ALUMNI, COMMUNITY LEADERS HONORED AT FOUNDERS' DAY LUNCHEON
Nine former students were honored as Distinguished Alumni Friday, Oct. 15, at Old Dominion University's annual Founders' Day luncheon in the North Cafeteria of Webb University Center.
The following Old Dominion graduates will be presented Distinguished Alumni Awards at the Oct. 15 Founders' Day luncheon:
R. Bruce Bradley (M.B.A.' '78) - Bradley is the president and publisher of The Virginian-Pilot and in January assumed the additional title of president of Landmark Publishing Group. He has also held positions in marketing and advertising at the Greensboro News & Record and the Roanoke Times & World News. He started his career with The Pilot in 1974 when he
responded to a classified help wanted advertisement for a sales position.
W. Russell Corker '71 - Corker, since 1980, has been a partner with the law firm Shayne, Dachs, Stanisci, Corker & Sauer in Mineola, N.Y. He has practiced law in New York since 1974, when he received his juris doctorate from Boston University School of Law. He is president of the Nassau-Suffolk Trial Lawyers Association and chair of the Nassau County Bar Association Grievance Committee. Corker is a frequent lecturer as a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Nassau County Bar Association Academy of Law.
Vice Adm. William J. Fallon (M.A. '82)- Fallon is Commander of the Second Fleet and commander of Striking Fleet Atlantic with the U.S. Navy. He was commissioned as a Navy officer in 1967 and began his Naval aviation service flying in the RA-5C Vigilante with a combat deployment to Vietnam. He served in flying assignments with Attack Squadrons and Carrier Air Wings for 24 years. His awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Bronze Star.
Robert J. Kasdon '72 - Kasdon was named in 1996 as vice president of security management for Joseph E. Seagram & Sons Inc. in New York City, and is responsible for security issues involving all of the company's businesses. Seagram operates two global business segments, spirits and wines, and entertainment, and is the parent company of Universal. Kasdon began a 24-year career in law enforcement in 1972 when he joined the Norfolk Police Department.
Barbara Byrd Keenan '73 (M.S. '75) - Keenan is president of the Communication Associations Institute in Alexandria, Va. CAI serves more than 17,000 members representing the condominium and planned community industry, including association homeowner board members, managers, builders and developers, public officials, attorneys, real estate and insurance
agents, and accountants. She has extensive experience consulting with associations and educational institutions and has a long history of professional volunteer involvement.
Gregory A. Lumsden (M.B.A. '83)- Lumsden is managing director of loan originations for Countrywide Home Loans Inc., the nation's largest independent residential mortgage lender and servicer, and its parent company, Countrywide Credit Industries Inc. Countrywide's corporate headquarters are in Calabasas, Calif. In his current position, Lumsden is responsible for the Consumer Markets and Wholesale Lending divisions for CHL and Full Spectrum Lending Inc., which is the subprime subsidiary of Countrywide Credit.
Michael W. Matthews '82 - Matthews last year was named president and CEO of Hankins and Anderson, a consulting engineering firm in Richmond, Va., that provides professional design services in mechanical, electrical, structural and civil engineering. The company was ranked as the 26th largest among architectural and engineering firms in the state by Virginia Business Magazine. Much of his experience there has included work for the State Department and the Corps of Engineers. He also was involved in the preplanning study for Old Dominion's Gornto TELETECHNET Center.
Esther I. Wiggins '83 - Wiggins was appointed last year as a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge by the Arlington (Va.) Circuit Court. She became the first African-American prosecutor in Arlington in 1986, and was the first African-American judge to sit on the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court bench for the 17th Judicial Circuit. A native of
Franklin, Va., Wiggins is active in many Arlington community events, including the Arlington Parenting Teen Program. She also has organized and implemented food and gift drives for needy families.
Rosemary Windsor '76 - Windsor is vice president, Olympic and corporate events, for UPS. She began her career at UPS in 1974 as a part-time clerical assistant in the company's Norfolk office. Last year, she was given the added responsibilities of the Business Development Field Sales Support Group and the Sales Training Group. In her current capacity, she oversees the development and execution of UPS's global Olympic program. Her division also handles UPS corporate events involved with NFL and PGA sponsorships.
The Albert Brooks Gornto Jr. Regional Service Award was established in memory of the late Buck Gornto, a 1956 graduate of Old Dominion, former Board of Visitors member and longtime supporter of the university. The award recognizes individuals who have shown outstanding commitment and service to the Hampton Roads community and the commonwealth. The award will
be presented to:
Vincent J. Mastracco Jr. - A commercial partner with the Norfolk law firm Kaufman & Canoles, Mastracco practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and finance; real estate syndications and finance; corporate advising/real estate; and syndications and finance. He helped build Kaufman & Canoles into the region's largest law firm, and one of its most powerful.
He is a former co-owner and steward of the Farm Fresh-Tinee Giant supermarket and convenience-store chains. Mastracco serves on the boards of Crestar Bank, Norfolk Academy, Medical College of Hampton Roads Foundation and Greater Norfolk Corporation. He was a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board from 1989 to 1994.
Also at the luncheon, the Town-N-Gown Community Service Award will be presented. The annual award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated unusual concern for and commitment to serving others. Recipients are also recognized for cumulative and continuing service to the community over a period of years. This year, the award will go to a Norfolk couple
well-known in the university community:
A. Rufus and Sara H. Tonelson - Rufus Tonelson '33, one of the first three students to enroll at Old Dominion when it was known as the Norfolk Division, joined the school's education faculty in 1966 and was later named dean of the Darden School of Education. In 1972 he became an assistant to the president and in 1973 was also named the university's affirmative action and equal employment opportunity officer. He retired in 1976 and began a new career in 1977 as a marriage commissioner.
Sara Tonelson earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Old Dominion in 1966 and 1969. She had a 15-year career as a special education teacher for Norfolk Public Schools and also supervised student teachers at the university for a number of years.
Both husband and wife are well-known at Old Dominion and in Hampton Roads for their long record of community service, which has included being members and officers of numerous organizations, and they have been honored many times over the years. The Tonelsons also are longtime benefactors of Old Dominion. They established an endowment for an annual faculty award in the Darden College of Education, which bears their names, and created an annual athletic scholarship. A gift from the Tonelsons also led to the creation of the Tonelson Garden in the middle of Webb Center, and the university's annual outstanding faculty award is named in honor of Rufus Tonelson.
Kenneth R. Plum, a 1965 graduate of Old Dominion and a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, delivered the luncheon address, "The Old Dominion and the New Millennium."
Plum has represented the 36th District in the General Assembly for nearly two decades. Recently retired from his job as director of adult and community learning for Fairfax County Public Schools after almost 30 years, he has received numerous awards for his work on behalf of children and the environment. He co-chairs the General Assembly's Joint Commission on
Technology and Science and sits on several committees, including House Appropriations.