Graduates Receive Alumni Association Awards
Contact: Connie Romine, (740) 593-4300
Editors: Photos of the alumni award winners can be downloaded by visiting www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/ and clicking on their last names. A photo of Patricia Pae is not available.
ATHENS, Ohio (October 13, 2000) -- Ten Ohio University alumni will be recognized during the Alumni Awards Banquet Friday, Oct. 20. The Alumni Association annually honors alumni who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication to the university. Here are this year's recipients listed by award category.
ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR
Charles R. Emrick Jr., BSC '51 and MSJ '52
Emrick is a retired senior partner in the Cleveland law firm of Calfee, Halter and Griswold, where he enjoyed a 35-year career. He now is a senior vice president and director of The TransAction Group, an investment banking firm. As a loyal advocate for the university, he served as a member of the Ohio University Board of Trustees from 1992 to 2000 and as its chairman in 1996-97. He also is a member of the Ohio University Foundation board.
He and his wife Lizabeth, BSJ '52, have endowed four Cutler scholarships and established a perpetual merit scholarship in journalism. Emrick received the Alumni Association's Medal of Merit in 1993 and has been recognized as an outstanding alumnus by the College of Business. He is a member of the Ohio Judicial Review Committee and has served in leadership roles for the Cleveland Zoological Society and the American Cancer Society and on the boards of more than 30 companies. He and Lizabeth have two children and four grandchildren and live in Westlake, Ohio.
MEDALS OF MERIT
William A. Dillingham, BBA '71
Dillingham is president of Buckeye Business Products Inc. and Aspen Imaging in Cleveland. He has served his alma mater as a member of the Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees and a participant in various university campaigns and development efforts for Athletics and the Green and White Club in Cleveland. He also helps student-athletes find summer jobs and visits campus to interact with College of Business students.
Dillingham has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Ohio University Alumni Association and been involved with the association's Board of Directors. He is an active participant in the Cleveland Cancer Society, the Cleveland Jaycees, the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Cleveland Men's Club. He and his wife, Barbara LaVine, live in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Peter T. Lalich Sr., BSCOM '42
Lalich has helped build support among Ohio University graduates by organizing various alumni chapters and events. He was instrumental in the organization of the Konneker Golf Klassic and the development of the Gulf Coast alumni chapter and is one of the founders of the Inn Group, a 200-member organization of pre-World War II alumni who have returned for Homecoming each year since 1946.
Lalich, a retired regional vice president of Western-Southern Life Insurance Co., has served on the Ohio University Alumni Association Board of Directors, is a member of Ohio University's Trustees' Academy and received the association's Distinguished Service Award in 1986. A member of the university's basketball team as a student, Lalich now is a member of the Ohio University Athletic Hall of Fame. He is known for keeping the National Basketball League alive by organizing a Cleveland franchise in the 1940s. He and his wife, Alyce, live in Spring Hill, Fla.
Karol A. Ondick, BS '55
Ondick, retired vice president of engineering at Systems Research Laboratories in Dayton, has demonstrated the skills and drive necessary to be a winner in many fields. He is a member of the Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees and the Board of Visitors for the Russ College of Engineering and Technology. Last year, the college recognized him as a distinguished graduate.
He is active in the Dayton Engineers Club, the Safety and Flight Equipment Association, the American Veterans Association and Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. He has served as an Ohio Athletic Association youth and high school soccer referee and was inducted into the Dayton Fast Pitch Softball Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Jo Ann, live in Enon, Ohio, and are the parents of a son, Colin.
Harry W. White, AB '69
White has achieved career distinction as a Belmont County judge and partner at Banker & White law firm in St. Clairsville. He has excelled as a dedicated supporter of Ohio University, serving on the Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees, the Eastern Campus' Coordinating Council and the alumni association's Board of Directors. The Political Science Department named him 1998 Alumnus of the Year. He is an active participant in St. Clairsville's Sunrise Rotary Club and Christ the King Lutheran Church. White and his wife, Carolyn Sue, BSN '86, live in St. Clairsville.
HONORARY ALUMNUS AWARDS
Ralph S. Izard
With a career in journalism education that has spanned four continents and almost as many decades, Izard has demonstrated a superlative commitment to the educational development of hundreds of students and the ongoing success of Ohio University. An emeritus professor of journalism, Izard served on the faculty from 1966 to 1998 and as director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism from 1986 to 1998. He founded the School of Journalism's Society of Alumni and Friends and coordinated the school's role in the Third Century Campaign.
Since his retirement, Izard has coordinated the international initiative on journalism education for The Freedom Forum, an international foundation dedicated to free press and free speech, and has served as editor of New York publications for The Freedom Forum Online. He and his wife, Janet, live in Athens.
Larry E. McHale
McHale has become a Bobcat by association thanks to his wife Sheila, AB '68, and stepson Scott Seifert, BFA '92. He is chief operating officer for the RA Staff Co., an international sales company dedicated to specifying parts for use in automobiles and appliances. McHale is among the founding principals of The Sales Centre, the Sales Certificate and the Professional Sales Advisory Board in the College of Business. He meets regularly with business professionals and faculty to further sales program initiatives. He is a member of the Trustees' Academy and the Executive Advisory Board of the College of Business and has assisted with university fund-raising. He and Sheila live in Aurora, Ohio.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Heidi L. Tracy, BSJ '89
Tracy understands the importance of connecting with the university and is working to ensure that future generations of alumni stay in touch with their alma mater. As assistant dean for development in the College of Communication, a position she has held since 1997, Tracy works with faculty and alumni to develop innovative programming initiatives and then to secure the funding necessary to make them a reality. She held an identical position in the College of Education from 1995 to 1997. An Ohio University staff member and active alumna, Tracy serves as a student mentor and has received an Excellence in Advising award from the Mortar Board Honor Society. She also volunteers for the American Cancer Society. Tracy lives in Athens.
CHARLES J. AND CLAIRE O. PING RECENT GRADUATE AWARDS
Deborah W. Burke, BSCHE '85
Since her graduation, Burke has honored her alma mater both with exemplary career achievement and involvement in university programs. She is construction services manager for Columbia Gas of Ohio, overseeing the company's construction activities statewide. She assists with the Women in Engineering and Technology summer program and is a member of the Russ College of Engineering and Technology's Minority Advisory Council. Burke lives in New Albany, Ohio, with her husband, Bill, who is chair of the Ohio University Alumni Association.
Patricia A. Proebstle Pae, BBA '90
An e-business solutions consultant for New Legacy Solutions in Independence, Ohio, she participates in the Ohio University Women's Club of Greater Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Alumni Chapter and the Society of Alumni and Friends for the College of Business. She is a member of Ohio University's Trustees' Academy. She and her husband, James, live in Aurora, Ohio.
