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| 2004 Alumni Award
Winners with President Don Michael Randel |
The Norman Maclean Faculty
Awards
The Young Alumni Service Citations
The Alumni Service Citations
The Public Service Awards
The Professional Achievement Awards
The Alumni Service Medal
The Norman
Maclean Faculty Awards
The Norman Maclean Faculty Awards were given for the first time
in 1997. Named for Professor Norman Maclean, PhD'40, who taught English
at Chicago for 40 years, the awards recognize emeritus or very senior
faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to teaching
and to the student experience of life on campus.
Eugene
Goldwasser, SB’43, PhD’50, has provided nearly
sixty years of continuous service to the University of Chicago and
its students. As a member of the faculty in the Department of Biochemistry,
he has taught and mentored many generations of undergraduates, graduate
students, medical students, and post-doctoral fellows through his
teaching and outstanding research program. Professor Goldwasser is
one of the finest biochemists in the world. His research led to effective
therapies for patients suffering anemias, especially those due to
kidney failure. This has been one of the great therapeutic achievements
of the twentieth century, and few other scientists can claim to have
touched so many lives through their research.
During his years of groundbreaking research, Professor Goldwasser
has carried on his role as mentor and intellectual leader on campus.
Former students describe him as a unique combination of brilliant
scientist, insightful and clear-thinking researcher, and vitally engaged
teacher. He listens to his students and treats them as equals, inspiring
them to respect one another and to further science. One former student
wrote, “He taught me that laboratory investigation was really
working out of love of people and love of scientific and medical inquiry,
and not for any other reason.” Professor Goldwasser is known
for letting students develop their own ideas and try these ideas in
the laboratory, allowing them to gain strength and confidence in their
abilities and to learn scientific and technical methods first hand.
One former student recalled, “We each had our own distinct project,
the literature, our own mind and ingenuity, and as much of Gene’s
advice and guidance as was required for optimal productivity. I only
fully realized how important and beneficial that training was when
I subsequently evolved into an independent investigator.” While
stressing independence in the laboratory, Professor Goldwasser developed
strong friendships with his students. He treated his Fellows as members
of his extended family and invited them to his home for holidays and
celebrations. Through his inspiration, patience, and creativity, Professor
Goldwasser has mentored generations of academic leaders in research
and teaching.
“I have been fortunate in being educated at
and by the University of Chicago. My professional career relied on
learning and doing science under conditions that encouraged and supported
risk taking. An equal component of my education came through teaching
undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows. These
students taught me by asking hard questions and by not being satisfied
with easy answers. In addition, even in retirement I continue to be
educated, now by my faculty colleagues in a variety of fields. The
University of Chicago must take the responsibility for all this.”
A
renowned spectroscopist, Takeshi Oka
came to the University in 1981 after a distinguished career at Canada’s
Herzberg Institute, the center of spectroscopic studies. The move
was motivated by his desire to teach and work with students, and in
the years that followed he clearly relished the opportunity to mentor
both undergraduates and graduate students. His class lectures showed
an ability to distill even the most complicated topics down to their
essence, and he was as effective in teaching first-year undergraduates
as he was in providing insights to his advanced graduate students.
Professor Oka has been a great supporter of women in science. During
a period when the attrition rate of women graduate students in chemistry
was particularly high, half of his research group was female, as well
as many of his postdoctoral students.
In his research laboratory, Professor Oka’s management style
was to give students complete freedom to pursue whatever research
caught their fancy (he modestly felt it would be presumptuous of him
to tell a bright student what to do), but at the same time he provided
sage advice and guidance whenever a student asked for it. He enjoyed
working with students in the lab, coming in every afternoon to help
out with whatever was needed—no matter how menial the task.
Although he disliked committee work in general, he made an exception
for those committees that would benefit students and served frequently
on the admissions committee, the student shop committee, and others
related to student life. He urged his students to get regular exercise,
and for many years his lab fielded a team in the Physical Science
Division’s summer softball league. An avid marathoner, he told
one student, “if you can run a mile, you can run a marathon.”
The student concluded that he was talking about more than just running.
He encouraged his students to become good citizens in their communities—both
scientific and social. At his retirement 2003 symposium, nearly all
of his former students and postdocs returned to Chicago, many from
the other side of the globe, to honor his contributions to their personal
and professional lives.
“I came to this University from a Canadian research
institution in the middle of my career. I wanted to work enthusiastic
students and the wish has been amply fulfilled. I love this University
and I am excited to be among brilliant faculty members. Being in the
Regenstein, Crear and Eckhart Libraries is heavenly. But what I value
most is working with students in the laboratories, observatories,
and classrooms. Receiving this Norman MacLean Faculty Award is a great
honor and is most gratifying for me since I am nominated by former
students and selected by the University Alumni Board of Governors.”
The Young
Alumni Service Citations
The Young Alumni Service Citations-awarded for the first time during
the 1992 University Centennial-acknowledge outstanding volunteer service
to the University by individuals aged 35 and younger.
Julianne
Sawyier Migely, AB’91, AM’02, has been a consistent
and engaged volunteer for the University ever since her graduation. She
has served on the College Dean’s Executive Committee, co-chaired
both the fifth and tenth reunions for the Class of 1991, helped lead Chicago’s
Young Alumni Task Force, and volunteered with students for the University’s
Career and Placement Services.
