April 8, 2003
BOISE STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NAMES
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AND TOP TEN SCHOLARS
The Boise State Alumni Association will honor the
winners of its Distinguished Alumni and Top Ten Scholars awards at a banquet at
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in the Boise State Student Union Jordan Ballroom.
Tickets are $20 and are available at the Alumni Center, 1173 Grant St. Call
426-1959 for information.
The awards are given annually to recognize excellence
among present and former students of the university. Traditionally each student
honors one faculty member.
This year’s Distinguished Alumni are:
Salman Akram, who earned an MBA from Boise State in
1999, is an inventor with more than 370 U.S. patents for new innovations and
technologies. He also held the tile of No. 1 inventor at Micron and for Idaho at
large for the years 1998 through 2002. Akram previously received a bachelor’s
degree in electrical engineering from the University of Lagos, a master’s
degree in electrical engineering from the State University of New York-Buffalo
and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Akram holds more patents than any other alumnus in the
history of Boise State University. Employed by Micron Technology since 1993,
Akram has completed various research and development projects in the fabrication
and design of DRAM chips (dynamic random access memory). He has also published
more than 20 journal papers and technical articles.
On his own initiative Akram regularly visits elementary
and secondary schools, talking to students about science, geography, engineering
and just about anything else in which students are interested. He also
participated in the Science Mentoring Program at Eagle High School.
Ralph Frazer, from the Boise
Junior College class of 1947, is known for his work in civic and cultural fields
— as a media broadcaster, an entrepreneur in South Africa, and a city
councilmember who helped develop the Boise Greenbelt.
Frazer began his studies at Boise Junior College after
earning tuition money during the summer of 1939 by working as an extra on the
set of the MGM movie “Northwest Passage.” Frazer put his studies on hold for
a few years when in 1941 he was hired by Harry Morrison of Morrison Knudsen as a
radioman on Midway Island. Following the U.S. entry into World War II, he served
in the Army Air Corps where he operated a clandestine short-wave radio relay
station in Peru.
After the war he completed his associate degree at BJC in
1947 and then, along with his brother, took a slow boat to Africa. After
discovering there were no hamburger restaurants in South Africa, the brothers
opened The Hamburger Hut in Pretoria and eventually expanded to five hamburger
restaurants and one bakery.
Returning to the United States in 1954, Frazer worked for
KBOI-TV and KBOI–Radio. In 1961 he built Idaho’s first country and western
station and in 1968 Idaho’s first FM-stereo station.
From 1961 to 1991, Frazer served on many civic and
governmental boards and associations, including 16 years in the Boise Chamber of
Commerce and as president of the Boise Auditorium District, where he led the way
for the Boise Centre on the Grove. Elected to the Boise City Council in 1966, he
worked diligently to develop the Boise Greenbelt and chaired the committee that
brought the first cable TV system to the area.
Hud Hudson received a
bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from Boise State in 1986 then went on to
accomplish an academic feat at the University of Rochester. He earned both a
master of arts degree and a Ph.D. in philosophy in the record time of four
years, studying under eminent Kant scholar Lewis White Beck, who came out of
retirement in part to mentor Hudson.
Now a professor at Western Washington University in
Bellingham, Wash., Hudson credits the Boise State philosophy department faculty
for nurturing his aspiration to become a university philosophy professor. “What
the [Boise State] philosophy department had to offer me was intimate interaction
with a very talented faculty that always had their students’ best interests in
mind and that brilliantly motivated, challenged, educated and enriched the lives
of those students,” said Hudson.
Hudson has garnered national and international recognition
in the areas of metaphysics and Kantian philosophy. He has published two books
and authored dozens of writings and presentations, including articles in the
internationally prominent Kant-Studien and Noûs.
He has earned numerous grants, awards and honors at
Western Washington, including being named as the 1997-98 recipient of the annual
Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award. As founder of and faculty adviser for the
Undergraduate Philosophy Club, he established Wednesday night dinners where
students and faculty gather for informal dinners and discussions of
philosophical questions.
Eileen Thornburgh earned
three degrees at Boise State — a bachelor’s degree in elementary education,
’74, a master of arts in reading, ’84, and a doctorate in curriculum and
instruction, ’97. In addition, she completed National Board Certification in
1999.
Named Idaho Teacher of the Year in 2001, Thornburgh has
served the children of Idaho as a music teacher, a math teacher/specialist, a
reading teacher/specialist and a third-grade teacher in the Meridian School
District. She also provides a professional role model to aspiring teachers by
teaching language arts classes in the teacher preparation program at Boise
State.
Thornburgh has received many honors in recognition of her
outstanding contributions to the education of young children. She was a Disney
Teacher nominee in 1999, the Silver Sage Teacher of the Year in 2000, the
Meridian District Teacher of the Year in 2000, a Scholastic Inc. fellow in 2001,
an International Space Camp Leadership honoree in 2001 and an Olympic
torchbearer in 2002.
Although neither of Thornburgh’s parents graduated from
high school, they instilled in Thornburgh and her two sisters a love of
learning. Consequently all three daughters earned doctorates. Working her way
through college, Thornburgh held a variety of jobs that contributed to her
life-learning experiences, including an auto mechanic, an English tutor for
migrant workers, a tractor driver and a begonia propagator, to name just a few.
