Annual awards recognize outstanding WWU alumni, ceremony is May 13

Western Today staff

May 12, 2010

Western Washington University will present its alumni awards to individuals and a family at its 2010 Alumni Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 13.

The award winners span a wide range of accomplished alumni, including leaders in international education, opera, business, technology, science, and finance.

“Our alumni are stellar ambassadors for the qualities that have defined a Western education for decades: high-quality academics and a caring campus community that foster strong leaders and engaged citizens,” said WWU President Bruce Shepard.

The recipients:

  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Don Olcott Jr: (’81 and ’86), of London, United Kingdom, chief executive of the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education. As head of the London-based information service that tracks global higher education issues, Olcott helps universities and governments navigate the cultural complexities of educating students across international boundaries. A native of Skagit County, Olcott came to WWU to complete his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Soon after graduation he taught in Woodring College’s Human Services program and worked in the college’s National Rural Development Institute. He continued his career as a leader in distance education at Oregon State University, where he earned a doctorate, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, University of Arizona and Western Oregon University.
  • Larry “Go Vikings!” Taylor Alumni Service Award: Jerry Thon (’75), Bellingham, vice president of Astoria Holdings, a seafood wholesale company. One of Western’s “biggest cheerleaders,” Thon works hard to raise the image of WWU in the Bellingham community, from giving personal tours of the campus to friends and business associates to hosting receptions for new faculty and community members.
  • Young Alumnus of the Year: Scott Harrington (‘98), Mercer Island, vice president of finance at Screenlife, LLC, a Seattle-based subsidiary of Paramount Pictures that produces Scene It? and other pop culture games on DVD, console, online and mobile devices. Harrington went to work at Moss Adams after graduation and enjoyed coming back to campus for recruiting events, helping other students get their start.
  • Alumni Community Service Award: the late Sid Hammond (’67), formerly of Bellingham, a longtime educator who helped start the tradition of bag piping at WWU commencements. He began with the ceremonies of his daughters, Margo Hammond (’85) and Lisa Hammond LaGrandeur (’87) and continued for more than 25 years. Hammond died in November 2009, but WWU graduates continue to be accompanied by bagpipes at each ceremony.
  • Legacy Family of the Year: The Kruhoffer, Hayden, Mehl, Scott and Hartstra families, whose members include WWU alums who have been strong advocates for their alma mater. Started in 1924 by Margaret Clara Kruhoffer the clan includes: Virginia Boal Hayden (’41), a teacher, and the late WWII fighter pilot Robert L. Hayden, who attended from 1939 to 1940 and owned Bellingham grocery stores with his wife; California physical therapist Ross Davies Scott (’53); teachers June Mehl Scott Hartstra (’53), Janice Ruth Mehl (’56) and the late George Brinton Mehl (’56); and Brinton Mehl Scott (’90), an attorney practicing in China.
  • Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Business and Economics: Paul Merriman (’66), Bainbridge Island, founder and president of Merriman Capital Management, who publishes newsletters, leads seminars and hosts radio broadcasting on the subject of investing and retirement planning. Merriman has stayed connected with CBE by speaking to classes and to the Finance Club.
  • Distinguished Alumnus for the Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies: Theodore Bestor (’73), Cambridge, Mass., professor and chair of the Anthropology Department at Harvard University. Bestor’s research focuses on the culture and society of modern Japan. His book, “Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World,” from University of California Press, focuses on food culture, globalization and Japan’s fishing industry.
  • Distinguished Alumna for the College of Fine and Performing Arts: Erin Wall (’98), of Toronto, Ontario, a rising star in the opera world. Wall, a soprano, made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in April 2009 and has performed with many symphony orchestras in the U.S., Canada and Europe. She also performed on the recording that won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Classical Album.
  • Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences: Simon Blackwell (’84), Bainbridge Island, vice president of technology for Wizards of the Coast, the developer of role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. A Philosophy graduate, Blackwell continues to support WWU by serving on the college’s advisory council and by establishing the Downing Montague Philosophy Scholarship in honor of two favorite professors.
  • Distinguished Alumna for the Huxley College of the Environment: Gail Bingham (’75), of Washington, D.C., president emeritus of RESOLVE, a respected public policy dispute resolution organization based in Washington, D.C. and a practicing mediator with 30 years of experience in environmental, natural resources, public health and community planning issues.
  • Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Sciences and Technology: Peter Greenberg (’70), of Seattle, a professor of microbiology at the University of Washington who studies the social activities of bacteria, or “sociomicrobiology.” Greenberg also is an inaugural member of the college’s Leadership Board and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.
  • Distinguished Alumnus for Woodring College of Education: Robert Watt (’72), Seattle, chair of The Seattle Foundation and a retired vice president of state and local government relations for The Boeing Co. Watt has also served as president and CEO of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, deputy mayor of the city of Seattle and president of Family Services of Seattle/King County.

For more information on the 2010 WWU alumni award winners, go to http://www.alumniconnections.com/wwualumni/ or contact Susan Bakse at (360) 650-3353. The alumni award presentations are part of Western’s Back 2 Bellingham Weekend May 13-16. For more information about Back 2 Bellingham see: http://www.nssfo.wwu.edu/b2b/index.shtml.