Life in all of its forms is represented in the work of the 2012 LAS alumni award winners—everything from ground squirrels, bats, and whales to rivers, plants, and people.
The three LAS Alumni Achievement Award winners include a leading paleobotanist, renowned for his work on the evolution of plants; an expert on bats, whales, and other mammals; and a sociologist who has helped bring electricity to people in remote parts of the world. The LAS Alumni Humanitarian Award, meanwhile, went to a medical doctor who has found an innovative way to control the epidemic of violence in cities.
Also honored are the two LAS Quadrangle Award winners: the co-chair of the most successful fundraising campaign in University history; and a passionate supporter of geology and cutting-edge research on river systems.
LAS Alumni Achievement Award Winners
David Schmidly, an alum in animal biology, studied bats, whales, and other mammals before moving into the top levels of university administration. As president of three major schools, he helped revive academic and athletic programs, and he even brought on board some legendary coaches, such as Bobby Knight. Read more about David Schmidly.
Karl Niklas specialized in paleobotany at Illinois before going on to become an expert on how plants evolved. He was one of the first to extract organic molecules from fossil plant remains, and he went on to probe the physics and chemistry of plant life millions of years ago. Read more about Karl Niklas.
Douglas Barnes, a sociology alum, has helped coordinate programs for the World Bank that have brought electricity—and light—to remote areas of India and other countries. He then tackled a major health issue by working to bring clean-burning cookstoves to developing countries. Read more about Douglas Barnes.
LAS Alumni Humanitarian Award Winner
Gary Slutkin, a physiology graduate, became an expert in controlling disease epidemics in San Francisco and Somalia before coming back to Chicago, where he realized you could use similar strategies to control the epidemic of violence. His program, CureViolence, is spreading across the world and is the subject of an acclaimed documentary. Read more about Gary Slutkin.
LAS Quadrangle Award Winners
Jane Phillips Donaldson, an English graduate, became the first woman to serve as dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale. She co-founded a prominent recruitment company for nonprofits, and co-chaired Brilliant Futures, the most successful fundraising campaign in U of I history. She has served on the U of I Foundation board for the past 10 years and is currently the chairwoman.
Roscoe G. Jackson II, a geology alumnus, has remained a strong supporter of graduate students in geology, as well as the School of Earth, Society, and Environment. His generosity enabled the U of I to purchase equipment that simulates the study of river systems, and he created an endowment that has enabled graduate students to attend conferences, conduct field studies, and cover equipment costs.
