The University of Chicago Alumni Association and the Alumni Board of Governors announce Leon Botstein, AB’67, president of Bard College and music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra will be awarded the Alumni Medal at the 71st Annual Alumni Awards Ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 2.
The Alumni Medal recognizes achievement of an exceptional nature in any field, vocational or voluntary, covering an entire career. The medal is reserved for those alumni who have attained and maintained extremely high stations in their chosen fields of endeavor and in their service to society.
In addition to the Alumni Medal, awards are presented in the following categories: Alumni Service Awards, Norman Maclean Faculty Awards, Professional Achievement Awards, Public Service Awards, Young Alumni Service Awards, and Howell Murray Student Medals. In these categories, distinguished alumni, faculty, and students are recognized for their contributions to the University, to their professions, and to their communities. This year’s 17 alumni award recipients include an artist whose work is featured in the Museum of Modern Art, a conservationist who presides over Great Lakes Brewing Company, and the former City of Chicago commissioner for the Department of Housing.
The awards ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will take place in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. Visit alumniandfriends.uchicago.edu/alumniweekend [1] for a complete schedule of 2012 Alumni Weekend events.
The 2012 Alumni Award winners include:
Leon Botstein, AB’67
In addition to working for the reform of education, Botstein has published widely on the subjects of music, education, history, and culture. In 2009, he received the Carnegie Academic Leadership Award, and was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2010. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006, has served as music director of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992 and the Radio Orchestra of Israel. He is the conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony, edits the Musical Quarterly, and is the founder and co-artistic director of the Bard Music Festival.
Jeffrey S. Rasley, AB’75
Rasley, a published author and philanthropist, is being honored for his extraordinary contributions to the University. He has devoted his time to alumni and students, building Summer Sendoff events in Indianapolis, chairing Reunion Committees, and serving on the Alumni Board of Governors. His volunteerism extends beyond the UChicago community, and he has received a key to the city of Indianapolis.
Agnes A. Roach, AM’71, MBA’80
Recognized among fellow volunteers as a visionary, Roach co-founded both the University of Chicago Women’s Business Group (UCWBG) and the Chicago Women’s Alliance. The UCWBG was the first alumni club established for the Universty of Chicago Booth School of Business and laid the groundwork for connecting an underserved sector of the alumni population back to the University.
Matthew B. Whitaker, MBA’95
Whitaker has focused his energies on fostering alumni engagement in Washington, D.C. In addition to serving as the club president for three years, he has hosted Alumni Board of Governors externs, served on the Volunteer Caucus Advisory Committee, and played a key role in strengthening the D.C. Entrepreneurs Advisory Group.
Robert Bork
Robert H. Bork, AB’48, JD’53
In addition to being considered one of the foremost legal scholars in antitrust and constitutional law, Bork has also served as circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, solicitor general in the Unites States Department of Justice, professor of law, and is a best-selling author. His writings have focused antitrust law on maximizing consumer welfare, and helped shift the United States Supreme Court’s approach to those laws.
Adele Goldberg, SM’68, PhD’73
A member of the Women In Technology International Hall of Fame and recipient of PC Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Goldberg’s efforts set the groundwork for mainstream computer user interfaces. She spent 14 years at the Palo Alto Research Center, where she participated in the development of the programming language Smalltalk, and was a central researcher in the invention of personal computing.
Wolf Kahn, AB’50
Kahn is a distinguished American artist known for his combination of realism and Color Field. His work is displayed in nearly a dozen museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Academy of Art. He has received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Art Award, the John Simon Guggenheim Award in Art, and a Fulbright Scholarship.
Muriel D. Lezak, PhB’47, AM’49
Lezak is a preeminent expert neuropsychologist whose work has centered on research into, assessment of, and rehabilitation of brain injuries. She authored Neuropsychological Assessment, a groundbreaking study that is now considered the standard of assessing cognitive function. She has also served as president of the International Neuropsychological Society; has been honored by that society as well as the American Psychological Association, the National Academy of Neuropsychology, the National Head Injury Foundation, and the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University; and was the recipient of a Fulbright Award.
