LAS celebrates alumni achievement

Seven alumni of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences will receive recognition during the college’s 2025 alumni awards at a celebration in April. They are researchers, volunteers, and political thinkers who have made incredible impacts in their fields and communities.  

LAS Alumni Achievement Award  
Michelle Craig Barton (BS '78, PhD '89, biochemistry)  
Michelle Barton is a world-renowned cancer researcher and educator. Since 2020, she has been the co-director of the Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University after 20 years as a faculty member at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. There she established a robust research program in cancer epigenetics and gene regulation and served as dean of the graduate school for eight years. Through her research, she discovered a protein that plays a role in promoting cancer, particularly breast cancer. Her work has offered new insights into how tumors develop, all with the long-term goal of developing effective, epigenetic-based therapeutics. Barton remains connected to campus as an external committee member of the Cancer Center at Illinois.

Paul M. Lisnek (BA, '80; MA, '80; PhD, '86, speech communication; BA, '80, political science; JD, '83) 
Paul M. Lisnek has built a unique career, becoming both a prominent legal consultant and television and radio legal and political analyst. Following a career in law, Lisnek served as an assistant dean and lecturer at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a jury and trial consultant, working on both the O.J. Simpson and Phil Spector murder cases. After covering Simpson and other trials for NBC News, Lisnek became the host of The Journal, Newsmakers, Political Update, Broadway in Chicago and Politics Tonight, and Political Report. His work has led to multiple Emmy Awards as well as Cablefax, Telly, and Beacon awards. The Illinois House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring his work, and the Chicago City Council designated June 19, 2023, as Paul Lisnek Day. The Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago is home to the Paul M. Lisnek Gallery, which honors his career in the media. Lisnek is the author of 15 books, both non-fiction and fiction.

Doug Schemske (BS, '70; MS, '72; PhD, '77, zoology)  
Doug Schemske has spent his career studying the ecology and evolution of organisms in their natural environments.  With his work cited more than 31,000 times, Schemske has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of pollination biology, plant breeding systems, speciation, adaptation, and geographic patterns of biodiversity. After leaving Illinois, Schemske was a post-doc at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, where he developed his love for tropical biology. He went on to hold faculty positions at top academic institutions. While on campus, Schemske was the drummer in a popular rock band, Feather Train, but ultimately decided he was better suited for a career in science.

Humanitarian Award  
Kenn Allen (BA, ’71, political science) 
Kenn Allen found his life’s work at Illinois not in the classroom but as one of the founding members of VIP – The Volunteer Illini Projects, which became one of the largest student-run volunteer programs in the country. This experience led him to executive leadership positions at the national level, including the Points of Light Foundation, and internationally through IAVE, the International Association for Volunteer Effort, including as its world president.  He has worked in more than 40 countries and done cutting-edge research on how businesses benefit from supporting employee volunteerism. 

Outstanding Young Alumni Award   
Juan E. Velasquez (PhD, ’11, chemistry)  
While on campus as a student and in his industrial career, Juan Velasquez has always made a difference. During his time at Procter & Gamble, he specialized in synthetic biology and green chemistry, leading efforts to develop sustainable materials widely used in the chemical industry. His work resulted in groundbreaking advancements across multiple sectors, including baby care, dishwashing, and personal and healthcare. Currently, Velasquez serves as the director of biocatalysis and protein engineering at Merck, where he has led efforts in enzyme discovery and engineering for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals targeting cancer, HIV, and cardiovascular diseases. While at Illinois he was a founding member of the Illinois chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.

Celina Villanueva (BA, ’08, Latina/Latino studies)  
State Sen. Celina Villanueva was elected to represent Illinois’ 12th District in 2020. Serving as chair of the revenue committee, she focuses on topics addressing reproductive rights, immigrant rights, and workers’ rights. Villanueva's measure to create the Office of Economic Equity and Empowerment was signed into law recently, furthering her work to uplift underrepresented minority, woman, veteran, and disabled business owners. Before becoming a state senator, Villanueva was appointed to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2018.

LAS Dean’s Quadrangle Award 
The LAS Dean's Quadrangle Award was inaugurated in 2000 to honor extraordinary friends of the college. Honorees have demonstrated profound support for the college’s diverse mission and personified the unique benefits and responsibilities that define a liberal arts and sciences education. 

Keith R. Westcott (MS '78, PhD '80, biochemistry) 
Keith R. Westcott spent most of his career as a research scientist at the biotech company Amgen, which was a small California start-up when he joined in 1986. The biotechnology revolution had begun, and Keith’s work focused on protein science research supporting Amgen’s programs in wound healing, blood cell development, cancer, and neuroscience. Keith also conducted extensive research on epidermal growth factor, which aimed to improve healing for burn victims receiving skin grafts. Throughout his career and especially upon his retirement from Amgen in 1999, Keith remained highly appreciative of the role the university played in shaping his career. Realizing an opportunity to give back to Illinois, its faculty and students, Keith serves the department of biochemistry as a visiting professor, has established significant fellowships and travel awards for graduate students in biochemistry and the biosciences, and has been an active member of the University of Illinois Foundation.