Alumni Achievement Award Recipients

Each year, the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Western Michigan University awards a member of our alumni with the Alumni Achievement Award to commemorate their unique contributions to the field of geosciences. Awardees are honored at the annual College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni award ceremony and reception.

2023

Dr. Franklyn Legall, who graduated with both a Master of Science and Ph.D. from Western Michigan University in hydrogeology, has over 25 years of experience in Health, Safety, and Environment (HS&E). Legall is the Director, Global Environmental Remediation and Due Diligence at Procter & Gamble located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Legall joined The Gillette Company as an Environmental Remediation Manager at its Boston corporate headquarters in 2003, and then Procter & Gamble via its 2005 acquisition of Gillette. He currently oversees the cleanup of a portfolio of legacy and active contaminated sites worldwide, in various geologic settings and regulatory jurisdictions, with complex technical and regulatory issues and legal challenges, including third-party claims, litigation and insurance recovery. 

Legall began his career as a geologist in oil and gas exploration at Petro Canada, Inc., a Canadian multinational, located in Calgary, Alberta. Legall then launched a successful small business in Calgary, which he owned and managed prior to moving to the U.S. Before joining Gillette, Legall spent eight years in environmental consulting in Michigan where he managed environmental projects at the federal, state and local levels. Prior to his current role, Legall was a technical leader within the Global Innovation HS&E Group at Proctor & Gamble. 

Legall holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada. He obtained his Juris Doctor (JD) from the Massachusetts School of Law and is a licensed attorney in Massachusetts and a member of the Massachusetts Bar, and the American Bar Association. He is also a member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA); the National Groundwater Association (NGWA); and is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM).

2022

Sara K. Pearson

2021

Lisa K. J. Phillips

2020

Dr. Robert LoPiccolo

2019

Dr. Thomas Robyn

2018

Dr. Roger Steininger

2017

2016

Dane Alexander

2015

Dr. Brian Shaw

2014

Mike Wireman

2013

James W. Farnsworth

2012

Thomas Drean

2011

Dr. W. Richard Laton

2010

Howard A. Nevins

2009

Dr. Eliot A. Atekwana

2008

Dr. Barry C. McBride

2007

Robert K. Garrison

2006

Dr. Timothy L. Clarey

2005

Paul R. Goudreault

2004

John H. Fowler

2003

Jeffrey C. Hawkins

2002

Ronald A. Parker

Thomas C. Kamin

Paul A. Daniels, Jr.

Jerry L. Aiken

2001

Dr. Charles D. Harrington

2000

Dr. Julie K. Stein

1999

Patrick M. Lynch

1998

John A. Yellich