For the third season, the WSU Alumni Association hosts the Distinguished Alumni Speaker Breakfast Subscription Series - offering every alum and friend of the university something worth getting out of bed for!
Former Shocker basketball great and NBA player, Antoine Carr fs '83 kicked off the 1999-2000 lecture series with a Sept. 1 breakfast address on campus. But it's not too late to make your reservations — at a special rate of $48 per person — for the remaining eye-opening presentations by these Wichita State alumni:
Vincent Gott '51
Hazel, Cramer & Cardiac Surgery
Thu., Oct. 7
Inspired by such Shocker personalities as former university professor Hazel Branch and well-known physician and educator D. Cramer Reed, Dr. Gott has earned a heart-pumping reputation in the field of medicine and is today a leading expert in his chosen specialty: cardiac surgery.
In 1954, while a surgical intern at the University of Minnesota Hospital, Gott observed the first open-heart operation ever performed. He also served on the university research team that developed the first pacemaker.
At the University of Wisconsin, he helped develop early artificial heart valves. In 1965, he was appointed director of cardiac surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, remaining in that position for 17 years. He continues on the staff as professor of surgery.
Ron Wilson '76
Thespian Tales
Thu., Nov. 11
Actor/director/playwright/educator Ron Wilson teaches acting at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
Previously an associate professor of theater at Cornell University, Wilson has gathered professional laurels in theater, mime, vaudeville/clown theater, music theater and dance since graduating from Wichita State. "The Hollywood Canteen" and "The Last Days of Route 66" are among the plays written by this talented alumnus.
Jeff Turner '73/77
Facing up to Chaos
Thu., Jan. 13, 2000
Information, markets, attitudes, employee mobility, technology. When the workplace is in flux, a leader must be prepared for nothing short of chaos. The vice president and general manager of the largest employer in Kansas talks about the challenges leaders have had to face as they face up to work in the 21st century.
Turner began his career at Boeing Airplane Co. as a part-time programmer in 1973, later working as a systems analyst for Boeing Computer Services. He was named vice president and general manager of Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Wichita Division, in 1995.
Quincalee Brown '61/61
Making It Up As You Go
Thu., April 27, 2000
A feminist and environmentalist by avocation, Brown is executive director of the Water Environment Federation, an international organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the global water environment.
She has garnered a reputation for excellence in not only association management but also academia and in local and federal government. A former executive director of the American Association of University Women, she also has been an assistant professor of speech and director of debate at both WSU and Ottawa University. The one constant she's found in her fluid life has been change: "moving on to something new and different."
Each breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. and wraps up at 8:30. Speakers' addresses are informal and last about 20 minutes, with an interactive question-and-answer period following each talk. Breakfasts are held at WSU's Traditions Café, 4201 E. 21st Street. To make reservations or for additional information about this alumni program, call (316) 978-3290.
