Oakland University will honor alumni and friends who have achieved success in business, community services, volunteerism and other areas on Friday, Sept. 23 at the 22nd annual Alumni Awards Banquet.
A reception will take place at 6 p.m. in the main entrance on the first floor of the university’s Oakland Center. It will be followed at 7 p.m. by dinner and the awards program in the Oakland Center Banquet Rooms. The Honorable Bryan K. Barnett, SBA `98, Mayor of Rochester Hills and Vice Chair of the Oakland University Alumni Association Board of Directors, will serve as master of ceremonies.
“This is our signature event,” said Erin Sudrovech, director of alumni engagement for the university. “It’s set up to recognize our outstanding alumni, and the great things they are doing.”
This year’s honorees include:
- John Hruska, BGS ’86 and SBA ’89, Executive Director, Treasury Services, JP Morgan Chase, will be presented with the Distinguished Alumni Service Award, which is Oakland University’s highest alumni honor. It recognizes peerless volunteer leadership in service to OU or its alumni association.
- Addie Williams, SEHS ’73, President and CEO, Spaulding for Children, will be honored with the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding professional achievement or contribution to the community.
- James Sherry, M.D. Ph.D., CAS ’75, Professor of Immigrant, Refugee and Global Health, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy at the City University of New York and Director, USAID Translating Research to Action (TRAction) Project, will receive the Odyssey Award, which honors alumni whose lives exemplify Oakland University’s motto to “seek virtue and knowledge.”
- John Stoll, CAS ’00, Global Auto Editor and Detroit Bureau Chief, The Wall Street Journal, will be presented with the Spirit Award, which recognizes exemplary volunteer service to the university.
- Nicholas Kristock, SBA ’13 and ’14, Founder, Fleece & Thank You, will receive the Alumni Community Service Award, which recognizes distinctive service of a humanitarian nature or citizenship through community, public, or OU service activities.
- Tara Michener, SEHS ’12, Author, Counselor and Speaker, will be honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. The award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated the worth of their education through their post-college achievements and, generally, have graduated within the last 10 years.
- Thomas Kimble, Co-Chairman, OU/Pontiac Partnership, will be recognized with the Honorary Alumni Award, which is given to individuals who have not graduated from OU, but who have given outstanding service to the university.
The celebration will also include special recognition of previous alumni award recipients.
Tickets are $100 per person, with table sponsorships available for $1,000 (10 seats).
For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Sue MacDonnell at macdonell@oakland.edu.
Those who plan to attend the Class of 1966-1969 reunion do not need to re-register for this event as your reunion registration includes attendance to this event. However, participants are asked to email Sue MacDonell at macdonell@oakland.edu to confirm their attendance.
Oakland University is a doctoral research university located on 1,443 acres of scenic land in the cities of Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills in Oakland County, Michigan. The University has 133 bachelor’s degree programs and 136 graduate degree and certificate programs. Oakland is a nationally recognized public university. Academics include programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business Administration, School of Education and Human Services, School of Engineering and Computer Science, School of Health Sciences, School of Medicine and School of Nursing.
