Syracuse University to recognize alumniduring Homecoming WeekendOctober 14, 2003Edward Byrnesedbyrnes@syr.edu
Syracuse University will honor outstanding alumni, outstanding young alumni, and teacher and alumni club award recipients during Homecoming Weekend 2003, to be held Oct. 16-19.
Following an Oct. 17 awards reception at the Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center, Chancellor and President Kenneth A. Shaw will present awards to seven distinguished alumni, one SU faculty member and four alumni clubs during pre-game festivities for the Oct. 18 SU vs. Boston College football contest in the Carrier Dome.
Donald Hornung ’53 of Westport, Conn., Edwin London ’49 of White Plains, N.Y., and Herbert ’56 and Celeste ’51 Carmack Smith of Fayetteville, N.Y., will receive Outstanding Alumni Awards. John Beck ’95 of Los Angeles, Calif., B. Jason Brooks ’98 of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Scott Meach ’90 of Atlanta, Ga., will be honored as Outstanding Young Alumni.
Philip Doughty of Manlius, N.Y., a professor in SU’s School of Education, will receive the Outstanding Teacher Award.
The SU Alumni Club of Atlanta, Ga., will be recognized as the Outstanding Club of the year. Douglas MacGregor ’79 of the Alumni Club of Fort Myers, Fla., will receive the Outstanding Club Officer of the Year Award. Outstanding Club Program of the Year honors will go to the Alumni Club of Boston for their Networking Night, and the Rochester, N.Y., Alumni Club’s FoodLink will be named Outstanding Service Program of the Year.
Outstanding Alumnus – Donald Hornung
Hornung, class president his senior year at SU, organized the 50th reunion of the Class of ’53 this June, unofficially gathering the largest attendance for any 50th reunion in SU history. He has contributed generously to the University for projects such as the Orange Grove and the funding of a classroom in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.
Hornung has supported the American Cancer Society; his wife Cissy coordinates an annual fund-raising event for the Society that has netted six-figure contributions to the organization.
Outstanding Alumnus – Edwin N. London
London, a Rochester, N.Y. native, worked in the radio, advertising and public relations fields before entering the photographic supply retail business in New York City. Eventually, he owned seven stores in New York and a graphic arts supply distribution business in Connecticut. He is a past president of Photo Marketing Association International and Photographic Research Organization, Inc., which he also served as chairman. Following the sale of his stores in the late 1970’s, London worked with the accounting firm Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, becoming a principal and subsequently managing partner of the New York office. He retired in 1995, but returned to the firm in 1998.
London completed an undergraduate liberal arts program at Princeton before moving on to SU, where he dual-majored in journalism and management. He has served on the SU Alumni Board of Directors and is currently on the Advisory Board for SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. London and his wife Elaine ’50 have chaired the SU Annual Fund Campaign of Greater New York and served as area interviewers for student recruiting.
Outstanding Alumni – Herbert T. Smith and Celeste Carmack Smith
The Smiths both worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb for many years; Herbert Smith held positions in manufacturing supervision and personnel administration during his 37-year career, and Celeste Carmack Smith was a clinical research associate for 26 years. Both serve as board members of the SU Alumni Club of Central New York and are members of Orange Pack. Celeste Carmack Smith is also a member of the SU Alumnae Club. Herbert Smith holds a bachelor of science degree in production management, while Carmack Smith holds a bachelor of arts degree in bacteriology.
Outstanding Young Alumnus – John D. Beck
Beck, who earned his bachelor of arts degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is a supervising producer and writer for the hit ABC show “According to Jim.” He has written more than 130 television episodes, written for MTV and HBO, and also worked as writer/producer for “The Hughleys.” Earlier this year, Beck was named most influential alumnus for SU University Union Television (UUTV).
His home in Los Angeles has frequently served as a West Coast “home base” for recent SU graduates. He allows students to work out of his home during their searches for jobs and housing in the Los Angeles area. Additionally, he has assisted several SU graduates in finding internships at ABC. Beck co-created a writers’ mentorship program with Newhouse professor Michael Schoonmaker and has served as a speaker at the SU Alumni Club of Southern California. He continues to be active with UUTV.
