Purdue University Northwest (PNW) campus community members celebrated the major milestone of 10 years of changing students' lives during the university’s 2026 Founders Day event held recently.
PNW’s Founders Day is an annual university tradition celebrating the anniversary of the university’s founding and the institution’s mission to support students through innovative education, impactful research and community engagement. The 2026 event also served as a celebration of PNW’s 10th anniversary.
During the event, several exceptional students, faculty and staff members were recognized with awards for their actions demonstrating service and leadership for the university community. Winners were selected through a peer-nominated process. Select PNW employees were also honored for their years of service. See the listing below to read more about the recipients.
AWARD WINNERS
Two PNW students received awards for their service in the following categories:
Outstanding Undergraduate Student
Naman Goyal, senior Computer Science student
Outstanding Graduate Student
Mary Buksa, Master of Business Administration candidate
Five PNW faculty members were honored with outstanding faculty awards in the areas of scholarship, teaching and engagement. They are as follows:
Outstanding Faculty Awards
Grethe Hystad, associate professor of Statistics - Scholarship
Michael Tu, professor of Computer Information Technology — Scholarship
Deanne Shimala, clinical assistant professor of Accounting and Finance — Teaching (non-tenure)
John Durocher, Nils K. Nelson Endowed Professor of Integrative Human Health - Teaching (tenure)
Shontrai Irving, clinical professor of Business Law — Engagement
PNW administrators and staff members who received awards in each of the following categories are as follows:
Outstanding Administrative Leadership Award
Brian Miller, director of Public Safety
Lyndsey Schaap, associate director of Student Success and Special Populations
Outstanding Support Staff Award
Amy Bugg, administrative assistant for Facilities Services
Jennifer Lynn Marynowski, administrative assistant for the department of Computer Science
Outstanding Service Staff Award
Eric Montealegre, Custodian
Will L. Lewis, Service Worker
Outstanding Management and Administrative Professional Award
Kim Frazier, Registration and Enrollment Services Administrator
Heather Runyan-Starzak, Recruitment Manager
