2014 Distinguished Alumni and Other Honorees Feted at Dinner
November 07, 2014
Alumni Association president Molly Dey (second from right) with award winners (from left) Slaughter, Coleman, Fischer, Strait, Kirkpatrick, Bush, Howard, Entsminger and Brothers
Six graduates of Old Dominion University were named Distinguished Alumni at the 2014 Alumni Honors Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 6, and the Alumni Service Award, Outstanding Achievement Award and Honorary Alumni Awards were also presented.
Members of the 2014 class of Distinguished Alumni are:
Tony Brothers ꞌ86-National Basketball Association Official
William 'Tony' Brothers is in his 21st season as a National Basketball Association official, having officiated more than 1,200 regular-season games and 85 playoff games, including the 2012, 2013, and 2014 NBA finals. He was a member of the crew that officiated the 1996 Mexico Challenge, the 1998 Schick Rookie All-Star Game, the 1999 McDonald's Championship in Milan, Italy, the 2008 NBA China Games, and the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.
Before joining the NBA, Brothers spent four years in the Continental Basketball Association, during which he officiated three CBA finals and a CBA All-Star game. He officiated one year at the Division III collegiate level and seven years in high school, working at three state tournaments.
To honor his late mother, Dorothy Brothers, a former Bank of America executive, and to give back to his community, Brothers and his wife Monica co-founded Still Hope Foundation, Inc. With 26 percent of children in the United States being raised by single mothers, Still Hope assists those mothers to build strong and successful family units by offering quality resources and supportive relationships.
Brothers is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk and a 1986 graduate of Old Dominion University with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. He lives in Hampton Roads.
Lance Bush, Ph.D. '92-President and Chief Executive Officer
Challenger Center for Space Science Education
Lance Bush leads Challenger Center, the education non-profit organization created as a living tribute to the seven members lost in the Challenger shuttle tragedy. Dedicated to the educational spirit of the Challenger mission, Challenger Center engages students and teachers in dynamic, hands-on exploration and discovery opportunities to strengthen students' knowledge of and interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and inspire them to pursue careers in these fields.
Bush began his career at NASA as one of the chief engineers designing the next-generation space transportation vehicles. Later, he managed the International Space Station (ISS) commercial development program.
Before joining Challenger Center, Bush was chief strategic officer at Paragon Space Development Corporation, a space vehicle design-and-build company.
His passion for education led to the creation and growth of several national and international non-profit organizations, including the Space Generation Advisory Council, American Astronautical Society, World Space Congress, International Space University and Sea Space Symposium.
Bush holds a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from Penn State University, a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Old Dominion University, and a Ph.D. in technology policy and management from Penn State University. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Jeremy M. Coleman '88-Senior Vice President, Howard Stern Channels
Jeremy Coleman is senior vice president of the Howard Stern Channels. Previously, he was senior vice president of Talk and Entertainment Channels for SiriusXM, North America's satellite radio company with more than 25 million subscribers and 50 million listeners. Since 2003, Coleman has overseen more than 60 channels of satellite radio, developing new channels with Comedy Central, Martha Stewart, Cosmopolitan magazine, NYU School of Medicine, Playboy, Jamie Foxx, Rosie O'Donnell, Monty Python, Barbara Walters and many others. Coleman currently oversees the content for the SiriusXM channels produced by Howard Stern.
Before joining SiriusXM, Coleman spent 11 years at Infinity Broadcasting/CBS Radio, overseeing programming for its talk station in Washington, D.C., and then in New York.
Coleman graduated from Old Dominion University in 1988 with a bachelor of science degree in business management. At ODU, he joined the WODU Radio Club and was the station's program director. He launched his professional career in Norfolk at FM99 WNOR. Coleman returned to ODU in 2002 for the WODU reunion and again in March 2014 as the keynote speaker for the station's first Media Week.
The son of an international journalist, Coleman was born in London, England, where he spent his childhood. He now lives in New York City.
