Homecoming Gala to Celebrate Rocket Alumni on Oct. 4

Homecoming Gala to Celebrate Rocket Alumni on Oct. 4

The University of Toledo Alumni Association will recognize its distinguished graduates at the Homecoming Alumni Gala on Friday, Oct. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. in Thompson Student Union Auditorium.

Tickets for the gala are $35 per person and may be purchased by visiting the UToledo Alumni Association event website or by calling the Office of Alumni Engagement at 419.530.2586. The deadline to purchase tickets is Friday, Sept. 27.

In addition to honoring alumni from UToledo's colleges, three alumni are selected annually for the Alumni Association's most prestigious honors: The Gold T, Daniel Saevig Blue T and Edward H. Schmidt Outstanding Young Alum awards.

Gold T Award

The Gold T award is presented to a University of Toledo graduate in recognition of outstanding achievement in his or her field of endeavor, while providing leadership and noteworthy service to the community.

The 2023 Gold T award will be presented to Jeffrey Traudt - bachelor of marketing in 1979 - a dedicated husband, father and State Farm insurance agent who has called northwest Ohio home for six decades. Born in Monroe, Traudt moved to Toledo with his family after his father's passing and graduated from St. John's Jesuit in 1973 and then attended The University of Toledo, where he earned a degree in marketing while lettering in tennis and swimming.

After graduation, he launched his State Farm agency in October 1980. His career allowed him to travel, speak at conventions and recently serve a three-year commitment to the State Farm Agents' Advisory Council as one of 29 agents selected from more than 19,000. For his commitment to sales and service, he is a member of the State Farm Lifetime President's Club.

Traudt has been actively engaged with UToledo for decades, serving as Alumni Association Board President from 1995-96 as well as serving on the UToledo Foundation Board, UToledo Athletic Board and several other committees. He also is involved in the Downtown Coaches Association, Varsity T and Rocket Club.

Daniel J. Saevig Blue T Award

The Daniel J. Saevig Blue T award is presented to a University of Toledo Alumni Association member and UToledo graduate who has made outstanding contributions to the progress and development of the Alumni Association and the University.

Carol Thomas - 1994 magna cum laude graduate of University College - is a UToledo non-traditional student now enjoying retirement after her most recent position as the head of human resources for Toledo Public Schools.

Thomas remains an active member of the UToledo community, completing a two-year term on the Alumni Association Board of Trustees and recently accepting reappointment for a three-year term. In May 2023, she was the recipient of The University of Toledo Alumni Association's Volunteer of the Year award.

Thomas' other UToledo involvement includes serving in multiple roles on the University College Alumni Affiliate Board since the 1990s and as member of the University College Advisory Board since 2011. She served in various chair positions for Art on the Mall and was the volunteer facilitator for three years for the Women's Success Series at the Eberly Center. Thomas continues to serve on several scholarship committees for University College and the Alumni Association and is the current chair for UToledo's Women and Philanthropy.

Thomas also has an endowed scholarship that is awarded to non-traditional students in University College.

Edward H. Schmidt Outstanding Young Alum Award

The Edward H. Schmidt Outstanding Young Alum award is presented to a University graduate who is 40 years of age or younger in recognition of outstanding achievement in their career while providing leadership and noteworthy service to the Alumni Association, University or community. This award is named in memory of Ed Schmidt, a 1942 alumnus and a longtime supporter of The University of Toledo and its Alumni Association.

Dr. Gabriella Pardee - 2011 dual bachelor's degrees in environmental sciences and Spanish - is a conservation biologist and the research director at St. Edward's University's Wild Basin Creative Research Center in Austin, Texas. She earned her Ph.D. in biology from North Carolina State University in 2018 and held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and the University of Texas at Austin.

Pardee's research focuses on biodiversity, pollinator health and ecosystem services. She has published 15 peer-reviewed articles, garnered considerable media attention and secured more than $500,000 in research funding to help expand efforts in these areas and raise awareness on the importance of pollinator conservation.

Outside of her work endeavors, she has mentored more than 30 high schoolers, undergraduates and graduate students - the majority of whom were from underrepresented groups - in STEM.

College Distinguished Alumni Awards

College of Arts and Letters

Nicholas Conrad received his bachelor of arts and master of arts in English from The University of Toledo in 1974 and 1976, respectively, and was elected into the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. In 1993, he earned his master of business administration from the University of Michigan and completed the Stanford Executive Business Program in 2006.

Conrad is a managing member of N.G. Investments and N.G. Transportation Financing. He began his finance career in 1976 and has held various roles in the industry. Conrad retired as vice president of finance and treasurer at The Andersons Inc. to pursue his passion for writing, publishing more than 185 poems and his book "Lake Erie Blues."

John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation

Amy E. Kellogg, a first-generation college graduate, earned her bachelor of business administration from The University of Toledo in 1983 and her juris doctor from the Ohio State University in 1986.

Kellogg is a partner at Baker Hostetler in Cleveland, Ohio, focusing on real estate law. She has extensive experience in leasing, development and financing, including managing real estate aspects of corporate transactions. Previously, she was assistant law director for the city of Cleveland, handling real estate and financing issues for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum construction.

Judith Herb College of Education

Dr. Nina Hashim-Corder earned her bachelor of arts in psychology in 2008 and her master of education in higher education in 2011 from The University of Toledo, and in 2015, she received her doctor of education in organizational leadership from Northcentral University.

