2:26 p.m., May 11, 2009----Four University of Delaware graduates are the newest inductees into the Alumni Wall of Fame. The award honors members of the University Alumni Association from around the world who have distinguished themselves in professional and community endeavors.

THIS STORY

E-mail

Print

Twitter

Robert D. Fleck, EG'69, Francis “Skip” Gardiner Jr., EG'62, Spangler “Buzz” Klopp, AG'66, '68M and David Plastino, AS'78, were inducted in a ceremony at the Louise and David Roselle Center for the Arts on Friday, May 8.

Cindy Campanella, director of alumni relations and a 1984 graduate, told the audience at the ceremony that the honorees' professional accomplishments both testify to and enhance the value of a UD degree and “inspire fellow alumni and current students alike.”

President Patrick Harker, who presented the awards with Alan Brayman, vice president of the alumni association and a 1973 graduate, noted that the Wall of Fame was established 25 years ago and called the four new members “worthy of this silver anniversary.” Their achievements make the University proud, he said, and “enlarge our reputation and expand the good we do in the world.”

The ceremony also included remarks by students Teagan Gregory, a political science and international relations major with minors in East Asian studies, philosophy and religious studies, who received the 2009 Alexander J. Taylor Sr. Award for the outstanding senior man, and Casey Patriarco, an English education major with minors in history and philosophy, who received the 2009 Emalea Pusey Warner Award for the outstanding senior woman. Like the Wall of Fame honors, the Warner and Taylor awards are given annually by the UD Alumni Association.

The new inductees, who were selected from 140,000 graduates, bring the number of names on the wall to 219. Among the initial Alumni Wall of Fame inductees were Revolutionary War heroes and signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, as well as physicians, engineers and authors. Recent honorees include men and women from business, law, education, creative and performing arts, athletics, religion, politics, medicine and the military.

Fleck, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, is the founder and president of Oak Knoll Books and Oak Knoll Press, an antiquarian bookstore and internationally renowned publisher of antiquarian books, based in New Castle, Del. He also hosts Oak Knoll Fest, the largest annual fine-press exhibition in North America. As the former president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and only the second American to be elected president of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, Fleck is recognized worldwide as an expert on the history of the book and book arts. He is a member of the UD Library Associates and serves on its board of directors.

Gardiner, who earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering, is president of Gardiner Realty and Development Co. in Crofton, Md., focusing on the development of commercial projects. He began his career as an engineer and superintendent for the family commercial construction firm that later became Gardiner and Gardiner Inc. Named president of the company in 1974, Gardiner helped move it into the modern era, adding a site-development division as well as a real estate development and property management division before retiring in 2000. He serves on the UD Civil and Environmental Engineering External Advisory Council and with his wife, Mildred, is a longtime supporter of the College of Engineering.

Klopp, one of the world's leading experts on avian pathology, earned his bachelor's degree in animal science and a master's degree in poultry pathology from UD, in addition to a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of Georgia. He is the consulting veterinarian for Townsends Inc., a poultry and agricultural products company. Klopp is a co-recipient of the Medal of Outstanding Achievement from the Delmarva Poultry Industry for his work developing a technique of vaccinating hens, is a past president of that organization and has testified before Congress on issues involving avian pathology. He has served on the advisory board for UD's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Plastino, the senior vice president of investments at UBS Financial Services in Philadelphia, earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry at UD. He went on to receive a master's degree in business administration at the University of Michigan and then joined Goldman Sachs, where he was vice president of investments. He supports six chemistry and biochemistry undergraduate researchers at UD each summer and has established the Plastino Scholars Program, which funds a special project for selected students who design a program of study that is not offered in the traditional curriculum. Plastino also is active in several charitable organizations in the Philadelphia area, including the Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation.

Article by Ann Manser
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson