Melinda Zook
Please join me in congratulating Melinda Zook, professor of history and director of the Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program, for winning the Helen B. Schleman Gold Medallion award from the Purdue University Mortar Board Society. Created in 1968 by the university’s Mortar Board members, Women’s Residence Council, Panhellenic, and Off-Campus Women, the annual award and cash prize go to a faculty or staff member who has matched the goals of former Dean Schleman, who served as dean of women from 1947-1968. Melinda will also keynote the annual Mortar Board initiation breakfast.
Melinda’s research on Tudor-Stuart England, focused on women and gender, is highly respected. And her service to the College of Liberal Arts has been incredibly valuable as she played a central role in envisioning, developing, and launching the Cornerstone program. By building relationships across campus, undergraduates from all majors at Purdue have an opportunity to study transformative texts of human history as they develop their communication skills taught by teachers who represent the best the College has to offer.
As director of Cornerstone, Melinda was invited to participate in an Inside Higher Ed event titled, “The Future of Gen Ed,” at Gallup headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was one of Inside Higher Ed’s Leadership Series events, where academic leaders gather to discuss key topics. Melinda is collaborating with colleagues from Columbia, Yale, and others to advance a new vision for the undergraduate experience at large research universities that will influence higher education broadly.
Congratulations, Professor Zook!
David A. Reingold
Justin S. Morrill Dean
College of Liberal Arts