Outstanding Young Alumnus – B. Jason Brooks
Brooks, a Syracuse native, is the senior research associate for the Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability, an Albany-based non-profit education policy think tank. Prior to that, he conducted research for the Empire Foundation for Policy Research on a wide array of public policy issues. In 2000, Brooks assisted in the design and development of a pair of progressive charter schools for disadvantaged students, an endeavor that reached fruition in September 2002 with the opening of the Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls and the Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys. He is currently a member of the advisory board of the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education, based in Poolesville, Md.
Brooks has completed three degree programs at SU’s College of Arts and Sciences: political science, history and religion. Since January, he has served as a participant in the Executive Precepts Initiative of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He is president of the SU Alumni Club of New York’s Capital District, and serves on its board of directors.
Outstanding Young Alumnus – Scott Meach
Meach is the golf division director for American Hole ‘n One, the nation’s largest prize indemnity insurance provider and promotions company. After graduation from the Newhouse School, Meach held several positions, including public relations account executive, marketing manager and promotions representative. In 1995, he and two colleagues created the Buffalo Social Club, Inc., a sponsorship-driven event marketing company. Two years later, the company was sold to Sport & Social Clubs of the U.S.
Meach has revitalized the WJPZ Alumni Association in the three years of his presidency of that organization by creating scholarship opportunities, bringing in noted guest speakers and developing fund raising opportunities.
Outstanding Teacher – Philip L. Doughty
Doughty came to SU as an assistant professor in 1972 after earning a doctoral degree in instructional systems from Florida State University. He has taught in the School of Education for more than 30 years and served as interim dean and program chair. In addition to teaching graduate courses in performance engineering, cost-effectiveness analysis and instructional development, Doughty serves as executive director of SU’s Training Systems Institute, a position he has held since 1991. He has chaired 60 doctoral dissertations and advised several teacher education degree candidates in the Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation Program.
During his distinguished career, Doughty has applied his expertise to several projects in the public and private sectors. Organizations that have tapped his knowledge include the State Education Department, Welch Allyn Corp., the U.S. Navy Personnel Research and Development Center and the government of Indonesia. Doughty also holds a master of science degree in educational administration and bachelor of science degree in social science and education, both from Kansas University.
Outstanding Alumni Club – Alumni Club of AtlantaUnder the leadership of Rick Stockfield ’92, the club has grown significantly over the last several years, increasing membership and hosting a variety of different events. The club has hosted Chancellor Shaw and Associate of the Chancellor Mary Ann Shaw, as well as Coach Jim Boeheim, with whom they raised money for Coaches vs. Cancer. The club also hosts a new student send-off party every summer and organizes trips to support SU athletic teams.
Outstanding Alumni Club Officer – Doug MacGregor, Alumni Club of Fort Myers
MacGregor, whose mother, father, sister and brother-in-law are all SU graduates, received his bachelor of fine arts degree in illustration from the College of Visual and Performing Arts in 1979. He is currently an editorial cartoonist for the New-Press in Fort Myers. A talented musician, MacGregor recently arranged a SU Choir church performance in Fort Myers. He is an outspoken and fervent fan of all SU athletic activities, noted for his colorful support of the NCAA Champion men’s basketball team during the Final Four in New Orleans.
Outstanding Club Program – Networking Night, Alumni Club of Greater BostonThe SU Alumni Club of Greater Boston sponsored their second annual Networking Night at the John Hancock Conference Center in Boston this year. With the help of Syracuse University Career Services, the event attracted more than 200 alumni for an evening of networking, career advice and socializing. The event was held over SU’s spring break, which allowed graduating seniors to attend. With a large variety of occupations represented at the event, many Boston-area alumni were able to reconnect with old friends.
Outstanding Community Service – FoodLink, Alumni Club of RochesterThe SU Alumni Club of Rochester has a long history of community service work throughout its existence. The club has worked diligently with the Family Resource Centers of Rochester, and the Sojourner House. This year, the club teamed up with FoodLink, an agency providing needy families with food throughout western New York. In the spirit of National Orange Day, many dedicated alumni spent the day sorting and packing food for distribution.
Officially chartered in 1870 as a private, coeducational institution of higher education, Syracuse University is a leading student-centered research university. Syracuse’s 11 schools and colleges share a common mission: to promote learning through teaching, research, scholarship, creative accomplishment and service while embracing the core values of quality, caring, diversity, innovation and service. The 680-acre campus is home to more than 18,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and 90 countries.
