Past Outstanding Alumni Award Recipients

Outstanding Alumni Awards

The Outstanding Alumni Awards are presented annually to one or more alumni who graduated more than 15 years ago, who have excelled in their careers and demonstrated service to the community and North Central College. The first award recipient was Bishop John Stamm, Class of 1909, in 1954. In 1982, the Alumni Association created the Young Alumnus Merit Award, now known as the Alumni Recognition Award, recognizing potential for success in a career, community service or support to North Central College by younger alumni within 15 years of graduation. The first recipient of this award was Robert Holmes ’65.

Wall of Witness

The Wall of Witness was established in 2006 to recognize and honor alumni of North Central College or the Evangelical Theological Seminary whose lives embody the values—and the commitment to principled leadership, justice and service—of our mission and heritage. The first recipient was Dante J. Germanotta ’51.

Alumni Awards Search

Maria E. Wynne

Outstanding Alumni Award Winner 2012

Maria E. Wynne ’77 oversees the world’s largest Girl Scouts council and is a leader and role model who influences the lives of nearly 86,000 girls in Chicago and Northwest Indiana. As CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, Maria led the merger of seven independent councils in 2008. The reorganized council has experienced an increase in members, launched a new staffing structure and improved other systems for delivering services. These achievements have been recognized with several prestigious awards from area organizations, and Maria was named Chicago Executive of the Year 2011 by the Public Relations Society of America and included among 100 Women Making a...

Priscilla Ferch Gallagher

Outstanding Alumni Award Winner 2012

Priscilla Ferch ’80 Gallagher is one of Illinois’ top lawyers, well known for her work in the area of intellectual property law. Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Priscilla specializes in preparing patent applications involving chemicals, chemical processing, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and mechanical arts. She has negotiated patent licensing and technology sharing agreements in such diverse fields as wellbore gas detection systems, plasma treatment processing and polymeric films; counsels clients on patentability, infringement and validity issues; and has prepared opinions in a wide range of technologies. She manages all aspects of the...

Fredric Janzen

Outstanding Alumni Award Winner 2012

Fredric Janzen ’85, Ph.D., is widely known in the field of evolutionary biology and herpetology as an outstanding teacher, researcher and author. A professor in the department of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Iowa State University, Fred teaches evolutionary genetics, herpetology and field biology courses to advanced undergraduate and graduate students and has mentored 100 postdoctoral fellows. He has authored 135 scientific articles and book chapters since 1986 and holds editorial positions with two academic journals. Dedicated to global conservation and ecology causes, which resulted in visiting professor posts in Costa Rica and China, he is frequently invited to...

Eric McLaren

Outstanding Alumni Award Winner 2012

Eric McLaren ’86, Ph.D., has devoted his career to advancing the mission of the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA), most recently as its principal and vice president for academic programs. In that role, he has been responsible for ensuring quality instruction and the integrity of the overall academic and residential program. A charter staff member, Eric began as a resident counselor in 1986 and was subsequently promoted to head resident counselor, coordinator of residential life, assistant principal/coordinator of community learning and principal. He was named vice president for academic programs in 2004.

His leadership style is characterized by his ability to motivate others by building a shared...

Matthew S. Brill

Alumni Recognition Award Winner 2012

Matthew S. Brill ’97 has achieved outstanding success in the business world after graduating from North Central with a degree in international business and as a National Champion in cross country and eight-time All-American in track and field. Matt is currently an equity and derivatives broker for Tourmaline Partners, which is based in New York. Prior to this position, he spent 11 years with Susquehanna International Group (SIG), first in Chicago, and then outside Philadelphia.

A Presidential Scholar at North Central, Matt excelled at both academics and athletics, graduating as a National Academic Athlete as presented by GTE Corporation. In addition to...

Wayne Duehn

Wall of Witness Award Winner 2012

Dr. Wayne Duehn ’61, Ph.D., has focused his career on advocating for the health of families and the prevention of child abuse. Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, Wayne developed a child abuse prevention program for the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, which has been implemented across the globe, and has conducted training seminars for medical personnel serving in the Air Force, Navy and Army in the United States and abroad.

Throughout his career, Wayne has been a lecturer, trainer and consultant for such organizations as The Casey Family Programs, National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association...

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