Graduates to Receive Alumni Association Awards
ATHENS, Ohio -- Nine Ohio University alumni will be recognized during the Alumni Awards Banquet Friday, Oct. 26. The Alumni Association annually honors alumni who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication to the university. Below is this year's recipients listed by award category.
ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR
Richard H. Brown, BSC '69 and HON '96
Brown is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of EDS,the world's second largest computer services provider. He sits on the President's Advisory Committee on Trade and Policy Negotiations and the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Council. Brown serves on the board of directors with Vivendi Universal and The Home Depot, and he is a trustee of Southern Methodist University and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Prior to joining Plano, Texas-based EDS, Brown headed Cable and Wireless, a British telecommunications company, and was the first nonfamily member to run H&R Block. Brown has served as a trustee of The Ohio University Foundation since 1989. He and his wife, Christine Demler Brown, also an Ohio University graduate, live in Dallas, Texas, and have two children.
MEDALS OF MERIT
Yvette McGee Brown, BSJ '92
McGee Brown is judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division, a position she was elected to in 1992. Then 32 years old, she was the youngest elected judge in Ohio and the first African-American and the second women elected to the post. She leads United Way's Early Childhood Education Initiative and is involved in organizations that focus on children and families. She received her law degree from the Ohio State University. McGee Brown has served in various public service roles, including as Ohio assistant attorney general. She and her husband, Anthony Brown, a teacher, live in Columbus with their three children.
D. William Schlott, BS '58
Schlott is the first appointee to the Philip A. Tumulty Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine, which was named for his mentor. Schlott has worked with the National Cancer Institute and at the University of Connecticut. He returned to Johns Hopkins, where he received his medical degree in 1962, as an assistant professor in 1967. To recognize his contributions, Johns Hopkins University recently established the D. William Schlott, M.D., Professorship in Clinical Medicine. A fellow of the American College of Physicians, Schlott has been a visiting professor in Iran, Japan and United Arab Emirates and headed a medical delegation to Cuba. He and his wife, Pamela, live in Baltimore, Md., and have four daughters.
Charles F. Wiedenmann, BSED '70, MED '73 and PhD '78
Wiedenmann taught for three years after graduating from Ohio University in 1970, then returned to pursue both a master's degree and a doctorate in education administration. Today, he works as a consultant to Steed-Hammond-Paul Architects, which designs school buildings. He has served as superintendent of Fairfield (Ohio) City Schools and as superintendent of Eaton (Ohio) City Schools. In 1998, he was named Ohio Superintendent of the Year. He is a member of the College of Education's Society of Alumni and Friends and in 1991 received the college's Outstanding Alumnus Award. He also serves on the college's development board. Wiedenmann and his wife, Rose, live near Cincinnati and have six children.
Kenneth J. Kies, AB '74
Kies is co-managing partner of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Washington National Tax Services Office, which advises Fortune 200 companies on tax policy matters before Congress, the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Previously, he worked as the chief of staff of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. As chief Republican tax counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee from 1981 to 1987, he helped develop the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Reform Acts of 1984 and 1986.Kies holds a law degree from the Ohio State University and a master of laws degree in taxation from Georgetown University. He lives in McLean, Va., with his wife, Kathleen, and their two children, Katherine and Kylie.
HONORARY ALUMNA
Judith M. Johnson
A native of England, Johnson came to Athens in 1976 with her husband, Peter, an Ohio University professor of biochemistry. For 16 years, she has worked in various roles for the Ohio University Alumni Association and now is its assistant director of alumni relations for societies and campus relations. Johnson is involved in the Ohio University Women's Club, is an adviser for Phi Mu sorority and has served on numerous volunteer boards and committees. In 1999, she was elected to Ohio University's Administrative Senate. She and her husband live in Athens and have a son and a daughter.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS
Sydney E. Buck, BSCO '57
Buck has proven to be a powerful fund-raiser as an Ohio University Foundation trustee and former regional campaign chair. He is a member of the University Libraries' Advancement Committee for the Bicentennial Campaign and was a founding member of its National Advisory Council. He is vice president of The Koll Co., a real estate and management business in Newport Beach, Calif. He also is a certified public accountant and has managed the development of office buildings in Orange County, Calif. Buck and his wife, Sonya Donlan, reside in Corona del Mar, Calif., and have two children and four grandchildren.
Lou Vlasho, BSCO '59
A native of Macedonia, Vlasho helps his homeland through The Vlasho Group, a consultant to Macedonian businesses. Currently, he serves as vice president of the Rimaco Corporation and Vergina, an Italian restaurant, both in Naples, Fla. Previously, he worked as vice president and controller of the Hobart Corporation of Troy, Ohio, and as senior vice president of Green Bay, Wis.-based Gold Bond Ice Cream Company. In his efforts to provide opportunities for Macedonian students, he helped to establish the first international Cutler Scholars Program, which allows two Macedonian students to study at Ohio University each year. Last year, Vlasho helped initiate a program involving the College of Business and the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, Macedonia. Vlasho and his wife, Pat, reside in Naples, Fla. He has two sons, Vincent and Steven.
CHARLES AND CLAIRE PING RECENT GRADUATE AWARD
Deanna L. Etling, BSED '92
Etling is employed with the Second National Bank of Aurora, Ohio, as a personal banker. She stays busy volunteering with her church as a Sunday school teacher, choir member, committee chair and by working with the children's music program. Also active in the Ohio University Women's Club of Greater Cleveland, she holds the positions of membership secretary and acting Siblings Weekend coordinator and is a past treasurer. Etling resides in Hudson, Ohio. Her mother, Janice Pink Etling, is a 1964 Ohio University graduate.