As co-chair of her ten-year class reunion, Ms. Migely set new standards
for both programming and fundraising. Not only did she recruit the largest
class committee of the year, but she made sure that each committee member
had a well-defined role in contributing to the success of the reunion.
She was instrumental in arranging a special class party at Chicago’s
trendy Le Passage that turned out to be one of the best attended class
events of the weekend, and in fact the Class of 1991 won the prize for
highest overall attendance at reunion. Determined to break the tenth-year
reunion giving record, Ms. Migely spearheaded a massive committee effort
to persuade classmates to join the College Fund Dean’s Circle with
contributions of $1,000 or more. She also organized a silent auction during
the class dinner. Her efforts paid off in a record-breaking gift of $75,000
with higher participation than ever before. Ms. Migely continued a tradition
of success—her class still holds the record for fifth-year reunion
gift and participation.
Ms. Migely has maintained her volunteer commitment outside of reunion
years, working both to engage young alumni in the life of the University
and to help choose students for the University’s growing number
of Jeff Metcalf internships. She consistently promotes the University
of Chicago in the outside world—both in the business and the philanthropic
communities.
“I always welcome returning to the University of Chicago campus
because it feels like I am returning home. From my first day on campus,
I felt that I was in an environment where I could truly be myself. My
experiences fostered in me a continued desire to always challenge myself
and to develop an innate love of learning and intellectual curiosity.
I was and continue to be deeply influenced by my professors—notably
the late Edward Shils. My U. of C. experience will always be an integral
part of who I am thanks to my lifelong friendships formed there, long
family association with the University, and profound educational experience.”
The Alumni
Service Citations
Created in 1988, the Alumni Service Citations are awarded for outstanding
volunteer work on behalf of the University through service in alumni
programs, on advisory committees, and through efforts made to ensure
the welfare of the institution.
Over
the years, John Phelps Davey, AB’61, JD’62,
has been instrumental in building support and sustaining alumni interest
in athletics at the University of Chicago. A lifelong member of the
University community (he was born at Lying-in Hospital), Mr. Davey won
the Stagg Medal in 1961 for his star performance on the University’s
basketball team. Mr. Davey cares deeply about the athletic program and
about the students who represent Chicago on the playing field. A Hyde
Park resident, he never misses a varsity basketball game and instituted
a one-man campaign to encourage alumni attendance. From 1996 to 2003,
Mr. Davey served as President of the Graduate Order of the C. During
his tenure, he initiated a number of successful new programs that have
invigorated the group and benefited the athletics program, including
a careers night for student athletes.
Mr. Davey was a driving force behind the establishment of the Athletics
Hall of Fame, inaugurated in May 2003 with the opening of the Gerald
Ratner Athletics Center. During a three-year effort, he served on the
guidelines committee and then chaired the committee that selected the
first Hall of Fame inductees. Mr. Davey performed his job as chair with
wisdom and grace, shepherding the committee through a long and difficult
selection process. He was also central to the fundraising effort in
support of the extremely successful Hall of Fame Dinner that drew more
than 300 alumni and friends and raised more than double the original
goal for the event. Mr. Davey has also remained engaged with his fraternity,
Psi Upsilon, has served on the Visiting Committee to the College, and
volunteered for his College reunion planning committee.
“Discussion Method Retried—I still find
it difficult to respond to my friends’ efforts to commence a Socratic
dialogue –
Q: Describe your memories of the University?
A: Having remained in the area, past through present is just a blend.
Q: What is it like to live in the University community?
A: Since I always have – I am unqualified to render a comparative
opinion.
Q: How has the undergraduate program changed?
A: It is larger – but so am I.
Q: Do you recall Hutchins’ suggested motto for the University?
A: Was it Huxley’s “Softly singing in the West, I hunker
down in Hyde Park”?
Q: Other comments?
A: From a career in the mortgage business, I have enjoyed the conceptual
and practical beauty of “compounding interest.” It is a
similar consequence that makes it difficult to square one’s account
for the continuing benefits of a Chicago education.
Q: Anything else?
A: Yes, please remember to capitalize the “t” in The University.
Elaine
Spiesberger Frank, AB’38, began adding to the cultural
life on campus as an undergraduate when, beginning in her first year
and for seven years thereafter, she sang in the Rockefeller Chapel Choir.
An alumna of the Hutchins College era, she has been constant and generous
in her support of the University. She served on the Visiting Committee
for the School of Social Service Administration for more than 20 years,
and has been an active member of the University’s Women’s
Board since 1981.
During the early 1990s, Mrs. Frank was a leading volunteer for the
University’s Centennial Campaign. She attended numerous committee
meetings to develop and execute strategies for communicating with Hutchins
College alumni and engaging them in the University’s goals for
the future. She contacted alumni from her era, urging them to support
the campaign, and she hosted events on the North Shore. Her committee
work culminated in a large and very successful party she held at her
home for College graduates of the Hutchins Era to meet with University
President Hugo Sonnenschein. Her leadership was instrumental in making
the Hutchins Era campaign a great success, and her continuing efforts
to contact her peers have helped to expand the network of alumni engaged
in support of the College.
