2024 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AWARDS

The University of Illinois Alumni Association announces the recipients of its Alumni Awards for 2024. The slate of eight awards in six categories will be presented on Sept. 12, 2024, during the UIAA’s annual Alumni Gala, held in conjunction with the University of Illinois Homecoming Week.

“The Alumni Awards give us the opportunity to celebrate Illini who bring honor to their Alma Mater through their outstanding accomplishments and service,” says UIAA President David Bambrey. “The recipients represent the best and brightest that Illinois has to offer, coming from a wide array of generations, backgrounds and University programs.”

George W. Lundeen (Image courtesy of George Lundeen)

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

GEORGE W. LUNDEEN, MFA, 1973, College of Fine and Applied Arts

George Lundeen is president of Lundeen Sculpture, a visual arts studio he founded in Loveland, Colo., in the mid-1970s. A native of Holdrege, Neb., Lundeen was a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar who studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze in Florence, Italy. He received a bachelor of arts from Hastings College in Nebraska before beginning the MFA program at Illinois. Lundeen has been commissioned to sculpt portraits and interpretive works for universities, municipalities, foundations and corporations. His commissioned work for the U of I includes the iconic statue of football legend Red Grange (2009) that stands outside Memorial Stadium, and one of Dick Butkus (2019) that is located in front of the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Performance Center. In 2016, the University of Illinois Springfield commissioned him to create a sculpture of Abraham Lincoln for its campus.

Lundeen’s commissions have resulted in work for the Nebraska Historical Foundation, University of Pennsylvania, Atlanta National Golf Club, Nike, University of Nebraska, Nebraska State Capitol Building, University of Wyoming Law Library, Dartmouth College, Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Air Force Academy, Denver’s Coors Field, and University of Texas at Austin. His subjects have included American statesman Benjamin Franklin, business entrepreneur Red McCombs, astronaut Jack Swigert, aviation pioneer Elrey B. Jeppesen and poet Robert Frost. A member of the National Academy of Design and the National Sculpture Society, Lundeen has been recognized by the National Sculpture Society, Allied Artists of America and the North America Sculpture Exhibition.

Mary Schubauer-Berigan (Image by Kevin Buy/Courtesy of Mary Schubauer-Berigan)

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

MARY SCHUBAUER-BERIGAN, BS, 1987, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Mary Schubauer-Berigan has achieved international distinction in her four-decade career as a cancer epidemiologist, specializing in occupational and environmental carcinogens. She has spent the last five years at the World Health Organization, in Lyon, France, as a senior epidemiologist at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). There, she serves as deputy branch head of the Evidence Synthesis and Classification Branch. She also is the first woman to head the IARC Monographs Programme, the primary source for identifying preventable causes of human cancer, where she manages a staff of 16. The National Cancer Institute awarded IARC multi–million dollar grants to commission research under Schubauer-Berigan’s leadership.

Before moving to IARC/WHO, Schubauer-Berigan was a senior research epidemiologist at the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. While there, she contributed substantively to the epidemiologic literature on workplace hazards and led the development of epidemiologic methods, including research tools used by more than 400 researchers from 50 countries. In recognition of these accomplishments, she was elected Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology in 2012.

James F. and Marlene M. Evans (Image courtesy of James Evans)

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

JAMES F. EVANS, Ph.D., 1968, College of Media

MARLENE M. EVANS

In 1962, Jim Evans joined the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) as an assistant professor. During his tenure, he served as head of the Teaching and Research Division of the Extension Editorial Office (later Office of Agricultural Communications) from 1962 to 1985, and in leadership roles for the Office of Agricultural Communications and Education from 1986 to 1995. In 1970, he helped students establish the American Association of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT), then served for 25 years as a faculty advisor and coordinator of the national headquarters.

Evans was a driving force behind the development of the Agricultural Communications Program at Illinois, and he helped recruit high school students who excelled in 4-H public speaking contests and communications programs. He was a communication technology pioneer in the classroom, using Tele-Lecture to bring professionals into his classroom by amplified phone and by offering tape recordings of his grading comments to his students.

In 1982, Evans helped establish what is now regarded as the first international student-faculty exchange program in agricultural communications. He also helped found and develop the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC), an on-site and online-searchable collection of agricultural communications. ACDC is now part of the University of Illinois Library. In retirement, he remains active as a volunteer associate of the ACDC and informal supporter of agricultural communications programs.

His wife, Marlene, joined him to advise the 4-H House sorority for 25 years and to welcome many students to campus with what ACES lore remembers as “sheep pasture shuffles.” She joined him for many professional meetings and in international travel while raising their three children. The couple has generously provided financial support to ACDC, and other University initiatives. They also helped to garner support for an endowed chair in agricultural communications.

