In what has been a special Shocker tradition for 59 years now, outstanding Wichita State alumni, faculty and staff were celebated for their achievements and distinugished service at the annual Alumni Awards banquet, held June 4 in the Rhatigan Student Center's Shirley Beggs Ballroom.
Shockers in attendance were addressed by John Bardo, WSU president; Dick '61 and Bonnie Bing '70/76 Honeyman, masters of ceremonies; and Courtney M. Marshall, president and CEO of the WSUAA.
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD winner Mark Wentling '70/70/70 has lived and worked in Africa for more than four decades.
His travels have covered 54 African nations. Recently retired from his position as the country director for Plan International Burkina Faso, Wentling built a career in foreign service featuring work with the Peace Corps, USAID, World Vision and CARE.
Also a novelist, his trilogy – Africa's Embrace, Africa's Release and Africa's Heart – is, he says, written from the perspective of someone “born in Kansas, but made in Africa.”
THE UNIVERSITY RECOGNITION AWARD recipient is Ted Ayres. Ayres, who arrived at Wichita State in 1996 as general counsel and associate to the president, was promoted to vice president and general counsel in 2002, retiring this year.
He was instrumental in securing the Gordon Parks Papers for the university and has been recognized for community service by organizations including Diversity Kansas and the NAACP Wichita chapter.
ALUMNI RECOGNITION AWARD honoree is Connie Dietz '68/71. Teacher, work-based
learning director, Wichita Board of Education president – these are a few of the titles Dietz
has held during her career.
She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in elementary education from WSU, where she
has worked since 1995, currently as executive director of the Career Development Center.
Her community activities include serving on the Task Force to End Chronic Homelessness
and as president of the League of Women Voters.
THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD recipient is Deborah Buller, who began her career at Wichita State as the assistant secretary for the WSU Board of Trustees.
She then transitioned to the WSU Foundation, where she worked as administrative assistant to Patsy Selby, vice president for finance, from 1993-2010, and, for the past five years, has been executive assistant to president and CEO Elizabeth King.
YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD winner Laura Bernstorf '04 was a Wallace Scholar at Wichita State while she was pursuing a degree in industrial engineering.
Since graduation, she has worked in Wichita's aircraft industry, first at Hawker Beechcraft, and since 2010, at Airbus. A senior project management specialist at Airbus, Bernstorf is active in the community, especially with Young Professionals of Wichita.
Recipient of the YPW Commitment Award in 2012, she is serving as the organization's 2015 board chair.
THE AWARD OF DISTINCTION honoree is Harry Hatteberg, whose face – and voice – are familiar to several generations of KAKE TV viewers.
During his five decades in television, Hatteberg, who retired in 2014, was awarded 130 local, state and national awards for news photography and reporting.
His well-known “Hatteberg's People” video series profiled some two thousand Kansans since its start in 1974.
