2022 Special Boilermaker Award recipients announced

The Purdue for Life Foundation has named John Cox and Antonia Munguia recipients of the 2022 Special Boilermaker Award for their dedication to Purdue.

Established in 1981, the award honors members of the Purdue faculty or staff who have contributed significantly to the improvement of the quality of life and/or the betterment of the educational experience for a substantial number of Purdue students.

Matt Folk, president and CEO of the Purdue for Life Foundation, presented the recipients with pewter locomotive sculptures on the field at Ross-Ade Stadium on Oct. 15 during the Purdue vs. Nebraska game.

Cox recently retired as chief of the Purdue University Police Department, which he joined in 2000. He spent more than 35 years working for law enforcement in the community. According to his nominators, “He has been a progressive advocate in transparency in today’s law enforcement and has devoted countless hours, day and night, to ensure our campus community remains a safe place to study, live and work.”

Munguia is director of recruitment, retention and diversity at Purdue Polytechnic Institute. Her nominators wrote, “She constantly looks for ways to do more for students — ways to improve student success; enroll and retain more female and underrepresented students; and improve diversity, equity and belonging in the college.”

Purdue for Life accepts nominations for the Special Boilermaker Award from March 1 until June 1. Nominations may be made by any person or group affiliated with Purdue — students, faculty, staff or alumni. The names of recipients are inscribed on the recognition obelisk on Purdue Mall and on a plaque in the Dick and Sandy Dauch Alumni Center.

For more information about the award, contact Courtney Cassady, senior director of outreach and volunteerism, at cmcassady@purdueforlife.org.