William G. McGowan

Founder and former Chief Executive Officer of MCI Telecommunications William G. McGowan was given the first Strowger Award during the McClure School's conference on global communications held during Communication Week 1991.

McGowan, credited as the catalyst for introducing competition in the long-distance telephone industry due to his successful legal battle to break up AT&T's monopoly, was selected in part because he changed the face of the communication industry. The award cites McGowan for his "vision of information technology as a force for innovation," and because he was "committed to competition and to the opportunities it creates."

"McGowan is the obvious choice as our first recipient," said then school director Phyllis Bernt. "He opened the door for many technological developments and career paths that didn't exist before."

Gregory LeVert, then president of MCI's central division in Chicago, accepted the award on McGowan's behalf due to McGowan's ill health at the time.

McGowan died in June, 1992. For additional information on William G. McGowan and the fund created in his name, the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, Inc., go to http://www.mcgowanfund.org/.