Elaine Howard '72-President and Chief Executive Officer of Gannett Government Media Corporation
Elaine G. Howard is president and chief executive officer of Gannett Government Media Corporation, a subsidiary of the Gannett Co., Inc. Headquartered in Springfield, Va., Gannett Government Media employs more than 200 people and targets military, defense, and government markets worldwide with such notable periodicals as Military Times, Armed Forces Journal, Defense News, Federal Times, and Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Networks magazine. All periodicals have associated websites, webcasts, e-mail digital products, blogs, editorial features and videos.
Howard took the helm of the company in September 1997, and expanded the print publishing company to include an event and conference business and a digital business. In 2008, she launched a Sunday-morning talk television program. Within three years, the American Forces network syndicated the show, reaching more than 1.2 million U.S. service members and their families in 175 countries. Also, Howard led the company through a name change from Army Times Publishing Company to Gannett Government Media. She was a three-time winner of Gannett's President's Ring award.
Before joining Gannett in 1986, Howard held leadership positions with other companies and also ran her own strategic marketing consultancy after eight years with Science Applications International Corporation as marketing communications director.
Howard graduated from Old Dominion University in 1982 with a bachelor of science degree in psychology. She lives in Washington, D.C.
James D. Luketich, M.D. '76
Dr. James D. Luketich is the Henry T. Bahnson Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and director of the UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) Esophageal and Lung Surgery Institute.
Luketich has established himself as a pioneer of minimally invasive procedures, most notably esophagectomy. He has authored more than 400 papers and book chapters related to esophageal and lung disorders, and he serves on the editorial boards of the Annals of Surgery and the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. He is associate editor of Diseases of the Esophagus, as well as one of the editors of Pearson's Thoracic and Esophageal Surgery. Further, he is editor of the new textbook, Master Techniques in Surgery: Esophageal Surgery.
Luketich's current interests are esophageal and lung cancer and management of gastroesophageal reflux disease, giant paraesophageal hernias, and other disorders of the esophagus.
He received his bachelor of science degree in environmental health from Old Dominion University, his master of science degree in biochemistry from Vanderbilt University, and his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He completed fellowships in thoracic and cardiothoracic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He now lives in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Patricia B. Strait, '83, (Ph.D. '93), '05-Dean of the Joint Forces Staff College
Patricia Strait is the dean of the National Defense University's Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, an institution that offers graduate degrees to national security professionals. She has more than 27 years of university experience, educating international, military and nontraditional students.
Strait has authored numerous articles and served as associate editor of prestigious journals. She is also a frequent speaker, having presented in both English and Spanish languages in Athens, London, Brussels, Cambridge, Berne, Madrid, Quebec, Barcelona and Vancouver.
She began her career as a U.S. Navy air traffic controller and later served as a civilian with the Department of Defense. After 1989, she held faculty positions at Virginia Tech, University of Richmond, Old Dominion University, Christopher Newport University and the National Defense University. Strait was chair of University of Richmond's Faculty Council and was nominated for the Commonwealth of Virginia's 2013 Outstanding Faculty Award. She received the University of Richmond's Distinguished Educator Award and the Old Dominion University's Faculty Appreciation Award for the live televised Ships at Sea MBA program.
Strait received three degrees from ODU - a bachelor of arts in English in 1983, a Ph.D. in urban management in 1993, and a bachelor of arts in Spanish in 2005. She lives in Hampton Roads.
Other awards presented were:
Lee D. Entsminger '74-Alumni Service Award
President, Entsminger Consulting LLC , Exxon Mobile Retiree, Ford Scholar, Ford Center for Global Citizenship, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Lee Entsminger spent 34 years with Exxon Mobile as vice president of exploration and manager of technical operations before retiring and forming Entsminger Consulting LLC. At Mobil and its successor ExxonMobil, Entsminger was a geoscientist, manager and leader in the petroleum industry, completing a mix of both domestic and international technical, commercial and business assignments. Since retirement, he has joined a select group of business executives who are Ford Scholars within the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Heavily involved with Old Dominion University, Entsminger created an endowed scholarship in coastal geology and, since 2006, has been a member of the ODU College of Sciences Advisory Board. He is a member of the MonarchTeach advisory board, vice-chair of the Strome College of Business Executive Advisory Council, and chair of the subcommittee on entrepreneurship. He also serves on the Entrepreneurship Advisory Council, which fosters entrepreneurship among the ODU student body through curriculum development, clubs, and coaching and competitions.