Mrs. Frank is the matriarch of a family that has been extremely dedicated
to the University as a whole, and especially to the Division of the
Biological Sciences. She has hosted numerous gatherings in her home
to bring the Biological Sciences Dean together with prospective donors.
With her son Jim Frank she funds the Frank Scholars, a program that
provides scholarships for students in the University’s MD/PhD
program, enabling exceptional students to acquire doctoral training
while becoming physicians. For more than four decades, Mrs. Frank has
been an energetic, creative, and inspiring volunteer—a vital force
for good within the University community.
“Coming from an all-girls school from first grade
through high school, I found co-education exciting and stimulating.
I had excellent rapport with a number of my professors as well as the
group leaders. Most importantly, I was well prepared to enter the business
world, having received my B.A. degree from the business school. I worked
for many years in my husband’s business, bookkeeping and charting
future trends. I also found my college background very helpful in running
social service agencies as a volunteer.”
Leah
Lehrer, PhD’68, is the perfect example of a dedicated volunteer
who loves the University and does whatever is in her power to support
it. A New York City resident, she has been a leader of the New York
alumni club for a quarter century. Ms. Lehrer served as club treasurer
for more than two decades and has steered the club in a fiscally sound
manner with unrelenting loyalty, service, and good sense. Over the years
she has maintained an almost perfect record of attendance at the monthly
club meetings. Always meticulous at managing the finances of the club
and collecting payments for club events, she prepared financial reports
for every meeting and encouraged efficient pricing of events and programs.
Moreover, Ms. Lehrer was always a great facilitator at the planning
meetings, offering level-headed advice and common-sense thinking in
difficult moments. Her commitment to University causes and openness
to newcomers influenced other alumni to join and become involved.
Ms. Lehrer often volunteers at club events, welcoming and registering
guests. She has even attended the annual Phoenixphest for young alumni
because she wanted to be on hand to welcome and assist the newest generation
of alumni to the New York area. In addition, she has sponsored and organized
many events herself over the years. She especially enjoys organizing
dinners at various ethnic restaurants in the city. These special dinners
have attracted a different segment of the alumni population in New York—those
who do not generally attend the lectures, happy hours, athletic or cultural
events most often offered by the club. Her long service to the University
and her steadfast commitment to the alumni in the New York City area
are remarkable. Ms. Lehrer has helped to make the New York alumni club
one of the strongest and most active in the country.
“Near my apartment the U of C had an off-site
campus. I enrolled for one course to check it out. The instructor was
the Dean of Students in the Human Development Department. At the end
of the course, which I thoroughly enjoyed, the Dean suggested we celebrate
by going out to dinner – there were 10 of us. I volunteered to
cook the dinner at my apartment. It turned out to be a huge success.
So much so that the Dean offered me a full scholarship to continue towards
a Ph.D. degree, saying that: “someone that is so well organized
and accomplished must have something on the ball.” The degree
has helped tremendously in my career—which involves understanding
people’s needs.”
Kenneth
C. Levin, AB’68, MBA’74, has contributed his talent
and energy to a variety of different volunteer roles on behalf of the
University. In the early years after earning his MBA, he served as a
fundraiser and alumni program volunteer for the Graduate School of Business
(GSB). He was the GSB’s delegate to the University’s Executive
Council (forerunner of the Alumni Board of Governors) and devised strategies
for improving College reunion attendance by offering events focused
around housing units and cluster reunions. In the early 1990s, Mr. Levin
served as president of the Chicago area alumni club (UC2MC), bringing
to this role a result-oriented business style that helped the club grow
and create a popular array of programs to engage local alumni. He also
laid the groundwork for better program planning and financial stability
and increased volunteer morale. The University also enjoyed the benefits
of Mr. Levin’s planning abilities as a member of both the Visiting
Committee to the Social Sciences Division and the Alumni Board of Governors.
Mr. Levin took a leadership role in reunion planning for the College
Class of 1968. He chaired the program committee for his twentieth reunion
and co-chaired the committees for the thirtieth and the thirty-fifth,
which took place during Alumni Weekend. For the most recent reunion,
he helped to oversee the planning of a well-attended class dinner, organized
a comprehensive committee networking effort, and developed fundraising
tactics with the reunion gift chairs. Dedicated to including all his
classmates in the celebration, he wrote engaging letters, made phone
calls, and did the investigative work needed to locate those for whom
the University had no address information. One classmate who had been
“lost” for more than twenty years was delighted to be brought
back in contact with the College. Mr. Levin’s devotion to the
University and its values is exemplified in his continued dedication.
“Even after thirty years, my education at the University of
Chicago continues to enrich my life every day. Chicago's world-renowned
programs in economics and finance have given me a knowledge base that
still influences my professional decisions. At the same time, my education
in the College and the Graduate School of Business also has helped
me to think critically, communicate effectively, and face new situations
with curiosity and confidence. Together with my wife, who is also
a Chicago graduate, I maintain a connection with the University through
alumni programs, campus cultural events, and continuing education
courses. Our niece will receive her degree from the College this quarter,
and we encourage other young relatives and family friends to explore
the extraordinary education that Chicago makes possible.”