Anthony M. Trozzolo, SM’57, PhD’60
The driving force behind the Gordon Research Conference in Organic Photochemistry, Trozzolo’s research interests have focused primarily in the creation and detection of reactive intermediates. He holds more than 30 patents; has delivered more than 300 invited lectures at universities, international meetings, and industrial laboratories; and is widely published. He is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the New York Academy of Sciences, and one of only 12 individuals elected as a Fellow of the Inter-American Photochemical Society.
Enrique Beckmann, PhD’84
Serving as CEO for Michael Reese Hospital, at a time when this historic institution was slated for closure, Dr. Enrique Beckmann's tenacity kept alive a vital community resource, which provided both healthcare to the needy and training to future healthcare professionals. He was also instrumental in saving another south side hospital threatened with closure, MetroSouth Medical Center, the former St. Francis Hospital in Blue Island. Dr. Beckmann now works as CEO of that full-service hospital, which enhances access to health care under an investor-owned structure, and also serves as an indispensable source of employment to an economically challenged local community.
Patrick Conway, AM’78
Patrick Conway’s service to the community has contributed to the revitalization of the neighborhood in which he and his brother’s company is located, and the city of Cleveland at large. He is committed to operating Great Lakes Brewing Company with a “triple bottom line”, a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of social, environmental, and financial responsibility. His commitment to sustainable practices coupled with GLBC’s award winning and diverse family of beers has contributed to the success of Great Lakes Brewing in his hometown of Cleveland and throughout the Great lakes region.
John G. Markowski, AB’74
As president and chief executive officer of Community Investment Corporation (CIC), Markowski oversees lending at a non-profit that provides financing for multifamily apartment buildings in the metropolitan Chicago area. Prior to joining CIC, he served as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Housing. During his tenure, he was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Department’s five-year affordable housing plans, the creation of the Historic Chicago Bungalow Initiative, the Illinois Donations Tax Credit, and the Chicago Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods.
Eric D. Rosenthal, AB’85
Rosenthal is founder and executive director of Disability Rights International, which is dedicated to promoting the human rights and full participation in society of people with mental disabilities worldwide. The organization is renowned for its work training human rights and disability activists and investigating human rights violations against people with disabilities, and using the international media to generate support for new protections worldwide. In addition, Rosenthal has served as a consultant to the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the US National Council on Disability.
George L. Anesi, SB’06
Commitment to engagement through participation and philanthropy distinguishes Anesi, a resident of internal medicine at Massachusetts General. A class correspondent for the University of Chicago Magazine and former editor-in-chief for the Chicago Maroon, he has served as program chair for his Class Council, gift chair for his Reunion Committee, and chair for Participate Chicago.
Tobias B. Switzer, SB’99
Switzer, a major in the United States Air Force, has identified opportunities for alumni engagement in numerous areas. When stationed in Chile as an Olmsted Scholar, he co-founded the University of Chicago Alumni Club of Chile, and led the organization in the promotion of the group’s first Distinguished Speaker Series event. Switzer also identified a need for UChicago community members affiliated with the military to connect and worked to establish the Military Affinity Group.
Charles E. Bidwell, the William Claude Reavis Professor Emeritus in Sociology
Bidwell, LAB’46, AB’50, AM’53, PhD’56, has served on the University’s faculty since 1961, serving as chair of the Departments of Education and Sociology. He served as the editor of the American Journal of Sociology, and was awarded the Willard Waller Award for a Career of Distinguished Scholarship.
Dolores Norton, the Samuel Deutsch Professor Emerita in Social Service Administration
Norton, who graduated from Temple University in 1952, then went on to earn her MSS and PhD from Bryn Mawr College, has published on early linguistic interaction and school achievement, diversity, early socialization, temporal development in children, and black family life patterns. Career honors include the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Award for Family Support Programs, the National Association of Social Workers Mentor Award, and Chicago YMCA Outstanding Achievement Award in Education.
Links:
[1] http://alumniandfriends.uchicago.edu/alumniweekend
[2] http://news.uchicago.edu/tag/2012-alumni-awards
[3] http://news.uchicago.edu/taxonomy/term/104
[4] http://news.uchicago.edu/taxonomy/term/58
[5] http://news.uchicago.edu/tag/genre/award