2009 AHS Distinguished Alumni Awards
The AHS Distinguished Alumni Awards, established in 2007 during the College's 50th anniversary, are given annually to recognize
College of Applied Health Sciences alumni who have have made outstanding contributions in their professional, personal, and civic lives.
Recipients are honored each year during a ceremony and reception during Homecoming Weekend.
2009 AHS Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients and Biographies
- Dr. Deborah Blue (A.M. '74, Ph.D. '78)
Vice Chancellor
Contra Costa Community College District
Martinez, CA
- Dr. Mary Ann Carmack (BS '73, MS '78)
Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Palo Alto Medical Foundation
Palo Alto, CA
- Jim R. Gillespie (BS '67, MS '68)
President and CEO
Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation
Parsippany, NJ
- Dr. John R. Seffrin (MS '67)
Chief Executive Officer
American Cancer Society
Atlanta, GA
Harold Scharper was the first paraplegic to attend the University of Illinois. Following his death in 1950, the members of Delta
Sigma Omicron and friends established the Harold Scharper Achievement Award in his memory.
DRES Names Scharper Achievement and
Humanitarian Award Recipients
The Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services will honor two of its alumni with 2009 Harold Scharper Awards during
Homecoming Weekend. As a tribute to the first paraplegic to attend the University of Illinois, these campus-wide awards are presented
by the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services to recognize outstanding service and achievement.
Harold Scharper was the first paraplegic to attend the University of Illinois. Following his death in 1950, the members of Delta
Sigma Omicron and friends established the Harold Scharper Achievement Award in his memory.The awards are a tribute to the example he
set for others with disabilities and are given in recognition of his preference that the unselfish achievements and services of others
be recognized above all other things.
Harold Scharper Achievement Award and Biography
Harold Scharper Humanitarian Award and Biography
- Martin I. Morse, BS '84, MS '87
Olympic and Paralympic Coach
University of Illinois
Champaign, IL
Previous Award Winners
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2009 AHS Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients and Biographies
Dr. Deborah Blue
Vice Chancellor
District-wide Planning and Educational Services
Contra Costa Community College District, Martinez, California
After receiving a bachelor's degree in speech pathology and audiology from Western Michigan University, Dr. Blue completed a master's
degree in speech and language pathology and a doctorate in speech and hearing science at the University of Illinois. Upon graduation,
she joined the Sonoma County Office of Education in Santa Rosa, California, as a program specialist in the Special Education Department,
where she established a resource library of assessment tests and protocols for speech and language specialists in the county's K-12
schools. From special education, she moved into learning disability services at Sonoma State University.Her first position with
the Contra Costa Community College District was as Assistant Dean of Community Education. In her current position as Vice Chancellor
of Planning and Educational Services, she is responsible for three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College system. She provides
leadership and administrative oversight for all aspects of planning, educational services, communications, international education, and
technology services. Dr. Blue has also been Vice President of Policy and Research for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior
Colleges-Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and President of Laney College in Oakland, California. She is a member of the Workforce
Development and Education Task Force of the Contra Costa Council, the P-16 Academic Task Force of the Contra Costa County Office of Education,
and a member of the Tri-City NAACP.
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Dr. Mary Ann Carmack
Department of Pediatrics
Palo Alto Medical Center
Palo Alto, California
Dr. Carmack completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in kinesiology at the University of Illinois. She completed a Ph.D. at the
University of Oregon before securing her M.D. degree from the University of Chicago. She completed her internship and residency in pediatric
medicine at Stanford University Medical Center, as well as a post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases. In addition to her
medical practice in Palo Alto, she is a member of the clinical faculty in pediatrics at Stanford. She is also a member of the Board of Directors
of the Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, the Board of Trustees of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and the Board of Directors of the Lucile
Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. Dr. Carmack has published several articles on infectious diseases in such journals as Journal of
Infectious Diseases, Current Opinion in Pediatrics, Infectious Agents and Disease, and Journal of Pediatrics. She is a member of the American
Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Society, and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor
Medical Society.
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James R. Gillespie
President and Chief Executive Officer
Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation
Parsippany, New Jersey
Mr. Gillespie is a graduate of the Recreation and Park Management program of the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, earning both
bachelor's and master's degrees. He began his career as a grade school teacher in Ludlow, Illinois, where he also coached track, baseball, and
basketball. He also taught at a private boys' school in Memphis, Tennessee, and was the director of the YMCA in La Grange, Illinois, before
entering the real estate business more than 30 years ago on the advice of a friend. He began his career as a sales associate for Gallery of
Homes real estate in the western suburbs of Chicago, being promoted to the position of vice president and office manager after only six months.
