Alumni Association Awards
Joseph A. Russo will receive the James E. Armstrong
Award on April 25 at the spring Alumni Senate meeting. Russo,
who received an honorary degree from Notre Dame in1992, has been
the director of Notre Dame's Office of Student Financial Services
since 1978, and is now in his 38th year in his profession. Russo
is editor of the National Association of Student Financial Aid
Administrator's Journal of Student Financial Aid. He
has been elected to two separate terms on the College Scholarship
Service's National Council and also served a five-year term as
a charter member of the NCAA Committee on Financial Aid and Amateurism.
An active participant in student loan reform initiatives, Russo
was a member of the Coalition for Student Loan Reform Task Force
and has testified on the Direct Loan Program before a Senate Committee.
Katherine A. Kersten '73 will be presented the Family
Exemplar Award at the spring Alumni Senate meeting. Kersten, a
writer and attorney, is senior fellow for Cultural Studies at
the Center of the American Experiment in Minneapolis. A founding
director of the center, she served as its chairfrom 1996 to 1998.
Kersten also is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune,
a position she has held since 1996. Kersten has written and spoken
on cultural, family and policy issues for several national publications
and television programs, and has been a regular commentator for
National Public Radio's All Things Considered. Kersten
is a member of the advisory boards of the Institute on Religion
and Democracy in Washington, D.C., and the Minnesota Association
of Scholars. She has been named a Friend of the Humanities by
the Minnesota Humanities Commission. of Minnesota, where she was
a member of the Minnesota Law Review.
Darrell R. Gordon '88, '89MSA, is recipient of the
William D. Reynolds Award to be presented at halftime of the Blue
Gold game on April 26. Gordon is chief executive officer for Wernle
Children's Home, a residential treatment behavioral health care
agency serving youth in Indiana and Ohio. Besides Gordon's administrative
duties, he also works directly with the boys and solicits their
feedback concerning the program at Wernle. Gordon is also adjunct
professor of sports law at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Prior to accepting his position at Wernle, he served as coordinator
of the NCAA's "Education and Stay in Bounds" program, designed
to promote the development of character and good sportsmanship
in young athletes. Gordon played outside linebacker for the Irish
and was a starter on the 1988 national championship team. He earned
his J.D. from Northern Kentucky University's Chase College of
Law.
Franklin E. Eck '44 will be presented with the Rev.
Edward F. Sorin, CSC, Award at Reunion '03 in June. Eck is chairman
and CEO of Advanced Drainage Systems Inc., producers of engineered
plastic drainage pipe. Eck earned his MBA from the Harvard Business
School in 1949. He has been a member of the advisory council for
the Notre Dame College of Engineering for 10 years and in 1988
was named honorary member of the Monogram Club. His contributions
to the University can be seen throughout campus: the Eck Tennis
Center was built in 1987; the Frank Eck Baseball Stadium in 1994;
and the Eck Center, which houses the Hammes Bookstore, Alumni
Association offices and the Visitors' Center, opened in 1999.
In 1984, Eck presented a gift to establish a collection of chemical
engineering books at the Hesburgh Library. He is also a major
benefactor for the Notre Dame Law School.
Gareth D. Zehrbach '98, '00M.S., will receive the Young
Alumni Award at the spring Senate meeting. Through the Alliance
for Catholic Education (ACE), Zehrbach served from 1998 to 2000
as a teacher at Saint Anthony's Middle School in Robstown, Texas,
on the border with Mexico. He showed leadership in dealing
with issues including a funding crisis, the death of a student
and a fire that destroyed most of the school building. Zehrbach
earned a reputation as a role model to his students as he gained
their trust, stressed the value of education and instilled hope.
He is pursuing his Ph.D. in education administration at the University
of Wisconsin and is an active volunteer with the Notre Dame Club
of South Central Wisconsin.
NDA Today
More than 45,000 Notre Dame alumni are now receiving a monthly
electronic newsletter from the Alumni Association. You can join
the list of NDA Today recipients by registering for Irish
Online at alumni.nd.edu.
Non-graduates can become subscribers by sending an e-mail
to ndalumni@nd.edu and giving their name, e-mail address, and
noting their desire to receive NDA Today. This service
is free of charge.
Dinosaur Excavation
Professor J. Keith Rigby, Notre Dame associate professor of civil
engineering and geological sciences, invites alumni, students
and friends of the University to join him in the Montana Badlands
to assist in continued recovery of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus
Rex specimens ever found. Four two-week sessions begin June 22
and finish August 15 at a cost of $1,380 per session. One week
sessions are open from July 6 to August 8 for $750. The cost covers
lodging, meals, tools and supplies needed for field and laboratory
work, and local transportation. For more information, contact
Rigby at Rigby.1@nd..edu, 574-631-6245, or visit www.nd.edu/~engineer/dinoweb/.
Tour Kilkenny
A tour of County Kilkenny, Ireland, will be hosted by Joan and
Chuck Lennon '61, '62M.A., executive director of the
Alumni Association and associate vice president of University
Relations, along with Athletic Director Kevin White and his wife,
Jane from July 30 to August 7. For more information, contact Alumni
Travel at 800-634-2631 or visit alumni.nd.edu/travel.
Reunion '03
Besides undergraduate and law classes ending in 3 and 5, the
following alumni groups are invited to Reunion '03 on campus June
5-8: the 50 Year Club (1925-1952); undergraduate classes and Law
School classes of 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988,
1993, 1998; architect grads who finished their fifth year in years
ending in 4 or 9; Black Alumni of ND; graduate mathematics; and
National Science Foundation chemistry graduates. Visit http://alumni.nd.edu/reunion/index.html
for names of those registered. Widowed alumni spouses interested
in attending should call 574-631-6584.
New class officers are elected at the Friday class dinner for
classes who choose to hold an election. Alumni interested in nominating
themselves or a classmate should contact their class officers.
Class officers are listed at http://alumni.nd.edu.