J.
Douglas Richards, AB’77, attended the University of Chicago
on Stagg, University, and National Merit scholarships and graduated
with honors. He made Order of the C in wrestling and football, in addition
to serving as social chairman of the rugby club and being one of the
famous male cheerleaders for the women’s basketball team. As a
student he was also a member of the Maroon Key Society and an officer
of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Friends who met him on campus thirty
years ago remember him as a source of wisdom and guidance. He has kept
in touch with his campus friends and engaged with the University in
many areas since graduation. Although his career has based him in New
York, Mr. Richards has maintained a constant volunteer presence for
Chicago. A stong supporter of student athletes, has made significant
contributions himself and also raised funds to build the new Ratner
Athletic Center. A successful litigator, he has provided internships
for students interested in law through the Metcalf Fellows program,
and is a volunteer contact in the Alumni Careers Network.
In 1992 Mr. Richards organized an informal reunion at Lake Tahoe for
former residents of Shorey House and other College friends that laid
the groundwork for a successful affinity reunion in 2003, which he also
helped plan. In 1999, he and his wife Patty AB’76, PhD’81,
MD’82, hosted a dinner to honor Nobel Laureate Robert Lucas after
he spoke to alumni in New York. Mr. Richards also co-chaired the campaign
to raise the class gift for his twenty-fifth reunion in 2002. In these
and many other ways, Mr. Richards has been a constant source of positive
energy and engagement, drawing his large circle of University friends
and acquaintances closer to one another and to the institution.
"The University of Chicago gave me fulfilling outlets
for my interest in sports without compromising the more important project
of developing my mind. The habits of independent thinking that the College
teaches so well helped me to strive for the ideal of a life balanced
between the physical and the intellectual, even in a school where many
others felt that the latter should overwhelm the former. I am gratified
to see the University accommodate current students with a desire for
that balance between the physical and the intellectual, by building
as beautiful and graceful an athletics facility as the new Ratner Center.
I am proud to have rallied some support from alumni for that resource.
I do believe that worthwhile lessons can be taught on Chicago's playing
fields as well as its classrooms, and am gratified to see the University
create more room for that point of view.”
The Public
Service Awards
The Public Service Citations honor those alumni who have fulfilled the
obligations of their education through creative citizenship and exemplary
leadership in service that has benefited society and reflected credit
on the University.
Walter
Kahn, MD’59, has made notable contributions to the field
of Ophthalmology. A skilled surgeon with decades of experience in ophthalmic
surgery, he still trains to keep abreast of the latest advances and
technologies in laser eye surgery. He has performed a variety of surgeries,
including the high-tech excimer laser surgery that can painlessly restore
vision to those who are nearsighted or astigmatic. He was one of the
pioneers of the new LASIK excimer surgery, which he went to China to
learn. He teaches Ophthalmology at Hahnemann Medical School in Pennsylvania
and has taken leadership roles in the Medical Society of New Jersey
and the American Medical Association.
Dr. Kahn’s work is not limited to his private practice.
For the past twenty years, he has made regular trips to developing countries
to perform operations and share his knowledge and skill as a volunteer
for ORBIS International. ORBIS is a nonprofit humanitarian organization
dedicated to saving sight worldwide through hands-on training for eye
care professionals, public health education, and technical assistance
to improve access to quality ophthalmic services. Its programs focus
on the developing world to make quality eye care, education, and treatment
available to every human being. Since its founding in 1982, ORBIS has
trained more than 54,400 doctors and restored or preserved the sight
of 24,000 people. Dr. Kahn’s first medical mission was in 1984
to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He has continued his important work over
the years with the group’s “flying eye hospital” and
in the local hospitals in the Philippines, West Africa, Haiti, India,
Mongolia, China, Latvia, and Uzbekistan. He has trained well over 1,000
local physicians, leaving behind knowledge and ability to continue the
work of saving sight.
“My exposure to innovative teaching, research,
and my close ties with a superb faculty and fellow classmates at the
University of Chicago have continually steered my career. There is not
a day that goes by that I fail to reflect on the best four years of
my education at the University, and none of this would have been possible
if the University had not helped finance my education at this critical
time.”
Rochelle
Lee, AM’67, is an educator, a storyteller, a librarian,
and a prominent non-profit leader. Early in her career as a teacher
and librarian in Chicago’s inner-city schools, she discovered
that the children she met seldom had books in their lives and were hungry
for stories. She determined that reading was the key to every child’s
learning, that children learn to read and to enjoy reading by becoming
engaged with books, and that children need to be surrounded by books
and by teachers who appreciate the power of reading. During the next
three decades, she put her beliefs into practice. Her library at Oscar
Meyer elementary school became a model for Chicago city schools that
was central not only to children’s lives but to parents, teachers,
and students from the neighboring DePaul University. Author Studs Terkel,
who made her a subject of his book Coming of Age wrote. “At a
time when reading itself is under siege, she has made reading very exciting….As
school librarian…she abolished all the bureaucratic restrictions
and made the place one of welcome and delight.”
