|
 |
|
About Continuum Advertising Advisory Committee Archives Contact Us Continuum Home Faculty/Staff Subscribe related websites Alumni Association Marketing & Communications University of Utah Home |
Alumni Association NewsSpringtime Is Award TimeAt the end of every academic year, the University of Utah Alumni Association and its Young Alumni Board present select faculty, staff, students—and an alumnus/a “par excellence”—with awards for outstanding achievement in student counseling and community service, as well as academic and professional accomplishments. Also acknowledged are recipients of Alumni Association scholarships, with funds amounting to more than $150,000 in 2007-08, and outstanding seniors, who are chosen by the deans and administrations of the various campus colleges for their academic achievements and potential. This year’s award recipients were acknowledged at the Spring Awards Banquet on April 17. The Par Excellence Award is given to a former student who attended the U within the last 15 years and has given outstanding service to the University, the community, and/or his/her profession. Neil H. Ashdown BA’93 MPA’97, Ph.D., is chief of staff for Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. Previously, he served as Gov. Huntsman’s deputy chief of staff for policy, deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, and chief economist to Utah governors Michael O. Leavitt and Olene Walker. He has served as president of the Wasatch Front Economic Forum, the Utah chapter of the National Association for Business Economics, and the Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Board. Ashdown holds a doctorate in political science with a focus in international political economy, public policy, and administration from the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Albany. He has contributed extensively to public policy research and is author of The Impact of Banking Policy on Trade and Global Stability. Ashdown is also an adjunct associate professor in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Utah. “Neil Ashdown epitomizes the title ‘public servant.’ He is a man of integrity, intelligence, and hard work who dedicates his time and talents to the benefit of our state. His youth and devotion ensure a continued legacy of mentoring and example to all those who are around him.”
The Faculty/Staff Community Service Award acknowledges outstanding service to the community (without remuneration) by a faculty or staff member. Lynette Danley, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy (ELP) and the Ethnic Studies Program, dedicates many hours to mentoring students from her own and other departments and programs. She also works with prospective and continuing college students as a youth council mentor at both Calvary Baptist Church and New Pilgrim Church in Salt Lake City. In 2006, she initiated the program Black Butterflies: Empowering Black Girls to Live their Legacy (formerly known as Mentors Do Matter), which reaches out to African American high school-aged girls to provide early direction toward personal and professional success. Danley holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Education (Sociology/Afro-American History) from Western Illinois University (Macomb), an M.S.E. in Higher Education Administration from Drake University (Des Moines, Iowa), and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (with Honors) from Iowa State University (Ames). “I am always amazed by [Lynette’s] dedication, compassion, and, above all, her humility. She never seeks attention for the things she does… much of [which] goes unnoticed. Service is not what she does, service is who she is.”
The Philip and Miriam Perlman Award is given to a faculty or staff member who has made outstanding contributions to the University through his/her student advising and counseling. Bryan B. Eldredge BA’68, associate director and career advisor of Masters Programs and Services for the David Eccles School of Business, has provided 12 years of outstanding counseling and service to MBA students and graduates, helping organize professional development and skill enhancement workshops; a mentor program; and the WorkNet Program, which facilitates meetings between students, alumni, and upper-level management in companies nationwide. She also co-founded the Women’s MBA Alumni Association, which provides support for female business leaders. Eldredge has received numerous honors for her achievements, including the Dean’s Most Valuable Employee Award and four staff recognition awards. In addition to her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Utah, Eldredge achieved degré superieur at L’Université Bordeaux-Toulouse, Pau, France. “Bryan is a relentless advocate for students, often insisting, with great humor and a positive disposition, that we think carefully about the impact of our decisions on the students.”
For more information on the 2008 scholarship recipients and Outstanding Seniors, click here. Return to Summer 2008 table of contents | Back to top Alumni Chapter Chatter Texas Lone Star Alumni Chapter event: Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs David Pershing (left) stands next to Brad Mayne BS’78, president and CEO of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and Dean of the College of Fine Arts Raymond Tymas-Jones.
