AHS Alumni Awards Recipients
Distinguished Alumni Recipients
Titles and professional affiliations are as stated at the time of the award.
2023
(two winners)
Dr. William Haskell, Ph.D. '65
Professor Emeritus
Stanford University School of Medicine
Walter Johnson, B.S. '58
Director, Great Lakes Region (Retired)
National Recreation and Park Association
2022
Trevor M. Bates, M.S. '04
President, Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio
2021
J. Robert Rossman, M.S. ’75, Ph.D. ‘81
Dean, College of Applied Science and Technology, Illinois State University, Bloomington, Ill.
2020
The awards ceremony was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
John M. Consalvi, CCC-SLP, M.A. '91
CEO and Founder, SPEDhunters LLC, Winnetka, Ill.
2018
Tara K. Scanlan, B.S. '69, M.S '71, Ph.D '75
Professor Emerita and Research Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles
2017
Mannie L. Jackson, B.S. '60
Chairman and Managing Partner, Boxcar Holdings LLC, Las Vegas
2016
Suzanne Beauvoir Jackson, B.S. '97
Chief Executive Officer, John Randolph Medical Center, Hopewell, Va.
2015
Tom Scotty, B.S. '86, M.S. '88
Chief Operating Officer, RedShelf, Chicago
2014
John Greenleaf, B.S. '55
Scientific Consultant, Palo Alto, Calif.
2013
Richard Schroth, M.S. '74
Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Executive Insights, Ltd., Rockville, Md.
2012
Bryce G. Rutter, M.F.A. '81, Ph.D. '87
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Metaphase Design Group, Inc., St. Louis
2011
Richard A. Anderson, B.S. '69
President and Chief Executive Officer, St. Luke’s Hospital, Bethlehem, Pa.
Susan E. Gwyn, M.A. '74
President, SunDance Rehabilitation Corporation, Boston
Frank D. Lupton, Jr., M.S. '58, Ph.D. '72
Founder, Wilderness Education Association, and Professor Emeritus, Western Illinois University, Lake City, Minn.
Karl M. Newell, M.S. '70, Ph.D. '73
Department Head and Professor, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.
2010
Frank J. Hayden, M.S. ’58, Ph.D. ’62
Professor Emeritus and Special Olympics Visionary, McMaster University, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Laura Kann, B.S. ’82, M.S. ’83
Chief, Surveillance and Evaluation Research Branch, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta
Hitoshi Nishino, Ph.D. '97
President, Tokai University Fukuoka Junior College, Munakata, Fukuoka, Japan
Donald J. Schum, B.S. '82
Vice President of Audiology and Professional Relations, Oticon, Inc., Somerset, N.J.
2009
Deborah G. Blue, A.M. '74, Ph.D. '78
Vice Chancellor, Contra Costa Community College District, Martinez, Calif.
Mary Ann Carmack, B.S. '73, M.S. '78
Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto, Calif.
James R. Gillespie, B.S. '67, M.S. '68
President and Chief Executive Officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation, Parsippany, N.J.
John R. Seffrin, M.S. '67
Chief Executive Officer, American Cancer Society, Atlanta
2008
Joseph J. Bannon, M.S. '58, Ph.D. '71
President, Sagamore Publishing, Champaign, Ill.
Alina de la Paz, B.S. '82, M.S. '83
Executive Director and Founder, Center for Bilingual Speech and Language Disorders, Inc., Miami
Tim D. Romani, B.S. '84
President and Chief Executive Officer, ICON Venture Group, Greenwood Village, Colo.
Harold P. Wimmer, B.S. '77, M.S. '78
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest, Chicago
2007
C. Alvin Bowman, Ph.D. '79
President, Illinois State University, Normal, Ill.
Ann E. Cody, M.S. '92
Director of Partnerships and Public Policy, BlazeSports America, Washington, D.C.
Rainer Martens, Ph.D. '68
Founder and President, Human Kinetics, Inc., Champaign, Ill.
