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Faculty or Staff Member

The Heart of the Herd

Research lab portrait.
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Dedication that’s valued.

At the heart of the Herd, there’s you: a faculty or staff member committed to the Mastodon community. You lead with determination, teach with expertise, and guide with compassion, all while supporting students—and each other. 

2023 Commencement

Join the celebration. 

Commencement will be on May 10 at 4 p.m. in the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. You are encouraged to attend and participate in this joyous occasion for our students and university. If you are a faculty member and wish to participate in the ceremony, you may register here.

If you need to rent regalia, please use the link below. There will be no regalia pickup on campus this year, as everything will be shipped directly to you. The deadline for orders is April 6.

Student receiving diploma
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Dedicated People
“I’m here to help connect with students so they feel comfortable and welcome on campus.”
Rhonda Meriwether, Director of the Multicultural Center
Rhonda Meriwether is standing in front of the Multicultural Center office
Dedicated People
“I show that I care by pushing you to do your best.”
Terri Swim, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Programs
Portrait of Terri Swim
Dedicated People
“I just enjoy connecting with international students on campus and getting to know them and their culture.”
Mike Slaubaugh, Professor of Accounting
Portrait of Mike Slaubaugh
Dedicated People
“You have to learn to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ a lot, and ‘We’ll work to make it better.’ It’s stressful, but I have a good group of people who work for me who make things a lot easier.”
Kirk Tolliver, Associate Director for Payroll and Compensation
Portrait of Kirk Toliver
Dedicated People
“Of all the schools I’ve worked at, there is none like this which hustles to help the kids get internships and jobs. There’s no school better.”
Heather Tierney, Associate Professor of Economics
Portrait of Heather Tierney in her office
Dedicated People
“You still want to learn every day.”
Tom Wilson, Technical and Facilities Manager, Special Events
Tom Wilson is smiling
Dedicated People
“There is laughter in our office each and every day and we all value and support each other in so many ways. It’s such a great work culture for which we are all so grateful.”
Lisa Brodasky, Executive Assistant and Business Operations Manager, Doermer School of Business
Lisa Brodasky is sitting in her office
Dedicated People
“I love what this place stands for. How could you not love working at a place that changes people’s lives for the better?”
Diana Jackson, Special Projects Manager, Business Manager, Director of the PFW Foundation
Portrait of Diana Jackson
Dedicated People
“You get the right faculty and people who care and show you the path, it makes a massive difference.”
Rick Sutter, Professor of Anthropology
Portrait of Professor Richard Sutter
Dedicated People
“I think we forget how impactful we can be on these humans’ lives, especially as they navigate the changes they will go through during their time as a student here.”
James Velez, Director of Student Life
James Velez is speaking at a lectern
Dedicated People
“That’s what I tell everybody, you are going to make mistakes. I made some stupid ones in my life. Good people make mistakes. This is an educational environment, and it’s a good chance to teach them and to learn.”
Tim Potts, Chief, Purdue University Fort Wayne Police Department
Portrait of Police Chief Tim Potts
Dedicated People
“As the designer, you have the ability to change the environment and change the world, and help people in many different ways.”
Suining Ding, Professor of Interior Design
Suining Ding teaches a class
Dedicated People
“I love what I do. I almost feel like this is my second home because I’ve always loved coming to work. I feel pretty confident in what I do, and I have great support and great people that I see and talk to. I’d really miss them.”
Jane Hirschbiel, Administrative Assistant, Department of Accounting
Portrait of Jane Herschbiel
Dedicated People
“For me, doing this job is very personal because I know what it’s like to be a student with a disability.”
Ryan McCombs, Director, Disability Access Center
Portrait of Ryan McCombs, director of the Disability Access Center at Purdue Fort Wayne
Dedicated People
“I’ve just enjoyed working with technology and making an impact on students. When I was a freshman and I had to make a presentation, I did it using notecards. Now, we’ve given students the opportunity to have a cool presentation with audio and video, and they can change their presentation.”
Brian Spaulding, Assistant Director of Technology Support and Esports
Brian Spaulding working in the 3D lab at Purdue Fort Wayne
Dedicated People
“You have to adapt the material as well. You can fill the gap and adjust the materials to help them get to where they need to be. You have to give them the chance to fail, but don’t discourage them, let them set more little milestones than the big thing. Let them build up.”
Chao Chen, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Professor Chao Chen teaching in a classroom
Dedicated People
“You can see people who are smiling and are happy. If you get to see people who are happy, that’s a good day. If you can keep people content, half the battle of your job is done. We all take pride in this place.”
Portrait of Jerry McCagg
Artistic Mastodon

Employee Essentials

Quick links for every day.

Check your email, request time off, access important training tools. 

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Inside PFW Newsletter Archive

Inside PFW, the university’s faculty and staff newsletter, is produced twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday. Inside PFW Special Edition covers breaking news and time-sensitive information directly related to university operations.
 

Access the Archive