University selects distinguished alumni
Originally published 02:08 p.m., October 11, 2007
Updated 02:08 p.m., October 11, 2007
The most festive week of Emporia State University’s year is nearly upon us, as alumni and friends converge on the campus for Homecoming 2007 before and during the weekend of Oct. 20.
Hundreds are expected for the events, and thousands for the football game, in ESU’s most eventful week of the year. For more on all the Homecoming festivities, and to register for the events, go to www.emporia.edu/homecoming and click on the “Alumni Registration Form” link at left.
The music of Saturday night promises to be very exciting. The “Kings of Swing” dance band with alumnus Gary Stroud will play for the Class of 1957 Reunion and the Fabulous Forties reunion on Oct. 20.
One of the biggest highlights of Homecoming is recognizing a new class of Distinguished Alumni. The 2007 class will be honored at a reception and awards dinner on Oct. 19. The four recipients are Donna L. Clopton (BSE 1961), Amarillo, Texas; Dr. Karen Kelly (BS 1978), Prairie Village; Herb Kuhn (BSB 1979), Springfield, Va.; and Victor Spinski (BSE 1963), Newark, Del. Read their biographies below.
The 6:15 p.m. Distinguished Alumni reception is in the Memorial Union’s Kanza Room, and the 7 p.m. dinner is in the Colonial Ballroom. The public is invited to attend. Please RSVP to Joan Lauber, (620) 341-5440 by 12 p.m. Wednesday.
For more information on Homecoming events, contact the ESU Alumni office at (620) 341-5440.
Donna L. Clopton
BSE 1961 — elementary education, Amarillo, Texas
Donna L. (Choice) Clopton recently retired from Gene Howe Elementary School in Canyon, Texas, where she served as principal for 22 years. She has been recognized as CISD Administrator of the Year, a member of “Who’s Who in American Education,” and District 16 TEPSAN of the Year. She holds a master’s degree in special education from Baylor University, and has taught courses ranging from the preschool to university level. Clopton served the National Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association, and the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSAN), where she chaired the organizational affairs committee and served on the state’s committee, and was president of District 16. She served the Panhandle School Leaders Association as president, and the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented as second vice-president and state executive board member, and was a member of other professional organizations.
Dr. Karen Kelly
BS 1978 — biology, Prairie Village
Dr. Karen Kelly, an internationally known lung cancer expert, became the deputy director of the University of Kansas Cancer Center in October 2006, where she also serves as professor and one of three Frank B. Tyler Chairs of cancer research. Kelly earned her doctor of medicine degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and had previously served as director of the clinical thoracic oncology program and professor of medical oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Kelly has focused her career on the prevention, screening, early detection and treatment of lung cancer, designing groundbreaking clinical trials that have earned her wide acclaim and defined “state of the art” in lung cancer treatment. She is a leader in the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the Southwest Oncology Group, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Herb B. Kuhn
BSB 1979 — business administration, Springfield, Va.
Herb Kuhn is the acting deputy administrator for the Centers for Medicine and Medicaid Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., where he is involved in all facets of management. He is a key liaison to Congress, providing testimony before Congressional committees. A former ESU Alumni Association board member, Kuhn has spent his career advocating quality health care. In his previous position as director for the Centers for Medicare Management at the department, he developed and directed regulations and reimbursement policies for the Medicare program. Kuhn has also served Premier, Inc., the largest insurance company in the world, as corporate vice president, representing the alliance and member hospitals before Congress. Before joining Premier, he was vice president for federal relations in the American Hospital Association’s D.C. office, and worked in the office of Rep. Bob Whittaker (R-Kan.).
Victor Spinski
BSE 1963 — art, Newark, Del.
Victor Spinski, a professor of art at the University of Delaware since 1968, is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, an organization whose selective membership is limited to those who have distinguished themselves in the art world. Members are invited, nominated or elected. Spinski’s work is on display in 28 permanent collections in the United States, including the most prestigious ceramics collection in the country, the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, N.Y. His work has been published in nearly 50 national and international periodicals, books, textbooks, and exhibition catalogs including Who’s Who in American Art, The New Yorker and The New York Times. Spinski has also exhibited his work in nearly 150 venues, including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and in New York, the Ferrin Gallery, the Nancy Margolis Gallery, and Sotheby’s. Spinski, who earned a master’s of fine arts degree in ceramics from Indiana University, holds the patent on a decoration technique called Ceramic Photo Emulsion.