When Mrs. Lee retired in 1988, her many colleagues and
parents of students established the Rochelle Lee Fund to Make Reading
a Part of Children’s Lives (RLF) to carry on her work. RLF seeks
to develop readers, children who not only know how to read, but do,
in fact, read fluently, frequently, and willingly. The fund does this
through intensive teacher training and creating classroom libraries.
In 2002-2003 alone, RLF supported 507 teachers in 187 Chicago public
schools and reached 13,288 children, purchasing 55,428 books for CPS
classrooms. Mrs. Lee once wrote, “I was an A student throughout
school, but I first learned how to read for deeper meaning at the University
of Chicago.” Her vision, passion, inexhaustible energy, and good
works have brought reading into thousands of Chicago’s children’s
lives.
“This award is particularly meaningful because
our classes for teachers at the Fund incorporate what I learned at the
U of C especially in Allan Bloom’s seminars. Our discussions in
our Reading for Meaning classes take me back to my U of C days.”
Marc
Pollick, AB’75, studied for his AM in Social Science at
the University of Chicago and then continued his education in Boston,
completing two additional degrees in Holocaust Studies under the direction
of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel. He worked in academic Holocaust Studies
for seventeen years, founding a Holocaust Memorial Center in Miami,
working on the US Holocaust Museum in Washington and at the Center for
Jewish Studies at Harvard. He also created the Elie Wiesel Institute
for Humanitarian Studies as a vehicle to institutionalize Wiesel's advocacy
for human rights around the world.
Working with Wiesel, Mr. Pollick came to appreciate the unique power
and opportunity inherent in leveraging celebrity and wealth on behalf
of philanthropy. He formulated the idea for an organization that would
work with celebrities to use their fame for the common good, and in
1997 he established The Giving Back Fund (GBF) to provide philanthropic
management and consulting to professional athletes and entertainers.
By concentrating on celebrities, Mr. Pollick sought to diversify the
typical donor base to include people of color, women, and young people,
groups often underrepresented in traditional philanthropy. Among the
Fund’s donors are singers Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake
and athletes Elton Brand, Jalen Rose, Magic Johnson, Doug Flutie, and
Nancy Kerrigan. Mr. Pollick has enlisted the help of several University
of Chicago alumni to serve on the GBF Board. Current programs include
CPP, a $268 million project to cure Parkinson's disease within 5 years;
TWS, a program which builds bridges between future business leaders
in China and the US; and the American Philanthropy Hall of Fame that
will annually recognize and acknowledge those who dedicate their lives
and resources to helping others. Mr. Pollick’s vision is best
expressed by the Winston Churchill quote on his business cards: “We
make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”
A dedicated philanthropist, Marc Pollick has used his vision and creativity
to enlarge the sphere of philanthropy in the world.
“For me, the University of Chicago was not just a college.
It was the impetus for a radical shift in my life's direction. Every
assumption I had prior to arriving in Hyde Park was challenged—from
what is important in life, to what constitutes an educated person.
As an undergraduate, I discovered role models who would become lifelong
heroes—in the persons of Jonathan Kozol, Jesse Owens (who tutored
me in the long jump!), Rabbi Harold Kushner, and Elie Wiesel. I learned
not only how to think, but how to employ that thought process to produce
significant actions. I vividly remember coming to college as a freshman
knowing that I wanted to change the world but not having a clue where
to start. Without a doubt, the relationships I developed at UC and
the influences I absorbed have directly equipped and enabled me to
fulfill my freshman goal of wanting to make the world a bit better.
I was profoundly altered by my UC education—in the classroom,
on the athletic field, and in the dorms. The Giving Back Fund is the
professional manifestation of that treasured experience.”
Alfred
A. Rosenbloom, Jr., AM’53, has spent more than 50 years
in service to the visually impaired persons. As a founder of Low Vision
Rehabilitation Services at the Chicago Lighthouse for People Who are
Blind or Visually Impaired, he has had a profound impact on the lives
of thousands of children and adults by providing them with the means
to lead independent, self-sufficient lives. Those who come to the clinic
for rehabilitation have typically exhausted all surgical and medical
remedies. Optometrists conduct comprehensive testing to determine which
of a variety of new technologies can enhance the patients’ residual
vision.
Dr. Rosenbloom has fostered a close relationship between
the Chicago Lighthouse and the Illinois College of Optometry, where
he served terms as Dean and President. This collaboration has provided
the opportunity for hundreds of optometric students to rotate through
the Lighthouse Low Vision clinic and learn the latest techniques in
caring for the visually impaired. He has been a leader in establishing
Low Vision Clinics throughout America and in many foreign countries,
a result of Dr. Rosenbloom’s pioneering efforts and tireless advocacy.
A distinguished Professor at ICO, he conducts seminars on geriatric
vision care. While Dr. Rosenbloom maintains a full schedule serving
Low Vision patients at the Chicago Lighthouse, he also travels internationally
through the Volunteer Optometrists Serving Humanity to provide medical
care in developing world countries. A recipient of numerous leadership
and service awards, Dr. Rosenbloom is a contributing author to several
texts and is completing, as editor, the third edition of the noteworthy
text Vision and Aging.
“I began my professional career as an optometrist.
As an optometric educator and clinician, I soon became aware of the
complex interrelationship between vision impairment and reading achievement.
