her nomination, the College of Education noted how “Dr. Newton weaves globalization throughout her teaching, discovery and engagement, blurring the lines between the domains and capitalizing on opportunities to collaborate with U.S. scholars … and international partners to build global communities, enhance intercultural learning opportunities and explore the impact of these experiences.” Along with Newton’s Maymester in Tanzania program, which has provided more than 200 students with the opportunity to participate in a global experience in Tanzania, her willingness to adapt during COVID-19 by developing the Global Social Justice in Education community to make online connections between Purdue students and international scholars epitomized her commitment to globalization at Purdue.
Yuehwern Yih – Faculty Engagement Award
Yih’s leadership is evident through her work in multiple countries, including South Sudan and Ukraine. In Ukraine alone, her E+TRA system (Electronic TRAnsparent TRAcking system) helped 20,000 families and approximately 60,000 people in early 2023, ensuring that they received vital humanitarian aid. Jan P. Allebach, Purdue’s Hewlett-Packard Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said: “Dr. Yih strives to make a difference in people’s lives, especially those who need humanitarian relief (e.g., food, water, medicine, hygiene, shelter) due to natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, drought, flood, pandemics), conflicts (e.g. war, violence, crime), or low resources,” exemplifying her leadership in international development efforts and global engagement on behalf of Purdue.
Gary Burniske – Staff Comprehensive Award
Throughout his time at Purdue, Burniske has served as academic director for the four Mandela Washington Fellows Leadership Institutes and co-authored several NSF-funded projects, exemplifying his comprehensive leadership in globalization on Purdue’s campus. In support of Burniske’s nomination, Gerald Shively, associate dean and director of International Programs in Agriculture, said Burniske’s “impacts truly have been comprehensive and impactful in all three of Purdue’s land-grant mission areas. Gary’s enthusiasm for global programs is infectious, and his positive ‘can-do’ attitude is often the essential element in developing the teams necessary to successfully compete for external grants and contracts. Every day, Gary Burniske is working to help globalize learning, discovery and engagement on Purdue’s campus.”
Rhonda Von Werder – Staff Engagement Award
In her letter of support, Rhonda Haan, executive assistant in the College of Agriculture, said Von Werder “has worked with hundreds of students and faculty to ensure the first steps in the introduction of Purdue University. Whether it is a high school student studying STEM-related courses or students traveling from abroad for the first time and learning how to do research, Rhonda has been there to help guide them along. She takes her role as PAGE and Global Fellows manager very seriously and goes above and beyond for her students. For many international visitors, this is a first look at Purdue and the United States. She helps take the fear and anxiety out of their experience and pours a lot of time, effort and heart into making these students feel cared for and catered to. They return to their own country having learned about engineering, but more importantly, how to live and navigate the world abroad.” Whether on campus or virtually, the numerous programs created and administered by Von Werder engage students from around the world.
The Outstanding Leadership in Globalization Awards are monetary awards open to all categories of full-time university faculty and staff members on the West Lafayette campus. Following the existing procedures for administering faculty and staff awards, each college or unit may submit up to three nominations for each award (i.e., three for faculty and three for staff) by March 4, 2024.
Nomination instructions are available online:
These awards were created to further reinforce the importance of the global outreach undertaken by Purdue faculty and staff. The awards demonstrate the institution’s commitment to Purdue's Next Moves, promoting world-changing research and transformative education for the benefit of the entire Purdue community of faculty, staff and students, as well as stakeholders abroad.
International Education Week celebrates the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. A joint initiative of the U.S. departments of State and Education, the week promotes programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attracts future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences.
