Once again, the WSU Alumni Association is set to host its annual awards ceremony honoring outstanding Shockers. This years gala, the 49th, is slated for Fri., Jan. 28, 2005, and will fête five alumni and two definitive nonalumni Shockers — Don and Shirley Beggs — whose contributions to society deserve recognition.
Achievement Award: Jim Mann
Alumni Recognition Award: Ron Baldwin
University Recognition Award: Mary Herrin
Distinguished Service Award: John Davis
Young Alumna Award: Ann Konecny
Jim Mann '56
Few have tasted success on the level of James L. "Jim" Mann, CEO of SunGard Data Systems. After college and a stint as an Air Force pilot, Mann joined IBM as a salesman. Seeing that the future was written in ones and zeroes, he started a computer and software business in 1964. By 1977, that company was worth $21 million.
In 1983, Mann signed on as COO of a new company called SunGard; today, as CEO, he oversees a publicly traded corporation with annual revenues of $3 billion. Despite his success, he hasn't forgotten his roots and continues to contribute to WSU. For his years of service to the school and the community at large, he will receive the Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the alumni association.
Ron Baldwin '75
This year's Alumni Recognition Award goes to a man who credits his faith for his success in life, Intrust Bank COO/President Ron Baldwin. A graduate of the Barton School of Business, Baldwin has dedicated incalculable energy to such programs and projects as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt's election campaigns — of which Baldwin is finance chair — and Victory in the Valley, a not-for-profit cancer support service.
Baldwin himself is a cancer survivor. A proud Shocker, hes played many roles at the university, not the least of which is his current status as chair of the WSU Foundation.
Mary Herrin '72/76
Perhaps no person at WSU has a finger more firmly placed upon the school's financial pulse than Mary Herrin, recipient of the University Recognition Award. In her dual role as associate vice president of administration and finance, and director of budgets, she is intimately involved in the most minute details of the university's large and complex budget.
Herrin, an avid supporter of Shocker athletics who, according to friends, "bleeds black and gold," is a member of several WSU organizations dedicated to providing financial support to the university.
John Davis '75
Balancing a career in law enforcement, a hobby as a shutterbug and an unimpeachable commitment to his alma mater has earned WSU Police Captain John Davis this year's Laura Cross Distinguished Service Award.
Davis, a university staffer for more than 35 years, has made lifetime friends with those who have come and gone at Wichita State. Via his connections, he has provided the university with many items of memorabilia as premiums for fundraisers. He also makes a habit of photographing special events at WSU, documenting the goings-on and giving out copies of photographs to individual attendees, often at his own expense.
Ann Konecny '91
Young Alumna Award recipient Ann (Foley) Konecny represents the third generation of the Foley family to head its successful Wichita-based heavy equipment company. She is also one of only two women on earth to own and operate a Caterpillar dealership.
Aside from acting as CEO of the business founded by her grandfather in 1942, she is set to become chair of the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce in 2005 and is involved in many community organizations. She is also a recipient of WSU's Barton School of Business Young Alumna Award.