In 1952 I entered the graduate program in the Department of Education.
It was a learning experience without peer! I had the rare opportunity
to study with two individuals who represented the highest level of scholarship
and research commitment. Dr. William S. Gray, Professor of Education
and Dr. Helen M. Robinson, Professor of Education and Director of the
Reading Clinic were my mentors and role models. This unique graduate
experience has made a significant contribution to the effectiveness
of my professional life as a clinician, administrator, and educator
in the field of optometry.”
The Professional
Achievement Awards
The Professional Achievement Citations were established in 1967 to recognize
alumni who have brought distinction to themselves, credit to the University,
and benefit to their communities through their vocational work.
Marshall
J. Hartman, AB’54, AB’57, JD’57,
has served the indigent and disadvantaged through the Public Defender
movement for more than four decades. He has represented clients in juvenile
court, misdemeanor cases, felony cases, death penalty cases, and appellate
and post-conviction cases in the Appellate and State Supreme Courts
and before the United States Supreme Court. He has also held a variety
of administrative positions including head of the Lake County Illinois
Public Defender Office; head of the Criminal Defense Consortium; and
chief operating officer of a not-for-profit firm providing technical
and training assistance to the public defender offices nationwide. He
has also served as National Director of Defender Services for the National
Legal Aid and Defender Association. From 1991 to 2003, Mr. Hartman led
the Capital Litigation Division of the Illinois State Appellate Defender.
In addition, Mr. Hartman evaluated and provided technical assistance
to numerous public defender offices to raise their standards of representation
for the poor. Upon his retirement, he was honored by being elected president
of the National Equal Justice Library in Washington, DC, which houses
the papers, documents, and records reflecting the history of the public
defender movement and legal services for the poor in America.
An acknowledged expert on constitutional law and criminal
procedure, he has taught at both the University of Illinois’ Criminal
Justice Department and the IIT Chicago Kent College of Law. His co-authored
Constitutional Criminal Procedure Handbook has benefited both
law students and practitioners across the country. Throughout his career,
Mr. Hartman has used his vision, training, and gift for leadership to
transform the concept of how the public defender should function. His
career has touched the lives of thousands of citizens across the country
who now have a better chance of receiving equal justice than ever before
thanks to his work.
“I entered the University under the Hutchins plan
in 1950 and remained there until 1957, earning a BA from the College
and a JD from the Law School. The most important thing that I acquired
was a skeptical and inquiring attitude toward traditional wisdom. Both
at the College and at the Law School the teachers taught us not to accept
anything without questioning and debate. This critical approach to knowledge
certainly influenced my career. The first criminal case that I helped
win in the United States Supreme Court required asking that Court to
overrule the Illinois reviewing courts. It never would have occurred
to me to challenge the judgment of the Illinois Court system, had I
not been trained throughout my university career to examine all hypotheses
and to not accept any ‘truth’ without critical research
and analysis.”
Barbara
Mertz, PhB’47, AM’50, PhD’52, the best-selling
author of more than 75 books, has brought her millions of readers an
awareness and appreciation of how important it is to preserve the past.
Under the pen names Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels, she has spread
her knowledge of Egyptology (earned at the University’s Oriental
Institute) through engaging mystery and suspense novels such as the
enormously popular Amelia Peabody series. Archaeologists regard her
mysteries with respect, affection, and gratitude for broadening general
interest in ancient Egypt, and generations of scholars were initially
inspired to study Egyptology through meeting the ancient world in her
novels. Her nonfiction books, including Red Land, Black Land
and Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs, which have never gone
out of print, are a staple of introductory Egyptology courses. (Indeed,
the time-traveling archaeologist in the popular film Stargate
packs a copy of Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs as a reference
for his trip.)
Ms. Mertz was one of the first women in the U.S. to earn
a doctorate in Egyptology. Her dissertation on Egyptian queens is still
considered to be a ground-breaking study and has been cited in all subsequent
works on the subject. Her solid scholarship shines through her novel
writing, and she has been said to transcend the genre with meticulous
research and depictions of historical characters and events as the backdrop
for her fiction. Ms. Mertz has used proceeds from her writing to support
vital archaeological and research work throughout Egypt. She has been
a major supporter of the Oriental Institute’s Epigraphic Survey
for more than a decade. She has served on the Board of Directors of
the American Research Center in Egypt and is considered one of the cornerstones
of Modern American Egyptology. Of course, she is also recognized as
one of the great mystery writers of our time, and in 1998 Mystery Writers
of America gave her its highest honor by naming her Grand Master.
“Attending the University of Chicago in the late ’forties
and early ’fifties of the past century was, to say the least,
an interesting experience. Under Robert Maynard Hutchins the undergraduate
programs had taken on a unique form. They were both exhilarating and
bewildering, but in the long run I think those of us who survived
feel that the experience was a worthwhile challenge. My graduate studies
at the Oriental Institute still bring back fond memories.”