Hashim-Corder, a social entrepreneur, community leader and humanitarian, is the founder and managing director of Woman of Toledo (WOT), a nonprofit organization supporting women and girls. She also is a recognized advocate for human rights and has served on various councils and commissions, including the White House Council on Women & Girls, the UN Women Global Champions for Change and the city of Toledo's Human Relations and Gender Equity Commissions.

College of Engineering

Kenneth Lovejoy, 1976 and 1980, boasts a 30-year career in the glass industry with Owens-Illinois Inc., originally starting as a project engineer in 1981. Lovejoy later transitioned into manufacturing management for Owens-Illinois' North America region, holding positions including plant engineer, superintendent and manager at multiple locations.

Lovejoy was promoted to executive-level leadership in 1999, which included moving to Milan, Italy, as technical director of Owens-Illinois European operations, where he established a team to organize major project development for 21 manufacturing facilities in eight countries. He returned to the Owens-Illinois Toledo headquarters in 2002 as vice president of facilities engineering before retiring as vice president of environmental, health and safety for North America manufacturing operations in 2011.

College of Health and Human Services

Dr. Amy Thompson, earned her bachelor of science in public health from Central Michigan University and her master of science in education and Ph.D. in health education from The University of Toledo in 1999 and 2004, respectively.

Thompson, who previously served at The University of Toledo as senior vice provost of academic affairs, is provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Wright State University, where she oversees six colleges and leads initiatives to improve student success and modernize academic programs. She is a professor at the Boonshoft School of Medicine and co-founded the UToledo Center for Health and Successful Living - an interdisciplinary hub for community engagement that has provided prevention-based programming and mammography to more than 7,000 people in northwest Ohio.

Jesup Scott Honors College

Nicholas Wittenberg received both a bachelor of arts in political science in 2007 and his juris doctor in 2011 from The University of Toledo and is an active member on the College of Law Alumni Association Board of Governors and the Dean's Cabinet​. Wittenberg is corporate counsel and the senior advisor for legal technology and innovation at Armedia, focusing on implementing artificial intelligence into the federal family for the FOIA and privacy requests, litigation matters and regulatory investigations.

He previously served as senior legal counsel at The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, advising on legal matters including constitutional law, executive orders and international agreements.

College of Law

Richard Walinski earned his juris doctor from The University of Toledo in 1969 and is a founding editor of The University of Toledo Law Review. After graduation, he co-founded Cooper & Walinski and went on to work with notable clients including Dana Corp. The firm became Toledo's fourth largest and the nation's largest women-majority-owned law firm.

Walinski is the only person in Ohio to have been appointed chief counsel by attorneys general from both major political parties. He chaired the Ohio Supreme Court's rules committee and held various influential positions.

Walinski also is an honorary member of the Order of the Coif and has received numerous awards including the Distinguished Service Award from the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers and the College of Law's Man of the Year award.

College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Dr. Lisa Lattanza earned her M.D. from the former Medical College of Ohio, now The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, in 1993. She completed her residency at the University of Missouri Kansas City and fellowships at Columbia and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital.

Lattanza is chair of orthopaedics and rehabilitation at Yale School of Medicine, previously practicing at University of California San Francisco for 20 years. She specializes in post-traumatic and congenital reconstruction of the upper extremity in children and adults and is a leader in 3D surgical planning.

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Dr. James Hatfield received his master of science in 1972 and his Ph.D. in 1978 in biological sciences from The University of Toledo. He conducted doctoral research at the former Medical College of Ohio and later worked at Wayne State University, Harper Hospital and the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center. He specialized in diagnostic electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry and has worked collaboratively with other disciplines, co-authoring more than 70 publications.

Hatfield retired in 2011 and established scholarships at UToledo to support students in the College of Medicine and Life Sciences and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

College of Nursing

Dr. Judith A. Anderson earned her Ph.D. in nursing from Wayne State University in 1996, a master of science in nursing in 1983 from the Medical College of Ohio (MCO), now known as the UToledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, and a bachelor of science in nursing from Ohio State University in 1965. She also holds a nursing diploma from Providence Hospital School of Nursing.

Anderson is a distinguished clinical specialist in adult psychiatric-mental health nursing with more than four decades of experience and has nearly two decades worth of experience in teaching psychiatric-mental health nursing at both undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as developing clinical sites and courses in addiction and interpersonal skills. She earned numerous accolades including the Prism Award (2003) and Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence (1998) from the Medical College of Ohio and has authored 12 publications and more than two dozen refereed papers in her field.

College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Mamoun Alhamadsheh earned his bachelor of pharmacy from Jordan University of Science and Technology and his Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from The University of Toledo in 2004. He completed his post-doctoral research in chemical biology at Stanford University.

Alhamadsheh is a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of the Pacific in California and the scientific co-founder of Eidos Therapeutics. He specializes in developing therapeutic agents for transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis, has coauthored numerous publications and holds patents on several inventions.

University College

Diana Patton earned her bachelor of science in 1990 and her juris doctor in 1996 from The University of Toledo is the chief executive officer and founder of the Rise with Diana consultancy and the Rise Advocates Academy, where she empowers corporate women to advocate for themselves and achieve their career goals.

A former civil rights attorney and corporate executive, she is also the founder of the All Rise Live Global Summit and the Head Full of Dreams nonprofit which offers mentorship for middle school through college-aged young women.

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