Six accomplished alumni are the recipients of a Baldwin Wallace Alumni Merit Award, the highest honor conferred upon a graduate by the university. The award, which was bestowed May 19 as part of a special event, celebrates outstanding alumni for their achievements and service to their profession, community and alma mater. This year's recipients include:
Having
earned
a
bachelor's
degree
in
biology,
Joseph
pursued
medical
school
at
Johns
Hopkins
University
and
pioneered
laparoscopic
surgery
techniques.
Sally,
who
majored
in
zoology,
earned
her
M.D.
at
Case
Western
Reserve
University
and
became
an
emergency
physician.
In
addition
to
medicine,
the
two
were
passionate
about
marine
biology
and
are
founding
members
of
the
International
Historical
Diving
Society
in
both
the
United
Kingdom
and
the
U.S.
In
2006,
they
donated
their
collection
of
historic
gear
and
artifacts
to
open
the
History
of
Diving
Museum,
dedicated
to
the
international
story
of
explorations
under
the
sea.
They
created
the
Dr.
Thomas
Surrarrer
Biology
Fund
in
1986
and
hosted
BW
students
on
several
occasions
at
the
museum.
After
Joseph's
death
in
2007,
Sally
continued
to
serve
as
president
of
the
museum's
board
of
directors
and
on
the
boards
of
several
other
Florida
Keys
nonprofit
organizations.
Inducted
into
the
Women
Divers
Hall
of
Fame,
Sally
was
honored
in
2018
by
the
Academy
of
Underwater
Arts
and
Sciences.
With
a
bachelor
of
arts
degree
in
psychology
and
a
minor
in
English
from
BW,
Tom
earned
a
master's
degree
in
computer
and
information
science
at
The
Ohio
State
University.
A
Vietnam
veteran,
he
received
an
Army
Commendation
Medal
and
a
Bronze
Star
for
his
service.
His
career
with
AT&T
included
a
number
of
challenging
assignments
along
with
systems
development,
international
communications
services,
billing,
and
government
markets
and
playing
a
major
role
in
helping
to
win
multi-billion
dollar
procurements
with
the
U.S.
government.
Tom
then
joined
Telecordia
Technologies,
directing
teams
tasked
with
detecting
problems
in
domestic
and
international
carrier
networks.
He
is
a
member
of
the
West
Morris
Regional
High
School
District
Board
of
Education
and
serves
as
a
volunteer
for
his
library,
church
and
local
Scouts.
Tom
has
been
a
BW
class
representative
and
enthusiastically
supports
BW's
current
Phi
Kappa
Tau
chapter,
renovating
the
PKT
crest
and
letters
outside
Heritage
Hall.
The
philanthropy
of
Tom,
his
wife
Jane
'67
and
other
family
members
includes
the
Jean
Ware
Brooks
'43
Scholarship
Endowment
and
the
All-Steinway
initiative.
After
earning
a
bachelor
of
science
degree
in
chemistry
from
BW
and
graduating
with
distinction
from
Georgetown
University,
Cloud
has
done
research
with
the
National
Cancer
Institute,
the
Food
and
Drug
Administration,
Merck
&
Co,
Inc.
and
the
Center
for
Cancer
Research.
He
has
authored
and
co-authored
many
articles
featuring
groundbreaking
concepts
and
challenges
to
the
oncology
medicine
field.
Cloud
is
now
the
head
of
the
Translational
Research
Laboratory
at
the
Belfer
Center
for
Applied
Cancer
Science
at
the
Dana-Farber
Cancer
Institute
in
Boston,
which
serves
as
an
advanced
laboratory
with
an
emphasis
on
blood-based
biomarkers.
Working
with
both
basic
and
clinical
investigators,
Cloud's
overarching
career
goal
has
been
leveraging
analysis
of
clinical
specimens
toward
improvements
in
the
understanding
and
treatment
of
cancer.
His
recent
endeavors
include
rapid
plasma
genotyping
("liquid
biopsy")
of
non-small
cell
lung
cancer,
the
most
common
type
of
lung
cancer.
He
is
the
recipient
of
many
honors
bestowed
by
pharmaceutical
and
research
industries,
among
them
the
National
Institutes
of
Health
Fellows
Award
for
Research
Excellence.
At
BW,
Rochonda
combined
her
major
in
elementary
education
with
participating
in
the
Voices
of
Praise
Gospel
Choir
and
serving
as
a
resident
assistant
and
a
student
director
of
the
Black
Cultural
Center.
She
earned
both
a
master
of
science
and
a
doctorate
in
educational
leadership
from
the
University
of
Dayton.
She
was
a
classroom
teacher
from
1993-1998
in
the
Dayton
Public
Schools,
where
she
honed
a
focus
on
urban
education
and
advocating
for
disadvantaged
students.
She
is
now
assistant
professor
of
education
and
first-year
experience
coordinator
at
the
University
of
Dayton,
hiring
and
guiding
peer
advisors
as
well
as
coordinating
programs
for
first-year
students.
She
is
also
the
program
director
for
the
Urban
Teacher
Academy,
encouraging
pre-service
teachers
to
accept
and
excel
in
urban
school
teaching
jobs.
A
data-driven
educator,
she
regularly
presents
at
conferences,
contributes
findings
to
the
field
of
culturally
responsive
classroom
teaching,
and
leads
professional
development
sessions
for
Dayton-area
teachers
on
cultural
competence
and
inclusion.
Having
lettered
in
football
and
baseball,
Lee
was
a
member
of
Alpha
Tau
Omega
fraternity.
He
graduated
from
BW
with
a
bachelor's
degree
in
accounting
before
joining
Ernst
&
Young,
ultimately
becoming
a
managing
partner
before
retiring
in
2014.
Lee
led
the
Ernst
&
Young
Entrepreneur
of
the
Year
program
for
two
years
in
Northeast
Ohio
and
was
committed
to
providing
top-quality
client
service
for
the
firm.
A
lecturer
and
executive-in-residence
in
the
BW
School
of
Business,
Lee's
alumni
engagement
also
includes
being
a
representative
for
the
Class
of
1976,
business
advisory
board
member
and
the
Ernst
&
Young
liaison
partner
to
BW.
He
and
his
wife
Cathi
'76
have
hosted
several
alumni
events
in
their
Scottsdale,
Arizona,
home.
Lee
serves
on
the
board
of
directors
for
a
public
company
and
consults
with
businesses
regarding
financial
performance
and
improvements.
He
has
been
a
member
of
several
community
and
nonprofit
boards
supporting
the
health
and
economic
vibrancy
of
Cleveland
and
Northeast
Ohio.
Lee
is
now
the
vice
chair
of
BW's
Board
of
Trustees.