Robert
Y. Moore, MD’57, PhD’62, is recognized internationally
as a leading neuroscientist and clinician. Best known for his research
on the neural basis of circadian rhythms in mammals, he was the first
to identify that a distinct cell group at the base of the brain is an
internal clock that establishes the daily rhythms in sleep and waking,
hormonal activity, and many other bodily functions. His research represents
a combination of anatomy, neurochemistry, and physiology that is unique
in breadth and integration of multiple scientific disciplines relating
to the study of the nervous system. His laboratory has also made important
contributions to our understanding of the brain systems involved in
Parkinson’s disease, stress, cognitive disorders, and brain plasticity
after injury.
Besides his prodigious research accomplishments, Dr. Moore
has had major impacts on the institutions he has served. While at the
University of Chicago, he established the Section on Pediatric Neurology
in the Department of Pediatrics. During his eleven years as chairman
of the Department of Neurology at SUNY-Stony Brook he brought that department
to national prominence. Since moving to the University of Pittsburgh,
he has headed the Center for Neuroscience, the Alzheimer Disease Research
Center, the Center for Functional Brain Imaging, a National Parkinson
Foundation Center of Excellence, and a Center for the Neural Basis of
Cognition. He also served a term as chair of the Department of Neurology.
Now the Love Family Professor in Neurology at the University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine, he is credited with fostering the renaissance of
the neurosciences at that institution. Reflecting his international
reputation, Dr. Moore has served as an advisor to several agencies.
He chaired the boards of scientific counselors of the National Institute
of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and of the National Institute of
Mental Health, is a member of the Board of Directors of the National
Sleep Foundation, and has served as chair of the external advisory committee
of the University of Chicago’s Brain Research Institute.
“In my time as a student at the U of C, the medical curriculum
was so flexible that I could complete all requirements for the M.D.
and Ph.D. in five years. I was then encouraged to do residency training
in neurology and simultaneously hold a faculty position in anatomy
where I was given my own laboratory. With this, I developed a strong
research program while completing my clinical training. My residency
was prolonged but this background provided credentials sufficient
for me to receive tenure only two years after completing the residency,
and to continue with a long and productive career.”
Bradley
H. Patterson, AB’42, AM’43, is one of the nation’s
foremost authorities on the organization and functioning of the White
House staff. In the immediate aftermath of World War II when the State
Department was expanding rapidly, he was a member of Secretary Acheson’s
Executive Secretariat. In 1954 he helped design an executive secretariat
for the White House and was then invited to join President Eisenhower’s
White House staff as the Assistant Cabinet Secretary, a new position
in which he served until 1961. Under President Nixon, Mr. Patterson
was Executive Assistant to Leonard Garment. In this role he worked to
develop and implement a new policy of self determination and strengthening
of tribal government for Native Americans and was a central negotiator
for peaceful change during the Alcatraz, BIA building occupation, and
Wounded Knee crises. In the last of his fourteen years on the White
House staff, Mr. Patterson served as an Assistant Director of the Office
of Presidential Personnel under President Ford. In a very real sense,
much of the structure of the modern White House Staff Secretariat and
Cabinet Secretariat offices is Mr. Patterson’s handiwork. He is
author of two books about the White House staff, the most recent being
The White House Staff: Inside the West Wing and Beyond, published
by the Brookings Institution Press in 2001.
Mr. Patterson made contributions in several other public
capacities. He was appointed the Executive Secretary of the Peace Corps
in 1961, and in late 1962 he transferred to the Treasury Department
as one of the national security affairs advisers in the Office of the
Secretary. From 1977 through 1988, he was a senior staff member of the
Brookings Institution. He was elected National President of the American
Society for Public Administration, is a Senior Fellow of the National
Academy of Public Administration, and belongs to the American Political
Science Association.
“For me, the unique value of my undergraduate, ‘common
core’ curriculum and my graduate (Social Thought) studies was
the emphasis on the interconnectedness—of the fields of human
knowledge and of the arenas of human action. As the Assistant Cabinet
Secretary at the White House; attending Cabinet meetings was like
being on the University campus: the issues and problems—in academia
and at the acme of government—are all interrelated. Politics,
economics, national security, law, science, history, and religion
are the intertwined components of every question which comes up to
the president. Academic life at Chicago and a career in public service
in Washington are complementary parts of the same challenging world—the
former an ideal preparation for the latter.”
Norman
Phillips, SB’47, SM’48, PhD’51, has made major
contributions to the prediction of weather and climate using computer-based
numerical models. His pioneering studies led to the first computer models
of weather and climate, as well as to an understanding of the general
circulation of the atmosphere, including the transports of heat and
moisture, that determine the Earth’s climate. His leadership fostered
the development of effective methods for using observations in data
assimilation systems. A theoretical meteorologist, Mr. Phillips was
among the first to show that weather prediction with numerical models
was feasible, and the numerical predictions that followed transformed
weather forecasting from a highly individualistic effort to one in which
teams of experts could develop complex computer programs.
Mr. Phillips was first acquainted with weather prediction
during World War II, when he was assigned to the Azores as an Army Air
Force weather forecaster. While earning his doctorate at Chicago, he
developed a two-layer computer model considered to be the first weather
model that predicted changes in surface pressure. He expanded on his
model and began creating similar models for the global climate. His
work created the foundation from which organizations such as the General
Circulation Research Section of the US Weather Bureau and the Geophysical
Fluid Dynamics Laboratory could be established and begin accurate weather
predictions. After joining the faculty at MIT in the 1950s, Mr. Phillips
rose to be the head of the meteorology department. He then joined the
US Weather Service as a principal scientist in 1974 where he stayed
until 1988. In 2003, Mr. Phillips was recognized for his contributions
to the field of meteorology by the Franklin Institute when he received
the 2003 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Environmental Science.
