Alumni Five Awards

A celebration of distinguished alumni

The University of Illinois Alumni Association Alumni Five dinner and awards ceremony honors UIC alumni and friends who have given back to the University and the community. The Alumni Five ceremony includes presentations of the Alumni Achievement, Distinguished Service, Alumni Humanitarian, City Partner and Corporate Partner awards.

2011 University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award
Rhoda P. Erhardt ’54 ahs
Consultant, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Erhardt Developmental Products

After working with children that have cerebral palsy and learning disabilities for decades, Rhoda P. Erhardt launched her own pediatric occupational therapy consulting business and line of videos, books and manuals. Erhardt Developmental Products’ materials and online courses are widely used for instruction by universities and health clinics.

Helping children improve their motor and perception skills is Erhardt’s passion. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Excellence in Public Access TV Award, the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Certificate of Appreciation for Distinguished Service to the Profession and the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine’s Sage Award.

2011 University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award
Richard I. Morimoto ’72 las, ms ’74 pharm
Director, Rice Institute for Biomedical Research; Dean of Graduate School; John Evans Professor of Biology, Northwestern University

Treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are changing, thanks to Richard I. Morimoto’s research on protein folding in the brain. A leader in the field, Morimoto serves as director of the Rice Institute for Biomedical Research and runs the Morimoto Laboratory at Northwestern University, where he has been a faculty member since 1982.

The researcher has also founded his own biotechnology company, Proteostasis Therapeutics, based in Cambridge, Mass. It is the first company dedicated to the discovery of new therapeutics based on understanding the body’s natural proteostasis network, creating new opportunities for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

2011 University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award
Erma Tranter, mupp ’78
President, Friends of the Parks

An avid runner and cyclist, Friends of the Parks President Erma Tranter understands first-hand the importance of protecting open spaces for city residents and visitors. For nearly 30 years, Tranter has worked to fulfill the nonprofit organization’s mission to protect, improve and promote the use of Chicago parks, forest preserves and recreational areas for the benefit of all neighborhoods and citizens.

Thanks to her efforts, the organization has saved hundreds of acres of lakefront parkland and empowered citizens to protect their parks via a network of local park advisory councils. Some of her biggest accomplishments include the Adopt-a-Park and Adopt-a-Beach programs and the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.

2011 University of Illinois Distinguished Service Award
Marsha F. Cassidy ’67 las
Lecturer, Department of English and the Honors College

As a UIC alumna, Marcia Cassidy knows the importance of feeling comfortable as a new student in a new place. The media studies adjunct assistant professor works with new students and their families to help them make smooth transitions into the University, speaking often at New Student Orientation and developing programs to benefit incoming students.

Cassidy also has worked to recruit, retain and include disabled students in campus life by serving on the Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities and incorporating disability studies into her courses. She continues to distinguish herself through her teaching and service to UIC year after year.

2011 University of Illinois Alumni Humanitarian Award
Richard J. Cahill, dds ’65
Pediatric Dentist

Inspired by reports of visions of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Richard J. Cahill traveled to the region and was dismayed to see the conditions of the people living there. After civil war compounded the situation, Cahill resolved to bring medical and dental care to the people of the area.

For more than 20 years, the pediatric dentist has been leading groups of volunteers on humanitarian missions to Medjugorje and the surrounding region. He founded Care for Children, a nonprofit organization that helps raise money for the trips. The group has built a clinic and helped furnish equipment to numerous clinics in the area.

2011 UIC City Partner Award
C. Benet Haller, mupp ’94
Director, Urban Design and Planning, City of Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development

For more than a decade, C. Benet Haller has striven to improve the city’s infrastructure and planning through his work as director of urban design and planning with the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing and Economic Development.

He oversaw development of the 2008 Reconnecting Neighborhoods Plan, which worked to improve public transportation access to public housing, and the 2009 Chicago Central Area Plan, a comprehensive plan building on the 2003 version to establish the city as the greenest in the nation. Today, Haller is working on a 10-year plan to improve the livability of the downtown area.

2011 Corporate Partner Award

Accepting on behalf of Walgreens: Mark Wagner, President, Community Management

WALGREENS
Walgreens has been an active partner with UIC and its colleges for more than 25 years. The company funds five annual scholarships for Pharmacy students, including the Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. Scholarship, and a recently formed Diversity Scholarship. Besides its efforts on behalf of College of Pharmacy students, Walgreens also provides career opportunities for graduates of the Colleges of Business, Engineering and Liberal Arts and Sciences. In addition, more than 25 percent of UIC’s student body work or have worked at Walgreens during their academic careers. Currently, more than 350 College of Pharmacy graduates are employed by the company. Walgreens has supported the College of Pharmacy in several other ways; it was the lead sponsor of the College’s Sesquicentennial Timeless Gala, which drew more than 650 guests, making it the largest gathering in the College’s history.