Entsminger sponsors the Entsminger Entrepreneurship Fellows, a network of faculty supporting transdisciplinary entrepreneurship at ODU.
Entsminger graduated from ODU in 1974 with a bachelor of science degree in geology and received a master of science degree in geology from Florida State University. He lives in Virginia Beach.
Nancy Kirkpatrick '80-Outstanding Achievement Award Former President, Worldwide Marketing for Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company
Nancy Kirkpatrick was president of worldwide marketing for Summit Entertainment for six years until the merger and realignment of Lionsgate and Summit. She spearheaded marketing campaigns for Summit's feature film releases across all media, including the successful launch of the first installment of "Divergent,, as well as "The Twilight Saga" franchise, which grossed more than $3 billion. Other successes were the 2013 sleeper smash "Now You See Me" and the 2009 film "The Hurt Locker," which won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Before Summit, Kirkpatrick spent nearly a decade as executive vice president of worldwide publicity for Paramount's Motion Picture Group, promoting such successful films and franchises as the "Mission Impossible" films, "War of the Worlds," "The Longest Yard," "Save the Last Dance," "Mean Girls" and "The Hours."
From the start of her career at Warner Bros. as an administrative assistant, she rose to senior vice president, domestic publicity and created campaigns for "JFK," "Twister," "Batman," Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut," and "Space Jam." She also conceptualized and implemented her group's college internship program.
The Hollywood Reporter, Brandweek, and trade groups have recognized Kirkpatrick's exemplary work in the industry with prestigious awards.
Kirkpatrick, now president of Strategic Marketing Services LLC, lives in Santa Monica, Ca.
Donna S. Fischer-Honorary Alumni Award
Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer, DLS Engineering Associates, Inc.
Donna Scassera Fischer is president and chief executive officer of DLS Engineering, a company she established in 1995 to manage government contracts in engineering and integrated logistics for the U.S. Coast Guard and other government agencies. Altogether, Fischer has 40 years of experience in the analysis, design development and implementation of integrated engineering and logistics services. A past president of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE), she maintains her professional engineer certification with the Commonwealth of Virginia and is a member of the Society of Women Engineers.
An advocate for the advancement of professional engineering, Fisher is recognized as an entrepreneurial leader in Hampton Roads. She is an ardent supporter of Old Dominion University, mentoring students and encouraging young women, especially, to pursue higher education and careers in science and technology. Recently, her belief that students will discover innovative applications of technology through hands-on learning led her to endow student engineering projects and competitions in Old Dominion's Batten College of Engineering and Technology. She serves on the ODU Engineering Advisory Board and is part of the Batten College's Development and Communications Committee.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Fischer earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Penn State University. She lives in Norfolk.
Maurice Slaughter-Honorary Alumni
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, MS Family Enterprises, Inc., President, FNO, Inc.
Maurice Slaughter is chair and chief executive officer of MS Family Enterprises, Inc., and president of FNO, Inc., a real estate management company specializing in restoration and management of historical properties in New Orleans. Currently, he is rehabilitating an apartment complex damaged by Hurricane Katrina and restoring a mixed-use property to feature a gallery for local artists.
Slaughter now owns three Harley-Davidson® dealerships: Bayside Harley-Davidson® in Portsmouth, Va.; Outer Banks Harley-Davidson® in Harbinger, N.C. ; and Nags Head Harley-Davidson® in Nags Head, N.C. He has received eleven Bar and Shield awards, Harley-Davidson's highest recognition. He has also received four "Top 10" and eight "Top 100" awards from Dealernews, recognizing his dealerships as one of the best powersports organizations in North America. Bayside Harley-Davidson, which received the Portsmouth Small Business of the Year award in 2010, is currently rated as the best service department in North America. In earlier enterprises, Slaughter ran successful Burger King and Toyota franchises.
A Baton Rouge, La., native, Slaughter received a bachelor of science degree in computer science from Southern University in Baton Rouge and a master of business administration in finance from Atlanta University in Georgia. He and his business partner, Cynthia, who is also his wife, live in Hampton Roads.