Distinguished Alumni Award
Dennis Barsema
F.R. Geigle Award
Sally Stevens
Outstanding Alumni Award
Nicholas O. Brooks
College Outstanding Alumni Awards
College of Business
Dean DeBiase
College of Education
Lixin Huang
College of Engineering and Engineering Technology
Gerald E. Stark
College of Health and Human Sciences
Sister Judith Ann Duvall, O.S.F.
College of Law
Barbara Giorgi Vella
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
William B. Burr
College of Visual and Performing Arts
Joyce L. Marcus
Please note that the following profile information is current as of April 2006.
Distinguished Alumni Award
The most prestigious award presented by the NIU Alumni Association, this honor is given to a graduate who has achieved outstanding professional success and prominence.
Dennis Barsema
Dennis Barsema graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in management in 1977. Dennis' generosity to his alma mater has provided important support for student programs and scholarships but in a much more visible way has changed the landscape of Northern's campus. However, financial support is just one aspect of Dennis' importance to the Northern community. Despite his many accomplishments and accolades, his ability to relate to NIU students and young alumni in a modest and honest manner inspires them by his example. Making several trips to NIU each year, Dennis generously devotes his time and expertise to the College of Business as a teacher and mentor.
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F.R. Geigle Award
This award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding service and commitment to the best interests of NIU. The recipient does not need to be an NIU graduate.
Sally Stevens
For most of her life, Sally Stevens has been connected to NIU. Serving as secretary to six university presidents, Sally devoted her professional life to the betterment of NIU. She has said before that she always knew the day would come for her to leave a legacy at NIU, and Sally has done just that. Through her generosity, endowed scholarships have been established for students in the Schools of Art, Music, and Theatre and Dance; the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center came to life; and the Academic and Athletic Performance Center will come to fruition.
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Outstanding Alumni Award
Special recognition is given to an individual who has shown outstanding promise and achievements within ten years of earning an undergraduate degree from NIU.
Nicholas O. Brooks
Nicholas O. Brooks graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2002 and shortly thereafter signed a contract with Celebrity Management, beginning his professional solo career as a singer in Las Vegas and abroad. Not only is Nicholas a wonderfully talented signer he has used his degree to make an impact on today's youth by establishing educational programs and summer camps that introduce children and teenagers to the world of the arts.
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Outstanding College Alumni Awards
These awards are presented to individuals from each of the university's seven colleges, thereby highlighting the diverse disciplines of a comprehensive university.
Dean DeBiase
College of Business
Dean DeBiase graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1980 and has since built leading business services and consumer products companies, and run global subsidiaries of Fortune 500 corporations in various media, communications, technology, and entertainment sectors. With such a vast array of experience Dean was selected to take part in the co-authoring of the book The Big Moo along with legendary business authors Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Tom Peters, and others, earlier this year.
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Lixin Huang
College of Education
Lixin Huang graduated from NIU with a master's degree in education with an emphasis on leadership and educational policy studies in 1988. Today she is the president of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) in San Francisco, California. Under Lixin's guidance, ACTCM is quickly becoming the premier institution of Oriental medicine in North America.
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Gerald E. Stark
College of Engineering and Engineering Technology
Gerald E. Stark graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1989 and is currently the Vice President of Product Development and Education for Fillauer, Inc. Gerry's extensive contribution to the scientific community include over 70 presentations given between 1996 and 2005, and over 40 written additions to various publications/reference books.
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Sister Judith Ann Duvall, O.S.F.
College of Health and Human Sciences
Sister Judith Ann Duvall, O.S.F., graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1972 and is currently president of OSF Healthcare System. The approximately 12,000 OSF employees in Illinois and Michigan provide care to more than 2.5 million people in the communities they serve. With annual revenues of approximately $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2005, OSF Healthcare System is nationally recognized as a leading integrated healthcare network of facilities.
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Barbara Giorgi Vella
College of Law
Barbara Giorgi Vella graduated from NIU with a master's degree in education in 1987 and a Juris Doctor degree in law in 1992 and is currently a partner with Vella & Lund, P.C., of Rockford, specializing in family law and mediation. Barbara, a longtime community leader, was elected chair of the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University in June 2005 and is currently serving in that capacity. Barbara is both the first Rockford resident and the first woman to lead NIU's independent governing board since its inception in 1996.
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William B. Burr
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
William B. Burr earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorates degrees from NIU in History in 1971, 1975, and 1987. On September 20, 2005, in New York City, Williams hard work as lead researcher paid off as he personally accepted the 2005 Emmy Award for outstanding achievement in news and documentary research for the documentary Declassified: Nixon in China; a documentary produced by ABC News Productions for the Discovery Times Channel. Unfortunately William is in Europe and cannot be here with us tonight. Here to accept his award is Carl Parrini. Carl is a retired NIU professor who taught American Foreign Relations for almost 40 years.
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Joyce L. Marcus
College of Visual and Performing Arts
Joyce L. Marcus graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in art education in 1969 and is currently the founder and CEO of Marcus Advertising, Inc. Joyce started this company with little more than $1,000; today the company has grown to over $8 million in capitalized billings and counts several Fortune 500 companies among its clients. Joyce also uses her marketing brilliance in her humanitarian efforts. In 1991, Joyce created the team that developed the initial marketing plan for the first annual Y-ME Race against Breast Cancer. She worked with staff, volunteer teams, and corporate sponsors to build the race's revenues from $300,000 in the first year to over $3.7 million in 2005.
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