Institutional Advancement and the Alumni Association are collaborating on energizing alumni chapters around the country. During Spring Semester 2008, several regional events were held to provide alumni with the opportunity to meet and hear from prominent U of U alumni and administrators. Highlights: ARIZONA More than 65 U of U alumni and friends gathered at Diablo Stadium in Tempe on March 8 for a spring training outing, enjoying a barbecue before watching the Los Angeles Angels take on the San Francisco Giants. Salt Lake Bees Vice President and General Manager Marc Amicone BS’80 MS’94, who hosted the event, shared insights into his experiences as former assistant athletic director in the U’s Athletics Department as well as his current gig with the Bees baseball team. TEXAS LONE STAR In early March, American Airlines Center President and CEO Brad Mayne BS’78 hosted U alumni and friends at the American Airlines Center, home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and NHL’s Dallas Stars. Mayne spoke to the crowd about sports and entertainment marketing, or “Sportainment,” and then offered a behind-the-scenes tour of the Dallas Mavericks’ legendary and luxurious locker room and practice facilities. U of U Vice President for Academic Affairs David Pershing was on hand, along with other U of U administrators, including Raymond Tymas-Jones, dean of the College of Fine Arts. SOUTHERN NEVADA Panevino Ristorante was the location for the biannual Southern Nevada Alumni Chapter luncheon, held on March 12 in Las Vegas. Thomas & Mack Co. Managing Partner Tom Thomas BA’82 JD’86 addressed a gathering of more than 50 alumni and friends on “Weathering the Commercial Development Downturn,” providing an overview of the national situation, as well as taking a closer look at Las Vegas. One way to determine the health of a city, he said, is to look at the number of cranes dotting the city skyline—currently 46—which means things aren’t as bad as they seem. University administrators in attendance included Law School Dean Hiram Chodosh, Alumni Association Executive Director John Ashton BS’66 JD’69, and Associate Athletics Director Chris Ritrievi. SOUTHERN UTAH Alumni and friends were treated to three exceptional lectures between January and March 2008, featuring some of the U’s most distinguished faculty: Return to Summer 2008 table of contents
| Back to top Welcome, Lindsay!A new director of marketing comes to the Alumni Association. Lindsay Allen
Lindsay Allen BS’04 was born in California, spent her youth in Florida, moved to Utah as a teenager, and now considers herself a true Utahn—and a red-blooded Ute to boot, with good reason: A U of U graduate in communication, Allen is married to a U grad; she began her professional career at the U and is working on her M.Ed. here; and last March she signed on at the U’s Alumni Association as director of marketing. “I am truly honored to join the Alumni Association and to have the privilege of working with a great team,” says Lindsay. “Our goal is to improve the marketing of the Association and, in the process, maintain closer contact with our alumni.” Lindsay’s previous experience as marketing and public relations manager at the David Eccles School of Business will prove very useful. There, she headed up two marketing and rebranding campaigns, producing commercials, brochures and advertisements, a newsletter, and other marketing materials. She was also responsible for the school’s Web site content and worked to increase its local and national media exposure. At the Alumni Association, Lindsay will head up marketing of memberships, U of U license plates, the Scholarship Walkway, and other projects related to development and outreach. “One of the Association’s primary goals is to build a stronger membership program that incorporates members as an integral part of the Association’s overall mission,” says Lindsay. “Membership is vital to pretty much everything we do and hope to accomplish, so its importance can’t be overstated.” After hours, Lindsay continues to study for her M.Ed., attending classes through the Education, Culture and Society program at the College of Education and maintaining a 3.98 GPA. What little room there is left over for personal enjoyment, she and her husband, John, fill with outdoor activities—backpacking, biking, camping, running, and walking their Labrador retriever, Bella. For information about Alumni Association membership and benefits, U of U license plates, and the Scholarship Walkway, contact Lindsay at (801) 581-3857 or lindsay.allen@alumni.utah.edu. |
Founders Day ScholarLynnette A. Averill is working to improve the care and treatment of war veterans.  Founders Day Scholar Lynnette A. Averill poses for a commemorative photo with Prof. Mario Capecchi, recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology and the Alumni Association’s 2008 Honorary Alumnus Award. The photo was taken at the Founders Day Celebration this past February.
The Founders Day Scholarship was established by the Alumni Association to honor a student who is not only an outstanding scholar but who has also successfully confronted significant challenges in his or her personal life. This year’s recipient, Lynnette A. Averill, meets all of those criteria, and more. Born and raised in a small town in Montana, Lynnette experienced tragedy early on in life. Her father, a Vietnam War veteran, returned home traumatized by his experiences. After spending 15 years in and out of VA hospitals, and “no longer able to face the horror of his dreams,” he took his own life. His death left young Lynnette and her mother struggling both emotionally and financially. Then, when Lynnette was 7, her mother became chronically ill and spent the rest of her life—until her death in 2004—in and out of the hospital. Living in a tiny town, with few relatives to look after her, Lynnette was granted “emancipated minor status” at age 12 to avoid being placed in foster care. She continued to live at home, looking after her mother and taking care of herself when her mother was hospitalized. Lynnette had decided to pursue college outside of Montana and headed for the University of Utah, but, upon arrival on the U campus, she felt suddenly overwhelmed. “The U is bigger than the town I grew up in,” she says, “and I just couldn’t face it.” Instead, she enrolled at the smaller private school just down the road, Westminster College, where she flourished with the help of a partial scholarship and student loans. Working full time in the college’s Admissions Office, Lynnette took classes in the evening and studied into the wee hours afterward. It was, she says, “exhausting.” Even so, she made the Dean’s List every year from 2000 to 2005, when she was named the “Outstanding Graduating Senior Psychology Student” and the “Outstanding Graduating Arts & Sciences Student,” and finished up with a 3.65 grade-point average. Lynnette is currently a doctoral candidate in the U’s Counseling Psychology Program. She intends to focus her doctoral thesis on assessing the effectiveness of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment for war veterans—“because the veterans have traditionally been underserved,” she says—and, no doubt, because of her childhood experiences. She complements her research on the topic by serving as a psychology intern at the VA hospital in Salt Lake City (since 2004), where she has run treatment groups and conducted assessments of veterans. The recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, Lynnette will continue her research on PTSD for a year in Australia, and then return to the U to finish her doctorate. She eventually hopes to combine her passion for both clinical practice and research in a VA hospital setting.
|