“The post-WWII period was an unbelievably stimulating
time. Students in the Meteorology Department benefited greatly from
Professor C.G. Rossby’s efforts to gather visiting scholars from
around the world and restore the international exchange of ideas that
had been interrupted by the war. As a result the Department played a
leading role in converting meteorology into a science. Advances in prediction
of weather and climate, and the use of radar and satellites in observing
the atmosphere came from work performed at Chicago in those years.”
The
Alumni Service Medal
The Alumni Service Medal was established in 1983 to honor a lifetime
of achievement in service to the University.
It
is a rare privilege for the University when two people share a true
lifelong passion to serve their alma mater. Both Robert
Feitler, Lab’46, EX’50, and Joan
Feitler, AM’55, have demonstrated vision, leadership, and
unwavering devotion to the University and the greater Chicago community.
Mr. Feitler began first grade at the University’s Laboratory
Schools in 1935 and ultimately left the College in 1948. His involvement
in the Lab Schools has included helping to design and build the new
Kovler Gymnasium, recruiting prospective students, and serving on the
planning committee for his fiftieth high school reunion in 1996, also
the Schools’ Centennial. He is an avid proponent of the progressive
educational program offered by the Lab Schools for more than 100 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Feitler’s interests extended beyond primary and
secondary education and into the arts. In 1974 the couple was instrumental
in establishing the Smart Museum of Art, in memory of Mrs. Feitler’s
uncles, David and Alfred Smart, the founders of Esquire Magazine.
Mr. Feitler continues to serve on the Board of Directors at the Museum
and remains very active in its governance. In 1997 the Feitlers endowed
the Dana Feitler Smart Museum Directorship in memory of their beloved
daughter. Their support of the museum has been critical in its success
and phenomenal growth during the past three decades. The Feitlers are
also members of the University’s Visiting Committee on the Visual
Arts, which Mr. Feitler has chaired.
In 1991, Mr. Feitler joined the University’s Board of Trustees
and continues to serve as a Life Trustee. As a member of the Board of
Trustees, Mr. Feitler co-chaired the committee that developed the Campus
Master Plan in 1998. His particular interests include development, finance,
campus life, and alumni relations. Since 1992, Mr. Feitler has also
been a Trustee of the University of Chicago Medical Center. His ability
to be both direct and diplomatic coupled with his keen intellectual
and business acumen make Mr. Feitler an invaluable member of both boards.
Mrs. Feitler received a Master’s degree in Sociology from the
Division of the Social Sciences in 1955. Since completing her Master’s
program, she has consistently been an ardent supporter of the University.
She has served on the Women’s Board Steering Committee since 1993
and in 2000 was elected Chair of the Women’s Board. During her
tenure, the Board has raised a record-breaking $1.25 million to support
projects benefiting student life, faculty research and teaching, and
outreach programs to the Hyde Park community. Mrs. Feitler has also
served on the Court Theater Board and the Social Sciences Visiting Committee.
Her contagious enthusiasm and excellent communication skills have improved
the effectiveness of these committees.
Besides their family, the Feitlers consider the University of Chicago
to be one of their most important commitments, and they are eager to
share their enthusiasm and excitement with everyone they meet. They
are always willing to open their home to University groups and they
attend countless campus events. A great university is dependent upon
the works and commitment of its trustees, faculty, and alumni. The University
of Chicago has benefited in profound ways from the Feitlers’ leadership
and support.
Joan Feitler:
“Returning to my home city of Chicago after graduating from
college, I was accepted in the master’s degree program in Sociology
at the University of Chicago. Sociology was then and is now rated
number one in the country. I wrote my master’s thesis on the
status of the woman lawyer in Chicago in 1954. This experience was
rewarding beyond description.
My University connection led to a fascinating job at a company called
Social Research Inc. which was made up of University of Chicago graduates
doing a very specialized type of market research. Fast forward to
the mid-‘90s. I told this story when introducing myself at the
Social Science Visiting Committee. Several years later Noel Salinger
discovered a Ph.D. student in Sociology who wrote his thesis about
Social Research Inc. This resulted in a reunion of this wonderful
group, who gathered from Paris, Cambridge, and New York fifty years
later for a two-day meeting on our campus.”
Robert Feitler:
“The University of Chicago experience has had a profound impact
on my life from childhood through today as I enjoy my 70s. Critical
thinking and analytical skills developed at the Lab School prepared
me to enjoy both business school and law school as well as to participate
in the dramatic and visual arts in the communities in which I live.
In addition, the University’s remarkable architecture sparked
my lifelong interest in landscape photography and architecture. Lastly,
when Joan and I returned to Chicago after forty years, our interests
have centered around the University. I have been truly enriched by
the experiences late in life and by feeling that the people we meet
through the University are interesting and inspiring.”
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