Purdue University Northwest marks 10 years during Founders Day celebration

HAMMOND and WESTVILLE, Ind. — 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 on March 8.

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

Purdue University Northwest

Purdue University Northwest (PNW) is a student-centered university that transforms lives through innovative education, impactful research and community engagement. Located in Northwest Indiana, near Chicago, PNW is recognized as a First Gen Forward Network Leader and an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University. PNW advances the socioeconomic mobility of its students and positively impacts regional development. For more information, visit pnw.edu.