She puts into action her love of the outdoors through her
work with the Bureau of Land Management, Parks and Recreation, Ducks Unlimited,
the Nature Conservancy and Campfire of Idaho.
Top 10 Scholars are chosen from among the top 10 percent
of Boise State’s graduating class for 2002-03. They are selected based on
academic performance, recommendation from college deans and club and research
activities. Each student names a Boise State professor who was particularly
influential to the student’s success. This year’s award winners and their
honored professors are:
Malissa Adams of Boise is a
psychology major with an English minor. The former president of the Boise State
Association of Psychology Students, recruitment chair for Alpha Chi Omega
sorority, and member of Psi Chi National Honor Society, she was on the dean’s
list every semester. As a research assistant, she studied skin cancer prevention
for the American Cancer Society and presented at national conferences. Adams
plans to pursue a Ph.D. in school psychology. Her honored faculty member is Rob
Turrisi, psychology.
Erica Crockett of Boise is a
senior with a dual major in philosophy and English. A member of the Honors
College, she has received scholarships from both the philosophy and biology
departments and has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average. Crockett has written
as a columnist for The Arbiter. She plans to teach English in China and join the
Peace Corps prior to pursing graduate school. Her primary goal is to write
fiction. Her honored faculty member is Andrew Schoedinger, philosophy.
Katherine Jo Crozier of
Jerome is a senior with a major in bilingual/multicultural elementary education.
She is a past president and social justice administrator for St. Paul’s
Catholic Student Group. She was named to the dean’s list for four semesters.
Crozier is a recipient of both the J&B Case and Frances Woods education
scholarships for the 2002-03 school year. She plans to continue her education in
bilingual education and theology. Her honored faculty member is Jay Fuhriman,
elementary education and specialized studies.
Jeremy Egbert of Boise
graduated magna cum laude in December of 2002 with a bachelor of science degree
in biology. He received Boise State biology department and Laura Moore
Cunningham Foundation scholarships, and was awarded a Sigma Xi research grant in
2002 to complete his independent project, the results of which were submitted
for publication. He was on the dean’s list for eight semesters. Egbert will
begin graduate school
this fall at Washington State University. His honored
faculty member is James Belthoff, biology.
Matthew Leslie of Caldwell
is a senior electrical engineering major. He was named Outstanding Electrical
Engineering Student for 2001-02 by the Idaho Society of Professional Engineers.
A member of Eta Kappa Nu electrical engineering honor society, Leslie is also a
Micron Scholar in Engineering and a Brown Scholar. He was on the dean’s list
every semester. He plans to attend graduate school and obtain a master of
science degree in electrical engineering. His honored faculty member is Jake
Baker, electrical engineering.
JoLynn Montgomery of Kenai,
Alaska, will graduate with a health science studies degree and distinguished
honors from the Honors College. She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, the Symphonic
Winds, the Honor Student Association and the Boise State ambassadors. Montgomery
is the recipient of the following scholarships: President Charles and Sally Ruch
Inaugural Health Science, health science studies department, National Merit
Special, Cambell Memorial and Gem State. Her honored faculty member is Marcellus
Brown, music.
Melissa Ray of Orofino is a
senior mechanical engineering major and member of the Honors College. She is a
Brown Honors scholar and received the Idaho Society of Professional Engineers
Co-Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Student Award. Ray is involved in the
Honors Student Association and helped organize the first Locks of Love Cut-Off.
She has enjoyed working as a university math tutor for the past three and a half
years. Her honored faculty member is Paul Dawson, mechanical engineering.
Joni Siu of Boise is a
senior economics major. A National Collegiate scholar, she is also a member of
Phi Kappa Phi honor society and the Honors College. She was involved in the
Upside Down Club, Boise State ambassadors, math tutoring services, the National
Student Exchange program, and the Kauffman Internship program. Siu is a
recipient of the Boise Cascade Environmental Research Fellowship, Haugse-Cossey
Foundation Scholarship and Ellis Lamborn Scholarship. Her honored faculty member
is Richard Payne, economics.
Kylee (Williams) Wiscombe of
Boise graduated in December with a bachelor of business administration degree in
accountancy. She is presently enrolled in the master of accountancy program and
plans to sit for the Certified Public Accounting exam in November. Wiscombe
currently serves as president of Beta Alpha Psi accounting honors organization,
is also the Boise State site coordinator of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
Program (VITA), and was recently selected as the outstanding graduate for the
department of accountancy. Her honored faculty member is Paul Bahnson,
accountancy.
Kimberly Woods of Cataldo
graduated in December with a bachelor of arts degree in English teaching. She
was a member of the Honors College, Sigma Tau Delta, student vice president of
Phi Kappa Phi, and served two years as president of the Honors Student
Association. Woods was a Brown Honors scholar and received a Boise Cascade
Environmental Research Fellowship. She was recently named to the Founders’
Leadership Society and was the December 2002 commencement speaker. Her honored
faculty member is Gregory Raymond, Honors College and political science.
-30-
Contact
Lee Denker
Alumni Association
426-5790
Media Contact
Pat Pyke
communications and marketing
208 426-1987
Return to News home
