“Graduates of the College are doing outstanding work both nationally and internationally,” said Dean Olson. “We are proud that our alumni serve as exemplary models for our current faculty, staff, and students. Congratulations to each of the recipients of this year’s Alumni Association Awards.”
Tong-man Ong, M.S. ‘67; Ph.D. ‘70, Biological Sciences, is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. Ong, the first person from his Taiwan village to go to college, graduated from national
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Tong-man Ong and family
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Taiwan Normal University in 1960 with a degree in biology prior to coming to Illinois State for his master’s and doctorate degrees. He is internationally known for his research in the areas of genetic toxicology and occupational cancer. While conducting research at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Ong was named the Outstanding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Employee of the Year in Research, the one employee to ever be so honored from NIOSH. He received the prestigious Alexander Hollaender Award from the American Environmental Mutagen Society in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the area of occupational genetic toxicology research. He has accumulated many other honors, including the Illinois State University Alumni Achievement Award in 1988. Ong retired from NIOSH in 2003 and continues to work for the organization as a consultant.
Scott D. Drazewski, B.A. ‘79, Psychology, is an E. Burton Mercier Alumni Service Award recipient. He is a circuit judge for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Bloomington. Drazweski has been a member of the Illinois State Attorneys Advisory Board since its establishment in 1998 and currently serves as vice chair. He has played a key role in the success of the mock trial program by coordinating the recruitment of attorneys and judges for the annual Illinois State Invitational Mock Trial Tournament. Drazewski has also been actively involved in a variety of community and university efforts, including the Illinois Supreme Court Special Committee on Child Custody Issues, Youth Impact, Inc., Unit 5 Citizens Advisory Council, Board of Fire and Police Commissioners for the Town of Normal, and the Redbird Club.
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Taye Woldesmiate with friends and family
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Taye Woldesmiate, B.A. ‘82, Agriculture; M.A. ‘84, Politics and Government, is also an E. Burton Mercier Alumni Service Award recipient. He is a visiting international scholar in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State. Woldesmiate helped establish Global Review at the University prior to returning to his native Ethiopia in 1990, where he was elected chairman of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association in 1992. A leader in resistance efforts against the government’s policy of education and employment apartheid, Woldesmiate was arrested on false charges in 1996 and spent nearly six years as a political “prisoner of conscience.” While imprisoned he received the Human Rights award from Education International and was named Man of the Year by the Ethiopian Review. Illinois State helped obtain support for his release in conjunction with Amnesty International with a request signed by 82 U.S. Congressional representatives. He was freed in May 2002.
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Jack Ensch with friends and family
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John C. “Jack” Ensch, B.A. ‘64, English, is a recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award. A retired captain in the U.S. Navy, Ensch logged more than 3,000 flight hours and 800 carrier landings as a naval aviator. He made four combat deployments to Southeast Asia, flew 285 combat missions, and was credited with two confirmed MiG-17 shoot-downs. After being shot down in 1972, he was held as a POW in Hanoi for eight months. Ensch served with distinction in a variety of high-level positions during his 31-year military career, including as executive officer of the Navy Fighter Weapons (Top Gun) School. His many honors include the Navy Cross and three Legion of Merit awards. Since his retirement in 1995, Ensch has served as director of military marketing for the San Diego Padres.
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Sue Michalek with friends and family
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Suzanne M. Michalek, B.A. ‘67; M.S. ‘68, Biological Sciences, is a recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award. A professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Michalek is internationally known for her research in the field of immunology, with more than 260 published original research papers. Her current work focuses on the development of vaccines against tooth decay and agents that can be used in biological warfare, while other research endeavors have focused on identifying and regulating factors involved in inflammation. Michalek’s many honors include the International Association for Dental Research Distinguished Scientist Award for dental caries research. Michalek continues to teach and mentor students and has been the major professor of 40 research doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows.
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Tom Witzig and friends and family
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Thomas E. Witzig, M.D., B.A. ‘75, Biological Sciences, is a recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award. A consultant in the Division of Hematology at Mayo Clinic and a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, Witzig’s clinical practice focuses on multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, macroglobulinemia, chonic lymphocytic leukemia, and lymphomas. In addition to his work with patients and teaching, he is active in research and played a key role in the development of the first radioimmunotherapy agent approved for lymphoma. A Bone Scholar at Illinois State, Witzig’s professional honors include the W.J. Summerskill Award from the Mayo Clinic for outstanding achievement in research, “Best Doctors in America,” and the Mayo Clinic Department of Outstanding Investigator.
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Javelyn Ibarra with friends and family
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Javelyn Ibarra, B.A. ‘97, Communication, is the recipient of an Outstanding Young Alumni Award. She is a regional marketing manager for Mercedes-Benz USA in Jacksonville, Florida, where she oversees all marketing, advertising, events and promotions efforts for the Southeast region. Her area includes 45 markets, and represents 22 percent of Mercedes-Benz sales in the U.S., and ranks as the eighth largest market for Mercedes-Benz worldwide sales. Prior to joining Mercedes-Benz in 2004, Ibarra held positions in sales operations, and marketing and public relations with emerging markets and pioneered several diversity initiatives for the automotive industry. A native of Venezuela, Ibarra has also worked in the travel, advertising, and telecommunication industries in Venezuela, Switzerland, and France.
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Laura Long (right) with her ceremony introducer, Teri Ryburn-Lamont
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Laura L. Long, B.A. ‘94, Politics and Government, is the recipient of an Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Long, corporate counsel for Bingham McCutchen LLP in Los Angeles, California, focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, proxy, and other security matters. She began her legal career with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson LLP. Many of Long’s cases represent more than $100 million in investments and transactions. Long graduated summa cum laude from Illinois State and cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she served on the Environmental Law Journal board for three years, including two years as submissions and article editor.