Patricia Adams Howard, ’79 B.S.B., ’99 M.B.A
Patricia Adams Howard is a proud two-time graduate of Wright State University, earning her bachelor’s degree from Lake Campus in 1979 and her Master of Business Administration from the Raj Soin College of Business in 1999.
Howard’s first encounter with Wright State was at the Western Ohio Branch Campus located in downtown Celina, Ohio, in the winter quarter of 1971. Returning to college after being injured in a severe auto accident, she majored in special education. Howard attended the branch campus for two and a half quarters, then married and moved to West Virginia. The summer of 1975 brought new direction to her academic path. Howard, recently divorced and raising her two-year-old daughter, returned to the branch campus to obtain a degree in accounting. While she was a student she worked a part-time job in the campus bookstore. Upon her graduation, she took over management of the Lake Campus Bookstore.
An active participant in all aspects of the campus, Howard received the Wright State President’s Award for Excellence in Service in 2001. She also received the Volunteer Excellence Award from the Wright State Office of Student Life in 1999. Howard was part of the Celina Lake Festival Steering Committee from 1982 to 1986, serving as general chairman in 1986. She served on the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission Lima Consumer Advisory Council from 1995 to 2003, serving as both vice chair and chair. Howard has also served as vice president/co-secretary of the Celina Combined Services Appeal since 2005.
Athletics has always been a part of Howard’s life and she has been involved with Laker Athletics since 1980, serving as statistician, scorekeeper, search committee member, and reunion basketball game and spirit day coordinator. Howard retired from the Lake Campus Bookstore in July of 2011.
Sridhar Ramachandran, ’01 M.S.E., ’06 Ph.D.
Sridhar Ramachandran is an assistant professor with the Informatics Department at Indiana University Southeast, and was recently appointed as the chair of the Informatics Department upon recommendation from the dean. He received his Ph.D. in 2006 from Wright State University, and has been with Indiana University SE since 2007. Ramachandran also received his Master of Science in Engineering degree from Wright State in 2001.
While at Wright State, he had won the Excellence in Teaching Award for teaching assistants in 2003, the Best Original Research Paper Award in 2006, the Excellence in Teaching Award for adjunct faculty in 2007, and was nominated for the Global Citizen Award in 2007.
Ramachandran’s work and dedication toward his profession as a scientist and educator continues to be recognized. He was awarded the Excellence in Service Award by the IEEE in 2007, the Outstanding Faculty Award by the Kentuckiana Metroversity Adult Outreach Committee in 2010, the Excellence in Teaching Award by the National Society of Leadership and Success in 2011, and this year he has been awarded the Faculty Advisor of the Year award by Indiana University SE.
Ramachandran established the first informatics research lab at Indiana University SE in 2007, which has since overseen the work of 43 undergraduate and five graduate research assistants. His research lab has also helped 13 local nonprofit organizations. Ramachandran’s student-based research projects include designing social robots for children with Down syndrome and autism, computing data from telescopes to track asteroid movement, human DNA analysis, and helping local animal shelters develop techniques to end euthanasia by increasing adoptions.
In 2012, he became the first IU faculty member to receive the National Academic Advising Association’s Outstanding New Faculty Advisor Award for his participation in intrusive advising to build strong relationships with advisees, among other skills.
Ramachandran dedicates his achievements to the outstanding mentoring, advice, and support that he received at Wright State during his student years.