Douglas A. Michels, B.S. '78
President and Chief Executive Officer, Orasure Technologies, Inc., Bethlehem, Pa.
Harold Scharper Achievement Award Recipients
2023
Saul Morse, B.S. ‘69, J.D. ‘72
Attorney
Brown, Hay and Stephens
2022
Michal J. Nowicki, J.D. '18;
Associate, Marashlian and Donohue, Chicago, Ill.
2021
Anjali Forber-Pratt, B.S. ’06, M.A. ’07, Ph.D. ‘12
Director, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, Washington, D.C.
2020
The awards ceremony was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
Dr. Patricia Barett Malik, M.S. '82; Ph.D. '88
Director (retired), Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services, Champaign, Ill.
2018
Kevin A. Fritz, B.S. '10
Associate, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Chicago
2017
Jean Driscoll, B.A. '91, M.S. '93
Senior Director of Development, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill.
2016
Brad Hedrick, Ph.D. '84
Director Emeritus, Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services, University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill.
2015
Kareem Dale, B.S. '95, M.B.A. '99, J.D. '99
Director and Senior Counsel, Discover Financial Services, Deerfield, Ill.
2014
Mark Goldhaber, J.D. '77
Founder and Principal, Goldhaber Policy Services, LLC, Raleigh, N.C.
2013
Parviz Parhami, B.S. '74; M.S. '76; Ph.D. '79
Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Scientific Applications and Research Associates, Cypress, Calif.
2012
The Harold Scharper Achievement Award and Harold Scharper Humanitarian Award merged into one award.
Tiana Tozer, M.A. '93
Professional Speaker and Humanitarian Aid Worker, Portland, Ore.
2011
- Harold Scharper Achievement Award
- Yusef A. Dale, B.S. ‘93, J.D. ‘96
- Federal Prosecutor, US Attorney’s Office, Chicago
- Harold Scharper Humanitarian Award
- James W. Gallo, B.S. ‘84
- Managing Partner, Gallo Associates, LLC, Schaumburg, Ill.
2010
- Harold Scharper Achievement Award
- Carl Suter, A.B. ‘77
- Chief Executive Officer, Retired, Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, Bethesda, Md,
- Harold Scharper Humanitarian Award
- Thomas R. Brown, B.M.E. ‘71, M.S. ‘72
- Director, National Veterans Wheelchair Games, San Antonio
2009
- Harold Scharper Achievement Award
- Dr. James A. Kutsch, Jr., Ph.D. ‘76
- President and Chief Executive Officer, The Seeing Eye, Inc., Morristown, N.J.
- Harold Scharper Humanitarian Award
- Martin I. Morse, B.S. ‘84, M.S. ‘87
- Olympic and Paralympic Coach, University of Illinois, Champaign
2008
- Harold Scharper Achievement Award
- Steven M. Herbst, B.S. ‘88
- Business Analyst Manager, Allstate Insurance, Northbrook, Ill.
- Harold Scharper Humanitarian Award
- Richard W. Kommers, A.B. ‘69, J.D. ‘73
- Retired Advisor to the Counsel, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore
2007
The Harold Scarper Awards become part of the Distinguished Alumni Awards program in the College of Applied Health Sciences.
- Harold Scharper Achievement Award
- Gerald W. Kortness, B.A. ‘65
- President, G. W. Kortness and Associates, Inc., Spooner, Wis.
- Harold Scharper Humanitarian Award
- Clifford D. Crase, Jr. (deceased)
- Editor/Publisher Paraplegia News; Senior Editor Sports ‘N Spokes, Phoenix
See the DRES Harold Scharper Award Recipients from 1950-2006 here.
Young Alumni Award Recipients
2023
Michael Leach, B.S. ‘09
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
The White House
2022
Manu I. Edakara, B.S. '14
Program Director - iVenture Accelerator, Champaign, Ill.
2021
Jennifer L. Jacobs, B.S. ‘09
Assistant Professor, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill.
For more information about the AHS Alumni Awards or to submit a nomination, please click here.