8 alumni awarded Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement

Alumni awarded Presidential Citations for Outstanding Achievement on Oct. 17 included (clockwise from bottom): L: Nora Kennedy, Lisa Maurer, T. Tucker Norton, Vincent Meconi, David Freschman and Terrance Bowman.

6:30 p.m., Oct. 24, 2003--UD President David Roselle and Robert Davis, vice president, development and alumni relations, kicked off Homecoming Weekend by presenting the Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement to eight alumni on Friday, Oct. 17, in Mitchell Hall.

The award honors University of Delaware graduates of the last 20 years who “exhibit great promise in their professional and public service activities,” Davis said.

Recipients are Terrance A. Bowman ’95, manager, Technology Solutions Accenture; Christopher J. Christie ’84, United States attorney, District of New Jersey; David J. Frechman ’84, president, Delaware Innovation Fund; Nora W. Kennedy ‘86M, Sherman Fairchild Conservator of Photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Lisa M. Maurer ’86, coordinator, Center of LGBT Education, Outreach and Services, Ithaca College; Vincent P. Meconi ‘84M, secretary, Department of Health and Social Services, State of Delaware; T. Tucker Norton ’93, applied biotechnology research manager, DuPont Co.; and John G. Partilla III ’86, executive vice president and managing partner, Young & Rubicam Inc.

Terrance Bowman ’95, just eight years out of college, has become the manager of technology solutions at Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. He has led Accenture’s minority recruiting efforts for UD and Lincoln University, and has helped increase minority enrollment by more than 75 percent. In 2001, he was selected Accenture’s “Mentor of the Year.” Bowman is also the UD’s Black Alumni Organization president-elect.

“My experience at the University of Delaware remains priceless, having provided me with a solid education, lifelong friends, awesome mentors and endless leadership opportunities,” Bowman said.

Christopher Christie ’84 was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Currently he is serving a four-year term as the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey. He is the lead investigator in a recent case involving a known arms dealer trying to smuggle a shoulder-fired missile capable of shooting down a commercial jetliner into the U.S. Christie also serves on Attorney General John Ashcroft’s advisory subcommittees on terrorism.

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“I have nothing but fantastic memories from my years at the University of Delaware. I received a great education. I met my wife. I made lifelong friends. A knowledgeable and caring faculty mentored me. Now 20 years since my graduation, I still have friends at the University and visit the campus on a regular basis,” Christie said.

David Freschman ’84, serves as president and CEO of the Delaware Innovation Fund, where he provides technical assistance and financial investment to emerging companies in Delaware and the surrounding region. In 1998, Freschman was awarded the Financial Advocate of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“[UD] was where I was able to define who I was to become, with whom I would spend the rest of my life and where my life-long friendships emerged. The University of Delaware gave me the confidence and tools to move effortlessly into the ‘real world,’” Freschman said.

Nora Kennedy ’86M, is an international leader in the field of photographic conservation. She now serves as the Sherman Fairchild Conservator of Photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kennedy also is an adjunct professor at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. She has been responsible for the care and preservation of two of the finest photographic collections in the U.S. as a contract conservator for the National Gallery of Art and the Library of Congress.

“When I applied to the graduate program in art conservation at the University of Delaware/Winterthur Museum in the early 1980’s I did so because of its outstanding reputation in art conservation education and training as well as its commitment to the conservation of photographs, my area of interest. At the time, no other graduate program offered this specialization. The University continues to host one of the leading graduate art conservation programs in the world, with standards of excellence crafted and upheld by its faculty and visionary administration,” Kennedy said.

For almost 20 years, Lisa Maurer ’86, has worked as a sexuality educator and social activist. In 1991, she wrote the national award-winning training manual “Positive Approaches: A Sexuality Guide for Teaching Developmentally Disabled Persons.” The book is used by professionals, parents and caregivers across the globe. Maurer was named the founding coordinator of the Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Education, Outreach and Services at Ithaca College. She recently was awarded the Tompkins County (N.Y.) Human Rights Award for her efforts.

“To this day I seek to embody what I learned through my diverse UD experiences,” Maurer said.

Vincent Meconi ‘84, became the secretary of Delaware Health and Social Services in January 2001. His primary duties are to manage the department’s $650 million budget, work with the governor and legislators as requested and help respond to residents’ needs and concerns. Meconi worked for many years with U.S. Sen. Tom Carper as an executive assistant when Carper was a congressman and then as his campaign manager in the race for governor in 1992.

“The University is a great training ground for public servants; indeed, its graduates are the lifeblood of state government,” Meroni said.

T. Tucker Norton ’83, works as a research manager for DuPont’s Applied Biotechnology Group and as Six Sigma deployment champion. Since he began working at DuPont, Norton has contributed to harnessing the power of biology in engineering to produce value-added products economically with reduced environmental consequences. In 2000, Norton was selected to participate in the Frontiers of Engineering symposium, an honor given to the National Academy of Engineers’ top 100 engineers, ages 30-45.

“My college experiences were embodied by the generosity and spirit of the people I met – the energetic faculty of the Honors Program, the new undergraduates I mentored as a Dickenson Fellow, and even my future wife! Now our diplomas hang proudly in our home, a reminder of the excellence in education that illumines each step of our journey,” Norton said.

John G. Partilla ’86, is founder and CEO of Brand Buzz, a $100 million creative solutions agency launched in 2000. Brand Buzz creates brand phenomena or marketplace buzz through innovative, creative and fully integrated communication processes. Brand Buzz uses nontraditional marketing methods to promote and develop brand names. In 1997, he was named to Crain’s ‘Top 40 under 40’ list for helping Young & Rubicam Inc. lead the advertising industry in new business development.

“From Pre-Calc to International Relations, it was the dedicated professors and classmates that helped make the coursework rewarding. Passions, limited time, opportunity cost, just a few life lessons learned in addition to the prescribed curriculum,” Partilla said.

UD’s Taggart-Grycky Duo provided music for the ceremonies, and afterward, a reception was held on Mentors’ Circle.

Article by Dean Geddes, AS ’05
Photo by Kathy Atkinson

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