Alumni News

Honors celebrates scholars, faculty, and alumni at the 2012 Medals Ceremony

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Hettinger, DeWalt, and Kennedy
Award winners Dr. Virginia Hettinger, Dr. Bill DeWalt, and Ms. Marian Kennedy. (Photo courtesy of Thomas Hurlbut)

The Honors Medals Ceremony is a time for the Honors Program to individually recognize each graduating Honors Scholar before family, friends, and the university community. Seniors are presented with commemorative medallions to wear at Commencement and keep as a reminder of their successful completion of a rigorous Honors curriculum. The event also celebrates the contributions of Honors faculty members and marks the accomplishments of Honors alumni, highlighting the circular relationship of educators, students, and graduates. This year, three members of the extended Honors community were recognized. Continue reading →

Top U.K. grad programs have Honors Scholars within their ranks

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By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program

Nestled in the quiet country town of Storrs, accomplished students are hard at work preparing for what waits after graduation. These Honors Scholars eventually disperse across the country and beyond; some settle close to home, while others cross an ocean. Two alumni—one an economist, the other a molecular biologist—graduated from the Honors Program just two years apart. They both pursued competitive funding for graduate schools in the United Kingdom—programs with only a handful of slots—and both were successful. They now reside relatively close to each other, though they’ve never met. What they have in common is the firm foundation they gained here at UConn Honors. Continue reading →

Understanding culture makes Honors alum a musical visionary

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By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program

Building exterior
Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Ariz. (Photo courtesy of the Musical Instrument Museum)

In the desert of Phoenix, Ariz., is a sprawling $250 million, 200,000-square-foot facility that blends into the arid background. But inside the walls is a collection of instruments that brings to life the world’s music. The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), led by UConn Honors alumnus Dr. Bill DeWalt ’69, ’76, is not just a museum that displays devices for sound. MIM has a deeper mission: to create an all-encompassing sensory journey around the globe. It promises to be “the most extraordinary museum you’ll ever hear.”

Continue reading →

Class of 2012: Alexandra Raleigh

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Alexandra Raleigh
Alexandra Raleigh ’12 (CLAS) (Photo: Peter Morenus/UConn)

By Lauren Lalancette

To prepare for her dream job of U.S. Secretary of State, Alexandra Raleigh ’12 (CLAS) will begin a Ph.D. program in political science at the University of California-Irvine this fall, specializing in political psychology.

“I am deeply patriotic,” says Raleigh, who is graduating with a double major in psychology and political science. “I care about my country’s values, and I want to work really hard to protect those values.” Continue reading →

2012 Distinguished Alumni Award: Bill DeWalt

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Bill DeWalt is the founding President and Director of the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), an expansive $250 million institution that opened in April 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona. DeWalt was responsible for assisting in the design and overseeing construction of the 200,000-square-foot building, amassing a collection of more than 15,000 musical instruments from nearly every country in the world, and assembling a team of 110 employees and 350 volunteers. He currently manages the operations of the museum, as well as its world-class theater, which offers concerts by artists from across the globe. Continue reading →

2012 Distinguished Alumni Award: Marian Kennedy

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After completing her undergraduate psychology Honors degree at the University of Connecticut in 1970, Marian Kennedy moved to California with a fellow Honors student. A year later she began law school at the University of Santa Clara. In 1974 she interned with the California Supreme Court, and has worked as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board and the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board. In 1979 she entered Harvard Law School to complete her Master of Laws degree before moving to The Netherlands to marry a Dutch citizen she had met at Harvard. From 1981 to 1992, the couple worked in California, New York City, and The Netherlands. They also had two children, Nicole and Robert. Continue reading →

Hayley Dunnack: Lasting Motivation and a Constant Smile

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By Julie Bruhn

Sophomore Hayley Dunnack genuinely values her time here at UConn. As a nursing student, she takes full advantage of the simulation labs and is excited to start her first hands-on clinical experience next semester. Hayley serves as secretary for UConn Irish, a cultural organization that focuses on Irish stepdancing. Furthermore, she enjoys her job at the Student Activities office and believes that working on campus is a great way to get involved and build connections. Continue reading →

Class of 2012: Alexander Velázquez

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Alexander Velazquez
Alexander Velazquez ’12 (CLAS) (ENG) (Photo: Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

By Lynnette Repollet ’12 (CLAS)

Alexander Velázquez’s passion for engineering first manifested itself when he was only 5 years old. “I told my parents I wanted to be an inventor,” he says. “I’ve always been very technically-inclined.”

Velázquez, who is graduating in May from UConn’s EuroTech program with a dual degree in computer science and engineering and German studies and a minor in mathematics, is fulfilling that childhood dream at an international level. During a four-month internship in Stuttgart, Germany in summer 2011, Velázquez contributed new code to the driving simulator, extending the traffic module that generates computer-controlled cars. Continue reading →

Honors Program Alumni eNewsletter (Fall 2011)

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A Message from the Director

To our Honors alumni,

Can you believe it has been nearly 50 years since President Babbidge envisioned an Honors Program to educate the best and brightest college students from the state of Connecticut and beyond? A handful of outstanding students joined the freshman class in 1964, and they were followed by thousands. Many of these accomplished alumni have, indeed, fulfilled President Babbidge’s dream.

As director of UConn Honors, I have had the privilege of working with extraordinary students and alumni during the past nine years. It has been a goal of mine to share their stories with you, and generally to keep you up to date with news on how—and what—your Honors Program is doing. Since I arrived in 2002 we have been growing and developing at a breath-taking speed, and there has been little time to step back and talk about our work. Continue reading →

Honors Class Notes (Fall 2011 eNewsletter)

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1960s

Holley (Hewitt) Ulbrich ’63 just published the second edition of her textbook, Public Finance in Theory and Practice, with Routledge Publishing. This is her ninth published book. Holley is Alumni Distinguished Professor Emerita of Economics at Clemson University. Billie (Bill) DeWalt ’69 left the University of Pittsburgh as Distinguished Service Professor of Public and International Affairs in 2007 to serve as Founding President and Director of the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix, Ariz. MIM opened on April 24, 2010, and has been recognized as one of the outstanding museums of the world. Continue reading →