The College of Arts and Sciences is proud to announce the 2023 Alumni Achievement Award winners and to celebrate the outstanding contributions made by these 18 influential alumni. These individuals were recognized at the Alumni Achievement Awards on Oct. 13.
2023 Alumni Achievement Awards
Scott Hodges, BS‘82
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES | Endodontist, West Michigan Endodontists
Stephanie Slingerland, BA‘02, MA‘07
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION | Chief Philanthropy Officer, Kellanova
Cynthia Visscher, MA‘07, Ph.D.‘12
DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE RELIGION | Faculty Specialist II and Graduate Advisor, WMU Department of Comparative Religion
Isabel Ruiz, Ph.D.’06
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS | Associate Professor and Fellow in Economics, Blavatnik School of Government and Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford
Henry Sias, BA‘98
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH | Executive Director, Pennsyvania Governor's Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs
Cheyenne Lei, MS‘13
SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT, GEOGRAPHY, AND SUSTAINABILITY | Research Fellow, Institute for Global Change Biology in the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan
Franklyn Legall, MS‘98, Ph.D.‘02
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES | Director, Global Environmental Remediation and Due Diligence, Procter & Gamble
Hanmo Zhang, MA‘05
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY | Professor, Institute of Chinese Classics, Renmin University of China, Beijing
Cleothia Frazier, MA‘08
INSTITUTE FOR INTERCULTURAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES | Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania State University
Ozcan Gulacar, Ph.D.‘07
MALLINSON INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION | Associate Professor of Teaching, Chemistry Department, University of California, Davis
Ralucca Gera, MS‘00, MS‘02, Ph.D.‘05
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS | Professor, Mathematics; Director, Chunk Learning
Coreen Geary, BS‘93, BA‘93, MA 95
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY | Global Marketing Programs Manager, Exact Sciences
John Novak, BS‘10
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS | Post-Doctoral Researcher, Western Michigan University
Sean McCann, BA‘93
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE | Senator, State of Michigan, 19th District
Emily Fredericks, Ph.D. ‘03
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY | Clinical Professor of Pediatrics; Director, Division of Pediatric Psychology, University of Michigan
Kara Wood, MPA ‘06
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND ADMINISTRATION | Executive Director, Grand Action 2.0
Julián Ramírez, BA‘12
DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH | Principal of Southwest Middle High School - Academia Bilingüe (7-12), Grand Rapids Public Schools
Mitchell Zajac, BS‘12, BA‘12, MS‘13,
DEPARTMENT OF WORLD LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES | Patent attorney, Butzel Long
Every year the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University encourages all of its units to select one outstanding alum to be recognized during the homecoming weekend for their achievements and contributions to their field and the communities they participate in.
Past Awards
This award is given by Western Michigan University's College of Arts and Sciences. It is not the same as the University Distinguished Alumni Award given by the WMU Alumni Association.
