The University of Evansville Alumni Association recently presented its Alumni Awards at UE’s annual Founders Day luncheon. The awards are given to alumni who have achieved personal success and contributed exceptional services to their community and to the University. This year’s recipients are David and Jennifer Pollock, Angela Easterday Stocklin, Sharon and Tom Kazee, and Richard Werking.
David and Jennifer Pollock received the UE’s Distinguished Alumni Award. The Pollocks are award winning scientists, medical researchers, and endowed chairs at the University of Alabama Birmingham. They have given over 20 UE undergraduate students the opportunity to explore biomedical research through summer internships and full-time employment. Jennifer earned a BS in biology from UE, MS in chemistry from the University of Cincinnati, and a PhD from the department of chemistry, biological division of the University of North Carolina. David majored in biology at UE and earned his PhD in physiology from the University of Cincinnati.
Angela Easterday Stocklin received the Young Alumna Award. She studied psychology at UE and earned a masters from Indiana State University in school psychology. She and her husband, Randy, started One Click, an online eyewear business, and her commitment to One Click, its values, and customers has resulted in a number of awards, including TechPoint’s MIRA Award for Excellence in New Media, Indiana Companies to Watch, and Indianapolis Business Journal’s list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in Indiana. She served as an alumni mentor for the UE Connect program and is a member of the Harlaxton Society Board of Directors.
UE president Tom Kazee and his wife Sharon were recipients of the Samuel Orr Honorary Alumni Award. Under President Kazee’s leadership, UE implemented a facilities master plan including new student townhouses and renovations of academic buildings and added new academic programs, including a physician assistant master’s program. During his tenure, UE also expanded the Center for Career Development.
Sharon earned her PhD in educational administration from the University of South Carolina and was dean and vice president for arts and academics at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities before coming to UE. She advocates for the arts and education through her involvement with Signature School, Evansville Philharmonic, and Evansville Public Art Commission. She serves on the University’s Art Collection Committee, Theatre Society Board, and executive committee of the President’s Club.
Richard Werking received the Edie Bates Volunteer Service Award. Werking is library director and emeritus professor of history at the US Naval Academy, He was the driving force behind establishing funds honoring three former professors at UE (then Evansville College). He established a scholarship at UE in memory of his parents, both of whom were EC faculty members. Under his leadership, the class of 1966 had one of the most successful reunions in recent UE history in terms of attendance and funds raised toward a class gift. He spearheaded efforts to have decades’ worth of UE yearbooks and student newspapers digitized and made available to all alumni.
