Upfront
AWARDS AT HOMECOMING SHOWCASE SERVICE TO MSU
In previous columns, I have alluded to my push for maximizing opportunities for alumni to serve as resources for MSU. This Homecoming Weekend, among many activities, from the Homecoming Parade to Sparty's Party, the Homecoming Court to the Green and White Brunch, the fireworks to the world-record Rice Krispies treat, we took time out to give nine awards--one Honorary Award, and eight Alumni Service Awards--to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the welfare of Michigan State University. I am proud to highlight here each of the winners because they reflect the many ways in which alumni can serve as resources to MSU. Our Fall 1997 winners have served MSU both by giving their time to advancing MSU, or by their individual successes, which reflect very positively on their alma mater. Here are thumbnail sketches of the winners:
David Albala, M.D. '83, a faculty member at Loyola Medical Center, IL, helped pioneer many medical innovations to make surgery safer--including laparoscopic adrenalictomy and fibrin-glue compound. Selected a White House Fellow in 1995, he has volunteered his efforts in Chicago's inner city, where he saved countless lives with a screening program for prostrate cancer.
Louis Champathes, Ph.D. '74, associate professor at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and chairman of TASI Ltd., created a program that has impacted more than 1,500 business owners and executives. He has received many recognitions from the King of Thailand, including the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand.
John E. Davis, '53, MSW '55, owner of the longest-standing private social work practice in Dallas, TX, has been an industry leader, mentored many young practicioners from MSU, and for decades has quietly served the poor and needy in his community by performing health evaluations in poor and rural areas of Texas, making home visits, and serving HIV-infected patients.
Douglas 'Chip' Emery, who attended MSU in the early 1960s, has served as president of the West Michigan Regional Club and remains a major donor to MSU. As a civic leader, he has provided leadership in many longterm projects, including Leadership Grand Rapids, the Old Kent Bank River Run, Celebration on the Grand, and the construction of the new Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids.
Ermond H. Hartmans, Ph.D. '50, gained international attention for his milk research as member of the Agricultural Economics Research Institute in his native Netherlands. With the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, he developed programs in Africa, the Near East and Europe valued at $140 million covering 134 countries. As director-general of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture at Ibadan, Nigeria, he gave IITA an effective presence throughout the continent.
Bonnie Larsonneur, '85, an Honors College graduate, has been active with MSU's Chicago Regional Club for a decade, serving as treasurer for four years and as president since 1994. She represented MSU at high school college nights on more than 50 occasions, organized numerous ethnic dining events, job seminars, and club programs that have attracted more than 600 individuals to raise scholarship funds.
Craig Murray, '76, a longtime Disney creative force, currently heads one of the best known motion picture advertising companies in Hollywood, working as Disney's exclusive producer of feature animation advertising campaigns. In 1990, he endowed a scholarship at MSU in the name of his parents, George and Dorothy Murray, he established a working intern program at MSU, and has hired many MSU graduates.
Don Weatherspoon, '67, assistant to the superintendent, Michigan Dept. of Education, has provided leadership on many fronts throughout state government--including prison education, urban education, child welfare, and human relations training. His efforts won him a Mott Fellow and an Outstanding Alumnus Award from the College of Social Science, where he serves as chairperson of the CSS Alumni Board. Two years ago, he served as chairperson of the MSUAA's National Alumni Board.
Dixie Platt, who dedicated her entire professional life to James Madison College, won the Honorary Alumni Award. She joined JMC in 1969 and as served in many capacities, most recently as director of Academic and Student Affairs. In her honor, the Dixie C. Platt Scholarship has been endowed by colleagues, graduates and friends.
I hope these thumbnail sketches illustrate the myriad ways in which alumni can serve as resources for MSU, and I hope they inspire you to find your own unique way to serve your alma mater. Go Green.
