Purdue University Calumet Chancellor Howard Cohen, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr. and Purdue Alumni Calumet vice president Tom Mavronicles display “Perigrine Country” banners that have been displayed along Kennedy Avenue and Indianapolis Boulevard.

While the city of Hammond may not typically be referred to as a college town, a portion of the city’s Woodmar and Hessville sections has been designated “Peregrine Country,” representative of Purdue University Calumet’s athletic mascot.

Spearheaded by the Purdue Calumet alumni association (Purdue Alumni Calumet) and its vice president, Thomas Mavronicles, in partnership with city of Hammond and the university, 40 street banners proclaiming, “This Is Peregrine Country,” are now displayed on street light pole standards along the west side of Kennedy Avenue and east side of Indianapolis Boulevard between 169th and 173rd Streets.

The banners feature three distinct looks. While each displays the head of Purdue Calumet’s swift flying Peregrine falcon mascot and the words, “This Is Peregrine Country,” on the lower half, the above portion shows either the official logo of Purdue University Calumet, Purdue Alumni Calumet or the city of Hammond.

Purdue Alumni Calumet funded the $2,500 project, which Mavronicles, a 1972 Purdue Calumet graduate, said has been a dream of his for more than two years.

“During my travels around the country, frequently, when I would come into a town, I became impressed by the banner pendants announcing that I was in a college community,” he said. “So I thought, ‘Why not banners for Purdue Cal?”

Other Purdue Alumni Calumet board members supported Mavronicles’ idea. So did Purdue Calumet Chancellor Howard Cohen and Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr., who also is a Purdue Calumet alumnus.

“I am proud of the education Purdue University Calumet provided me; yet, there are relatively few signs and displays of where the university is located,” Mavronicles said. “So I’m excited to get behind a project that identifies this section of south Hammond as Purdue Cal territory and Peregrine country.”

Aside from designating the Purdue Calumet campus neighborhood, Purdue Calumet Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Diana Virijevich said the banners represent a partnership among the university, city and alumni association. “These banners symbolize a sense of pride and collaboration,” she said.

2009 Honorees (click on names to view their bio)

School of Education

Toni R. Mitchell (Valparaiso, IN) Principal, Knapp Elementary School (Michigan City, IN); Department of Graduate Studies in Education

Denise Hughes (Munster, IN) Principal, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School (Hammond, IN); Department of Teacher Preparation Award

School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Mitchell J. Macenski (Minneapolis, MN), Global Director of Clinical Affairs, Zimmer Spine (Edina, MN); Department of Behavioral Sciences Award

Roman Modrowski (Chicago, IL) Senior Editor, ESPNChicago.com (Chicago, IL); Department of Communication and Creative Arts Award

April Heltsley (Bloomington, IN) Senior Faculty Lecturer, Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Operations and Decision Technologies (Bloomington, IN); Department of English and Philosophy Award

Richard Gianni (Crown Point, IN) Senior Faculty Member and Director of Westwood Writing and Learning Center, Westwood College; Limited Term Lecturer, Purdue University Calumet; Freelance Editor, Cengage Publishing; Department of History and Political Science Award

School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science

David George (Chicago, IL) Director of Bioinformatics, Precision Biomarker Resources (Evanston, IL); Department of Biological Sciences Award

Jon Aros (Valparaiso, IN) Environmental Chemist, Hammond Sanitary District (Hammond, IN); Department of Chemistry and Physics Award

Susan M. Jackson (La Porte, IN) Global Sales and Export Manager, Environmental Technology, Inc. (South Bend, IN); Department of Electrical Engineering Award

Jeff Schieb (Hammond, IN) Associate Director for the Office of Institutional Research and Continuing Lecturer, Purdue University Calumet (Hammond, IN); Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics Award

Dale Wiersbe (St. John, IN) Retired, former President & CEO Ispat Inland; Department of Mechanical Engineering Award

School of Management

Marisol Yvonne Edmond (Merrillville, IN) Revenue Agent, Internal Revenue Service (Merillville, IN); Department of Accounting Award

Michael Januszewski (Crown Point, IN) Senior Equity Trader, William Blair & Company, LLC (Chicago, IL); Department of Finance and Economics Award

Toma Lukajic (Crown Point, IN) Chief Financial Officer, Bayshore Properties, Inc. (Merrillville, IN); Department of Information Systems Award

Kasey Rodell (Crown Point, IN) Director of Client Consulting, The Nielsen Company (Chicago, IL); Department of Marketing, Human Resources and Management Award

Eva Quiroz (Merrillville, IN) Case Manager, Wellpoint (Indianapolis, IN); MBA Award

School of Nursing

Patricia Breitweiser (Crown Point, IN) Supervisor of Health Services, School City of Hammond (Hammond, IN); School of Nursing Award

School of Technology

Brian H. McShane (Munster, IN) President and CEO, McShane’s (Munster, IN); Department of Construction Science and Organizational Leadership Award

Fred C. Keith (Schererville, IN) IT Manager, Ford Motor Company (Chicago, IL); Department of Engineering Technology Award

Timothy Kovacik (Schererville, IN) Manager of Network Services Infrastructure Worldwide, Griffith Laboratories (Alsip, IL); Department of Computer Information Technology and Graphics Award

Check out the Annual Awards tab above for more information on Alumni Leaders Day.