He then served in various management positions with Thorsen Realtors, which was acquired by Coldwell Banker. In 1981, Coldwell Banker began
its franchise program, and Mr. Gillespie became one of the original ten executives chosen to run the residential affiliates. He has served
as Coldwell Banker's president and CEO since 2004, and was previously the organization's Chief Operating Officer. He oversees marketing,
operations, education, mortgage services, and field services for nearly 4,000 offices and more than 120,000 brokers and sales associates
throughout the Coldwell Banker franchise in 26 countries.
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Dr. John R. Seffrin
Chief Executive Officer
American Cancer Society
Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. Seffrin completed an M.S. in Health Education at Illinois and a Ph.D. in health education at Purdue University. His life was touched
by cancer at an early age–he was 10 when his grandmother died of cancer. He also lost his mother to cancer, and his wife is a breast cancer
survivor. Although he has been the CEO of the American Cancer Society since 1992, Dr. Seffrin began his affiliation with the organization as a
volunteer. His leadership of the American Cancer Society has been described as visionary. He is credited with revolutionizing the organization
by integrating the ideas of prevention and health education into its mission. He spearheaded the creation of the Society's nonprofit,
nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and is its chief executive officer as well. He is past
president of the International Union Against Cancer, based in Geneva, Switzerland, served as chairman of the board of Independent Sector,
the largest coalition of nonprofit groups, and helped to create the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids, now called the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids. He currently serves on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Prior to joining the ACS headquarters staff, Dr. Seffrin was chairperson of the Department of Applied Health Science at Indiana University.
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2009 Harold Scharper Achievement Award
Dr. James A. Kutsch Jr., Ph.D. '76
President and CEO
The Seeing Eye, Inc.
Morristown, NJ
Dr. James A. Kutsch, Jr., is the recipient of the 2009 Harold Scharper Achievement Award. Dr. Kutsch is president and chief executive
officer of The Seeing Eye, Inc., which provides specially bred and trained dogs to guide people who are blind, and instructs blind people
in the use and care of these dogs. The school, located in Morristown, New Jersey, is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2009. Dr. Kutsch,
who earned a Ph.D. in computer science at Illinois, is the first graduate of the school to service as its president. He was a professor of
computer science at West Virginia University before joining AT&T, where he served first as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff
at Bell Labs. There, he contributed to advances in PBX design, computer-generated speech, and the Unix PC. He also served as vice president
of computing and network services, and as chief information officer. He went on to Convergys, where he served as vice president of strategic
technology. He served on the Board of Trustees of The Seeing Eye, Inc., for 10 years, and has been its chief executive since 2006. He has
lectured nationally on disability awareness, adaptive technology, and advocacy. In 2008, he was recognized with an honorary Doctorate of
Humanities from Rowan University for his lifetime service to people with disabilities, including designing the first talking computer.
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2009 Harold Scharper Humanitarian Award
Martin I. Morse, BS '84, MS '87
Olympic and Paralympic Coach
University of Illinois
Champaign, IL
Martin Morse is the recipient of the 2009 Harold Scharper Humanitarian Award. A former award-winning wheelchair athlete in track and field,
roadracing, and basketball, Mr. Morse completed both bachelor's and master's degrees in kinesiology at the University of Illinois. He has
coached both Olympic and Paralympic wheelchair athletes, counting among his many accomplishments his service as assistant technical director
of wheelchair track exhibition events at the 1984 Olympic Games, head coach of the American delegation in the 1990 and 1991 Goodwill Games,
and head coach of U.S. wheelchair track and field teams in the 1988 and 1992 Paralympics. He served as head coach of the Team Ghana Track Camp,
held at the University of Illinois in 2000 and 2004, and has been a volunteer consultant on a variety of national and international athlete
training systems and programs. He developed a composite glove technology to enhance performance and prevent injury of wheelchair athletes,
and introduced the sport of handcycling as off-season training to maintain upper body strength. Mr. Morse collaborated with Adam Bleakney,
who is now head coach of wheelchair track, field, and racing at Illinois, to build the first aerodynamic model of a racing wheelchair
using high-tech carbon fiber and mylar. The working model was unveiled at the 2002 Boston Marathon. He went on to serve as a consultant on
wind tunnel research and development of racing wheelchairs for the Center for Sports Innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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