KU News Release

Five KU alumni earn distinguished achievement awards

LAWRENCE — The Notre Dame provost, a NASA astronaut, a distinguished public administration professor, the founder of a genomic company and an award-winning poet have all been selected as recipients of the 2006-07 Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award from the University of Kansas.

KU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences announced the winners of the award, the highest honor bestowed by the College on its graduates.

“The accomplishments of these award winners are stunning and exemplify the tremendous success that can be launched from a high-quality liberal arts and sciences education from KU,” said Dean Joseph E. Steinmetz. “The diversity of professions and accomplishments of the recipients reflect the broad experiences and opportunities available within the College.”

Recipients are Thomas G. Burish of Notre Dame, Ind.; Steven Hawley of Houston, Texas; Rosemary O’Leary of Manlius, N.Y.; Randy Scott of Los Altos Hills, Calif.; and B.H. “Pete” Fairchild of Claremont, Calif. Awards will be presented during the annual Deans Club Banquet, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 13, at the Adams Alumni Center.

Thomas G. Burish

Thomas G. Burish was appointed provost of the University of Notre Dame in 2005. A distinguished scholar in the field of clinical psychology, Burish was president of Washington and Lee University for three years before assuming his present position and was Vanderbilt University’s longest-serving provost — from 1993 to 2002. In addition to his achievements as a higher education administrator, Burish has distinguished himself as a scholar. After his graduation from Notre Dame in 1972, Burish, a native of Peshtigo, Wis., received master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology and clinical psychology from KU in 1975 and 1976, respectively. A member of the American Cancer Society’s national board of directors since 1991, Burish became its chair in 2004. He is the co-author or co-editor of four books, including Coping with Chronic Disease: Research and Applications and Cancer, Nutrition and Eating Behavior: A Biobehavioral Perspective.

Steven Hawley

Steven Hawley is a veteran astronaut who has flown on five space shuttle missions, including the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the second Hubble Telescope servicing mission and the launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Hawley graduated with highest distinction from KU in 1973 with bachelor’s degrees in physics and astronomy. He earned a doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of California-Santa Cruz in 1977 and was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1978. Hawley is director of astromaterials research and exploration science, leading the space science activities at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. His group is involved in robotic exploration of the solar system and was responsible for the recovery of the solar wind and Comet Wild-2 extraterrestrial samples recently returned to Earth by the Genesis and Stardust missions. Hawley’s group is also part of the ongoing exploration of Mars with the rovers Spirit and Odyssey. Hawley has received numerous awards including NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal, KU’s Distinguished Service Citation and the government’s Meritorious Executive Award.

Rosemary O’Leary

Rosemary O’Leary is a distinguished professor of public administration and co-director of the Program for the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. Previously, O’Leary was a professor at Indiana University and co-founder of the Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute. O’Leary is the author of six books and more than 85 articles on public management and policy. She has won 15 research and teaching awards. She is the only person to win three awards from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration: distinguished research, distinguished teaching and best dissertation. O’Leary is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration and has twice been named a Fulbright scholar. O’Leary earned a bachelor’s in English, a master’s in public administration and a law degree, all from KU, and a doctorate in public administration from Syracuse University.

Randy Scott

Randy Scott is chairman and chief executive officer of Genomic Health. Scott has more than 23 years of biotechnology industry experience and a strong history of scientific innovation. In addition to founding Genomic Health, Scott co-founded Incyte, the world’s first genomic information content business. An inventor on 25 issued patents, Scott has authored numerous scientific publications in the fields of protein biology, gene discovery and cancer. In 1997, NASDAQ and Ernst & Young recognized him as Silicon Valley Entrepreneur of the Year for life sciences and Forbes magazine listed him as one of biotech’s top 25 influential insiders in 1999. In 2005, Genomic Health was honored by Red Herring magazine as one of the Top 100 private technology companies in North America. Scott holds a bachelor’s in chemistry from Emporia State University and a doctorate in biochemistry from KU.

B.H. “Pete” Fairchild

B.H. “Pete” Fairchild, the Lorraine Sherley Professor of Literature at Texas Christian University, has been called Kansas’ greatest living poet. The Arrival of the Future was his first full-length book of poems. His third collection, The Art of the Lathe, was a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Kingsley Tufts Award, the William Carlos Williams Award and the California Book Award. He attended KU, where he received a bachelor’s and master’s in English, working part-time as a technical writer for a nitroglycerin plant and English tutor to the basketball team. His poems have appeared in Southern Review, Poetry, Hudson Review, Yale Review, Paris Review, The New Yorker, Sewanee Review and The Best American Poems of 2000. His most recent book is Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest (W.W. Norton), which received the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry, the Bobbitt Award from the Library of Congress and the Gold Medal from the California Book Awards.

The Alumni Distinguished Achievement Awards are presented annually to select graduates of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The College encompasses more than 50 departments and programs and awards bachelor’s degrees to nearly half of the students at KU. The awards recognize professional achievements, dedication to their communities and involvement with KU. More information and nomination forms are available on the College's Web site. Follow the “Alumni & Friends” link.

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