|
October 22, 2007
ELLENSBURG, Wash.-- The Central Washington University Alumni Association announces the 2007 recipients of its awards for Distinguished Alumni, Special Achievement and Excellence in Teaching. The awards will be presented at the annual Alumni Banquet held during Homecoming Weekend. This year's banquet will be on Friday, October 26, 2007, in Central's Tunstall Hall. Open to the public, the event kicks off with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and is followed by dinner at 6 p.m. For more information and reservations, contact the alumni office at 509-963-2752 or alumni@cwu.edu.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards are awarded annually to CWU graduates of 20 years or more who are recognized for achievement in their professional field and who have made a positive contribution to society. Recipients are each nominated by the university's four colleges. The 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are:
- Jill Jones, 1981, nominated by the College of Arts and Humanities. Jones is the former executive vice president of creative marketing for Universal Pictures Consumer Products Group. Jones is now the principal of her own consulting company, Jill Jones Creative, which represents some of the largest studios in the entertainment industry. She is the recipient of numerous industry awards for her creative and marketing campaigns for film, television and licensing.
- Douglas Wood, 1987, nominated by the College of Business. Wood is the chief operating officer for Tommy Bahama, where he is responsible for operations, finance, human resources and information technology for the popular Seattle-based company that specializes in clothing, accessories and home furnishings. Wood is an Ellensburg native.
- Virginia Beavert, 1986, nominated by the College of the Sciences. Beavert, an elder of the Yakama Nation, is a nationally recognized expert in Native American languages. She has devoted her life to preserving a comprehensive written form of the Yakama language. She teaches the Yakama dialect as a foreign language at Heritage College.
- Gregory Heacock, 1983, nominated by the College of Education and Professional Studies. Heacock is the co-founder of several companies including Sensor and Retica Systems, which produces retinal authentication systems used by government, industry and business. His work in the field of ocular instruments has also resulted in more than 30 device patents and products used by ophthalmologists worldwide.
The Special Achievement Award is presented to CWU graduates of 20 years or less who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their professional field. Alumni, former students, friends, faculty and staff of CWU make the nominations. The 2007 Special Achievement Award winner is:
- Patricia Loera, 1989, is an American success story. The daughter of immigrant farm workers, she graduated cum laude from CWU, then earned a law degree from the University of Washington. After serving as an assistant attorney general for the state of Washington, she joined the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Washington, DC, and became legislative director for the National Association for Bilingual Education. Loera is now a program officer with the largest foundation in the world, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Excellence in Teaching Award is presented annually to four non-tenured CWU faculty members who exemplify the ideals of superb and creative teaching along with student development and research. The 2007 Excellence in Teaching Award recipients are:
- College of Arts and Humanities: Eric Mayer is an assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Languages who specializes in Spanish Renaissance and Baroque literatures. He has played a major role in the effort to build a CWU Center for Latino and Latin American Studies.
- College of Business: Chad Wassell, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics, teaches on the economics of pollution control, renewable energy and natural resource usage. Wassell's research includes the economics of biodiesel and the impacts of higher education faculty unionization.
- College of Education and Professional Studies: David Rawlinson is an associate professor in Information Technology and Administrative Management who teaches on the issues of security, privacy and ethics, as well as networking and data security. Rawlinson's research involves students' attitudes concerning software piracy.
- College of the Sciences: Sarah Britto, an associate professor in Law and Justice, teaches research methods, ethics, media, gender and crime theory. Britto has conducted research in the areas of the media and fear of crime, restorative justice, and inequality and violent crime.
The CWU Alumni Association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the interests of Central Washington University and its 70,000 living alumni. The association works in partnership with CWU's Office of Alumni Relations.
Contact Jim Armstrong, Dir. CWU Alumni Relations, armstroj@cwu.edu, 509-963-2885
Teri Olin, CWU Public Relations and Marketing, olint@cwu.edu, 509-963-1416
Central Washington University is a master's degree-granting institution with approximately 10,000 students and 1,500 faculty and staff. More than 160 undergraduate and master's degrees are offered. Founded in 1891, the Ellensburg campus is located in the heart of Washington State, nestled between the Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River. Since 1975, CWU has served the needs of place bound students at six university centers throughout the state. CWU is an AA/EEO Title IX Institution.
|