Michelle Tjelmeland (Image courtesy of Michelle Tjelmeland)

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

MICHELLE TJELMELAND, EdM 2000, College of Education

Michelle Tjelmeland’s lifelong dream of being a teacher came to an end when she became profoundly deaf at the age of 24. She quickly found another open door, turning to technology to address both her hearing loss and the need for a new career. After undergoing successful cochlear implant surgery, she founded the non-profit Cochlear Implant Awareness Foundation (CIAF) in 2005 to assist others in obtaining this life-changing procedure. Having previously started a digital brand-identity company (e-websmart) in 1999 to help support her family, Tjelmeland again put that entrepreneurial spirit to work to support the foundation. In 2013 she founded District 23, a retail and online fashion boutique, the proceeds from which have been used to provide millions of dollars’ worth of cochlear equipment to those in need. Tjelmeland has served in leadership roles for various organizations and is a strong promoter of her local community.

Brian Barnhart (Image courtesy of Brian Barnhart)

HONORARY ALUMNI

BRIAN BARNHART

Brian Barnhart is a broadcaster for WDWS/WHMS in Champaign, where he hosts the long running talk show Penny for Your Thoughts on Newstalk 1400 and 93.9 FM. He has been known as the Voice of the Illini for football and basketball games over the past two decades. Barnhart grew up in Tolono, Ill., and has been going to Illini sports events since he was a child. He started his undergraduate radio career as a campus radio announcer for Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Barnhart then spent several years in radio and TV broadcasting, handling play-by-play for high school and college football and basketball, as well as broadcasting minor league baseball in Virginia and Oklahoma. In 1998, Barnhart moved up to the major leagues to handle radio play-by-play for the Anaheim (now L.A.) Angels. He returned home to Central Illinois in 2000 and joined the WDWS morning show team. Barnhart filled in occasionally for longtime Illini sportscaster and colleague Jim Turpin. When Turpin retired in 2002, Barnhart was offered the opportunity to fill the position. Barnhart is married to U. of I. alumna Leanne Barnhart, who received her Ed.M. from the College of Education and now serves as executive director of Lincoln Academy of Illinois.

David L. Clark (Image courtesy of David L. Clark)

LOU LIAY SPIRIT AWARD

DAVID L. CLARK, Bachelor of Civil Engineering, 1977, Grainger College of Engineering

Dave Clark is a staunch supporter of the U. of I. and attends a variety of athletic events throughout the year. He holds season tickets for basketball and football, with 2024 marking the 48th consecutive year he has supported the Fighting Illini on the gridiron. In fact, he has never missed a home football game since he became a season ticket holder as a student in 1975; to keep his streak alive, he has flown home from Disneyland and rearranged family events. He has been a member of the Division of Intercollegiate Association Fan Council, currently is a member of the Rebounders Club, and began his association with the Quarterback Club as a board member in 2010.

Clark served 28 years as an engineer with the Illinois Dept. of Transportation (IDOT) in District 4 (Peoria) and five years as the IDOT District Engineer for District 5 (Paris), which encompasses 11 counties in east central Illinois, including Champaign County and the U. of I. Clark retired from IDOT in 2004 and then became part owner if consulting engineering firm.  The company was sold in 2022, and Clark currently is employed by the City of Mattoon, Ill., as their public works director.  He has participated with many campus engineering organizations and events, providing mentoring to students. Clark continues to recruit U. of I. graduates and promotes intern opportunities to students who are pursuing degrees in civil engineering. His financial support benefits the University of Illinois Foundation, the I FUND, the Marching Illini, Orange Krush and the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Scott L. Lichtenthal (Image courtesy of Scott L. Lichtenthal)

YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD

SCOTT L. LICHTENTHAL, MBA 2021, Gies College of Business

Scott Lichtenthal serves as senior vice president of advanced analytics products at Mastercard. In this role, he and his team are responsible for building and managing a portfolio of software products, data products and services offerings that help strategy, product, marketing and analytics leaders address their most critical problems using best-in-class AI and machine learning. Prior to joining Mastercard, Lichtenthal held leadership positions at Gartner, Booz Allen Hamilton and Procter & Gamble. He holds an MBA from University of Illinois, a JD from Northern Kentucky University and a BS from Cornell University. In 2024, he was recognized by AIM Research as one of the 100 leaders who are propelling the AI and analytics industry forward globally.

Anna L. Oldani (Image courtesy of Anna L. Oldani)

YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD

ANNA L. OLDANI, BS 2012 ENG, MS 2014 ENG and Ph.D. 2019, ENG

Anna Oldani is at the forefront of sustainable aviation research and policy, including fuel development and deployment and sustainable aviation technologies. She is the chief scientific and technical advisor for environment and energy at the Federal Aviation Administration, where she oversees university research at the Aviation Sustainability Center of Excellence (ASCENT) and coordinates with industry under the Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) Program. Oldani works across federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy through the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge, to ensure the advancement of sustainable aviation goals. She also is advancing the Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) Grant Program. She serves as co-rapporteur for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection’s Fuels Task Group, facilitating international dialogues and technical cooperation. In 2023, she received a Secretary of Transportation Award for her work on the U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan, helping develop the U.S. aviation sector’s vision and plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. She also received a 2022 Secretary of Energy Achievement Award for her work on the SAF Grand Challenge.