UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION TO HONOR DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENTS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Arkansas Alumni Association will honor ten award recipients at the 57th Annual Alumni Awards Banquet Friday, Nov. 9, at the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House.

The six awards to be given are the Andrew J. Lucas Alumni Service Award, the Citation of Distinguished Alumni Award, the Alumni Community Service Award, the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, the Honorary Alumni Award and the Young Alumni Award.

This year's Andrew J. Lucas Alumni Service Award honors Charles Whiteside of Little Rock, BSBA '63, first vice president and financial consultant of Merrill Lynch & Company. As an undergraduate, he served in leadership positions in his fraternity, Kappa Sigma, which he credits for his business success. Whiteside continues to serve the Xi Chapter of Kappa Sigma through its Xi Corporation and alumni association, and he has helped spearhead the renovation campaign for the campus fraternity house.

His University service includes the National Development Council, the Student Services Advisory Board and the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee. He is also a former member of Arkansas Alumni Association's Board of Directors.

The Citation of Distinguished Alumni Award will be given to three individuals who were recognized for their exceptional professional and personal achievement and extraordinary distinction in a chosen field. Merideth Boswell, BA '77, set designer who resides in Fayetteville and Los Angeles, Calif., and Judge William H. Enfield, BA '41, JD '48, former Circuit Court Judge who resides in Bentonville, will be honored during the event. Admiral Vernon E. Clark, MBA '68, Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy who resides in Washington D.C., will not be able to attend the event but will still be honored in his absence.

Boswell is known for her imagination and perfection in the set design of several box office hits, including her work for Apollo 13 and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which received Academy Award nominations. She began her film-decorating career in 1986 with film sets in New Orleans. She made the move to Hollywood where she has worked with such renowned directors as Oliver Stone and Ron Howard. Her credits also include Eerie, Indiana (television series); He Said, She said; and Nixon. Some other well-known clients include Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, Beacon Pictures and John Tyson.

The Arkansas Alumni Association honors Boswell for her inspiration, creativity and artistic talents that have left a mark on the entertainment industry.

On July 21, 2000, Admiral Clark assumed the responsibilities and command as the 27th Chief of Naval Operations, the Navy's top military post. His naval career began with service on destroyers and he was promoted in advance of classmates. His tours of duty included command of the USS Grand Rapids, the Atlantic Fleet's Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center and the United States Atlantic Fleet.

Admiral Clark's assignments ashore included administrative assistant to the deputy chief of Naval Operations (Surface Warfare), and during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, he directed the Joint Staff's Crisis Action Team.

The Arkansas Alumni Association honors Admiral Clark for his extraordinary career distinction, leadership and devotion to the United States.

After enlisting in the Marine Corps reserve officer training program, Enfield participated in the Battle of Midway in World War II, being assigned to judge, General and Summary Courts Martial in the Secretary of the Navy's Office in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, he was offered a teaching assignment at the UA School of Law to teach Silas Hunt, the University's first African-American student. Enfield was very instrumental in breaking the barriers of segregation within the School of Law.

In 1951, he was appointed to the position of Benton County Judge. His 20-year private career continued as he practiced corporate law and was instrumental in organizing many Northwest Arkansas corporations such as Wal-Mart and Peterson Industries. After two decades of private practice, he served the Circuit Court for another 20 years.

The Arkansas Alumni Association honors Enfield for his influence that touched the law, education and business of Northwest Arkansas.

Dick Trammel, BSBA '60, of Rogers will be honored with the Alumni Community Service Award. Serving as the executive vice president, member of the board of directors and board secretary of Arvest Bank in Rogers, he has served the Northwest Arkansas community in a variety of ways.

Cities, service organizations, education, the arts and medical care have all benefited from his leadership and energy. The Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce, Northwest Arkansas Community College, Arts Center of the Ozarks and Northwest Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute all received his excellent guidance.

Trammel is a faithful member of the alumni cheerleading squad and delights at being identified as a cheerleader emeritus.

Three UA faculty members will be honored with the Arkansas Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award.

Faculty member Dr. Ronda Mains, department of music in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, is to be honored for teaching. Her students have described her as being inspirational and motivational, and the associate professor of flute/music education and associate chair of music has played a major role in her students' remarkable record of success in national flute competitions.

In addition, many of Mains's students have performed in master classes or continued their music studies at outstanding institutions such as the Manhattan School of Music in New York or the Royal College of Music in London. She received a Teaching Innovation Grant to acquire computer systems, which perform interactive instrumental accompaniments, and she has performed solo and chamber music nationally and abroad.

Faculty member Dr. Scot Burton, Wal-Mart Chair in the department of marketing in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, will be awarded for research. He has made significant contributions that have profoundly impacted the field of marketing.

His work in the public sector largely influenced retail marketing for financial institutions, including on and off premise automatic teller machine systems. He was recently listed as one of the top 25 researchers in the entire marketing discipline based on the number of publications in six top marketing journals from 1991 to 1998.

His research interests include public policy and consumer welfare issues, price and value perceptions, consumer response to advertising and sales promotion, and measurement issues associated with survey research.

Burton has lent his marketing expertise to groups such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In addition, he serves as the Executive Director of the Arkansas Household Research Panel and chairs the 2003 Marketing and Public Policy Conference.

Also to be honored for faculty achievements is Dr. W. Fredrick Limp, department of anthropology in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, for research and service. A specialist in geographic information systems (GIS), Limp is recognized internationally for his work in spatial technology.

He serves as the professor of anthropology, adjunct professor of geosciences, director for the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST) and National Consortium for Rural Geospatial Innovations. CAST has been singled out as an exemplary program among academic institutions, whose products include an on-line mapping and analysis system for the state of Arkansas.

He has been principal or co-principal investigator for more than 85 grants totaling more than $18 million, some of which include the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency and The Nature Conservancy. Limp's research has been reported in such publications as The Economist, Omni, New Scientist, Delta Skies and several National Geographic Books.

The Honorary Alumni Award will go to former scholarship coordinator at the Arkansas Alumni Association, Bonnie Barney of Fayetteville. Over the past eleven years, she has been instrumental in awarding over 735 scholarships totaling nearly $1 million. During her tenure, the collegiate license plate program was implemented in support of scholarships, as well as the "Roads Scholarship" program. Moreover, her personal approach with each of the scholars made loyal alumni of them all. Her reassuring dedication has earned the respect of many students, parents and staff.

Barney's love of the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Alumni Association is evident through her fostering, caring, loving and nurturing spirit toward the alumni scholars.

The Young Alumni Award will be bestowed on Kevin Clark, BSA '86. Clark is the chief operating officer of ImmunoVision, Inc., a small diagnostic firm in Springdale that manufactures tests for auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. His undergraduate work in animal science proved valuable in his experience at ImmunoVision, and in 1995, Clark's efforts rescued the company from bankruptcy, and the business was sold to the publicly-traded Ivax Corporation.

His dedication to developing biotechnology in Arkansas extends to his volunteer work. He serves as president and a founding member of the Arkansas Biotechnology Association.

At a young age, Clark has earned professional and global distinction for the development of diagnostic systems to combat disease.

Award presenters at the event will include Arkansas Alumni Association Executive Director Mike Macechko, Arkansas Alumni Association President Jeffrey R. Johnson and University of Arkansas Chancellor John A. White.

The Arkansas Alumni Association seeks to foster loyalty, lifelong relationships, commitment and communication among all alumni, future alumni and friends to advance the best interests of the University.

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Debbie Blume, executive assistant, 479-575-6476, dblume@uark.edu

Jay Nickel, assistant manager of media relations, 479-575-7943, jnickel@uark.edu