Grand Awards 2008
Many MSU alumni go on to extraordinary achievement. Others help their alma mater in extraordinary ways, through service, financial support and other means.
The MSU Alumni Association has five special awards to honor these achievers—the Distinguished Alumni Award, the Alumni Service Award, the Philanthropist Award, the Honorary Alumni Award, and the Distinguished Young Alumni Award.
The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor the MSUAA bestows on a graduate and indicates extraordinary achievement coupled with the highest possible character. The Alumni Service Award goes to those who have been exceptional in their volunteer service to both MSU and society. The Philanthropist Award is bestowed on donors who rise to a special leadership level. The Honorary Alumni Award goes to those who did not graduate from MSU, but who, through achievement and service, merit that designation. The Distinguished Young Alumni Award goes to individuals whose MSU degree is within the past 10 years.
All these awards are presented at the annual MSU Alumni Association’s Grand Awards ceremony, which takes place on the Thursday evening of Homecoming Week. In recent years, the gala event has become one of the top highlights in MSU’s social calendar, drawing a huge range of attendees, including trustees, the president, the provost, deans and other VIPs.
On Oct. 2 at Kellogg Center, the MSUAA awarded 5 Distinguished Alumni Awards, 2 Philanthropist Awards, 3 Alumni Service Awards, 1 Honorary Alumni Award, and 2 Distinguished Young Alumni Awards.
“We congratulate each and every one of the recipients,” says Stella Cash, interim executive director of the MSU Alumni Association. “Every year we seem to have more nominations submitted to us for review, which is a great indicator of the level of achievement of our alumni. Reading the bios of these people should really make all of us at MSU proud to have produced such outstanding achievers.”
Anyone can nominate candidates for these awards. Just visit the MSU Alumni Association web site at www.msualum.com, then click on Programs, then Grand Awards, to see explanations of each award as well as downloadable nominating forms.
This year’s award winners included people from all areas, ranging from education to engineering, communication to politics. Here are some thumbnail sketches of the 2008-09 awardees:
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD
?Henry Butler, M.S. ’74 (Music), of Denver, Colorado, is a well-known musician and composer, a five-time nominee for the “W.C. Handy Best Instrumentalist – Piano” award. He is considered one of the nation’s most influential jazz pianists.
? Robert Goodman, M.A. ’65 (Economics), Ph.D. ’70 (Economics), is an economic consultant and retired senior economic advisor at Putnam Investments, Cos Cob, Connecticut.
?Diane Neal, B.S. ’79 (Communication Arts & Sciences), is the CEO of Bath & Body Works, New Albany, Ohio. She was previously head of the outlet division of Gap Inc.
? Russell Palmer, B.A. ’56 (Business), is chairman & CEO of The Palmer Group, Philadelphia, PA. He was formerly dean of the Wharton School of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
?Sharif Shakrani, M.A.’69 (Education), PhD. ’73 (Education), of Bath, Michigan, is professor and co-director of the Education Policy Center at MSU.
PHILANTHROPIST AWARD
? Alvin & Irene Arens, of Okemos, Michigan. Alvin is MSU faculty emeritus, professor, researcher, and author. They are members of MSU’s Kedzie Society.
?Robert, B.A. ’74 (Business) & Julie Skandalaris, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Robert is chairman, Quantum Ventures of Michigan, LLC, and Julie is a registered nurse. They are members of MSU’s Williams Society.
ALUMNI SERVICE AWARD
? Barbara Sawyer-Koch, M.P.A. ’90 (Social Science), of East Lansing, Michigan. She retired from the Office of Strategic Planning, Michigan Department of Treasury. She was on Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees from 1978-94, serving as chairperson in 1983-84.
?Clarence Stewart, B.S. ’73 (Agriculture), of Bath, Michigan, is an upland game bird specialist with the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources.
?Stephen, B.A. ’82 (Social Science), & Karen Wolf, B.A. ’82 (Social Science), of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Stephen is vice president, Human Resources, Aquinas College, and Karen is a consultant for West Michigan Strategic Alliance.
HONORARY ALUMNI AWARD
? Mordechai Kreinin, of East Lansing, MI, is a distinguished professor in MSU’s Department of Economics.
DISTINGUISHED YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD
? Christopher Brown, J.D. ’99 (MSU College of Law), of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is an attorney & partner with Miller Johnson.
? Ryan Vartoogian, B.S. ’01 (Agriculture), of Haslett, Michigan, is founder and CEO of Spartan Internet Consulting, a fast-growing IT company in Lansing.