UNCG Alumni | Alumni Awards

Alumni Awards

celebrating alumni from every era

Our 2025 Alumni Award recipients are Barbara “Bobbi” Osguthorpe ’83, James “Jim” Barnhill ’82 MFA, Marion Lois Prescott Wray ’56, and Lasse Palomaki ’16, ’18 MBA.

The Alumni Awards honor alumni for exceptional achievement and significant contributions to their profession, community, society, or university. Awards are presented annually at an event during Homecoming weekend.

This year, the awards ceremony took place on Friday, October 17.

2025 Alumni Award Recipients

Barbara “Bobbi” Osguthorpe ’83

Minerva Award for Distinguished Service

Bobbi Osguthorpe ’83 served as a PRN consultant for MTS/KCI in Raleigh from 2008-15. Prior to that, she was vice president of the western region for clinical, marketing, and operations for MTS/KCI from 2001-08. In addition, Bobbi has experience as a lecturer and clinical instructor, as well as a critical care nurse. She has received various honors during her career, including being inducted into the North Carolina’s Great 100 in 1991. She received the UNCG School of Nursing’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1997. In 1987, she established the Barbara Osguthorpe Scholarship in Nursing. 

James “Jim” Barnhill ’82 MFA

Professional Achievement Award

Jim Barnhill ’82 MFA created a lasting legacy at UNCG through his creation of the beloved Minerva statue. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Art Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977, then spent a year of study in Marburg, Germany and traveled extensively. In 1982, Barnhill received his Master on Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, studying under the late Peter Agostini. He works from the live model, sculpting both fully in the round as well as in relief. Barnhill has successfully executed work for corporate, public, liturgical and garden settings. More than a mere copy of the human body, his work seeks to marry the abstract principles of design and composition to the natural form of the figure. Barnhill’s work is both engaging and inviting. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Art at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. 

Marion Lois Prescott Wray ’56

WC Legacy Award

Marion Lois Prescott Wray ’56 began her career as a Physical Education teacher. After the birth of her children, David and Catherine, she served as a substitute teacher and stay-at-home mom, then transitioned to a role as Safety Services Director with the Red Cross. In 1965, she returned to teaching. During this time, she served as the girls’ volleyball and track coach for the first girls’ athletic teams in Raleigh City School system, as a physical education head, and as one of the first two female athletics directors in the system. In 1992, she was honored as the first non-collegiate Coach of the Year by the N.C. Division of Girls and Women’s Sports. She retired in 1984, and stays busy with church, bridge, book club, local theatre, and traveling, as well as sharing her flower garden with her neighbors. She inspired four of her students to pursue a career in physical education and endowed the Marion Lois Prescott Wray ’56 Scholarship at UNCG.

Lasse Palomaki ’16, ’18 MBA

Young Alumni Award

Lasse Palomaki ’16, ’18 MBA is a two-time graduate of UNC Greensboro’s Bryan School of Business and Economics. Originally from Finland, he earned his B.S. in International Business while serving as a student athlete on the men’s soccer team, followed by his MBA. As a student, Lasse was actively involved on campus and graduated with full university honors. After completing mandatory service in the Finnish Defense Forces—where he earned the rank of sergeant—Lasse returned to UNCG as a Professional Development Specialist for the Bryan School. He helped design career education programs that continue to serve students in the Bryan School, to which he remains closely connected as a lecturer, MBA Advisory Board member, and contributor to the Bryan Blueprint Series. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Career Services for Alumni at Elon University and as the founder of The Strategic Student LLC, which provides coaching, workshops, and digital resources to college students. Lasse met his wife, Zoe, at UNCG. They are raising their two daughters as proud Spartans. 

Click Here to Meet Our 2024 Recipients

Alumni Award Descriptions

The UNCG Alumni Association established the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 to recognize extraordinary accomplishments by an alumna/nus of UNCG. This award is the highest honor bestowed upon an alumna/nus of UNCG, and recognizes those who have made significant professional achievements or have distinguished themselves through service to others.

The WC Legacy Award is given to alumni of either Woman’s College or UNCG. Emphasis is placed on characteristics that were important during the WC era, which included service, social or political activism. Each year, there will be a minimum of one recipient who attended Woman’s College 1934-1963.

The Minerva Award for Distinguished Service recognizes alumni who have given devotion, service, and visionary leadership to UNCG, the UNCG Alumni Association, academic colleges, or the Greensboro community at large.

The Young Alumni Award recognizes exceptional achievement and significant contributions made to the recipient’s profession, community, society, or the University. This award is given to UNCG alumni who are 40 years or younger when nominated.

The Professional Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievement in any professional field. The award is given to alumni with records of notable career accomplishments and histories of outstanding contributions to their professions. These achievements have brought distinction to themselves, credit to the University, and benefit to their communities.

The Honorary Alumni Award is a special consideration bestowed on friends of UNCG who embody the Spartan spirit and have made significant contributions to the University’s welfare through loyal service and support. To discuss this opportunity, please contact us at alumni@uncg.edu.

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Alumni Awards Archive

  • 2024: Alice Joyner Irby ’54
  • 2023: C. Thomas Martin ’70
  • 2021: Dr. JoAnne “Jo” Safrit ’57
  • 2020: Carole Boston Weatherford ’92 MFA
  • 2019: Linda Arnold Carlisle ’72
  • 2017: Dr. Paula Myrick Short ’67
  • 2016: Kelly Cherry ’67 MFA
  • 2015: Dr. Margaret Bourdeaux Arbuckle ’74 MEd, ’82 PhD

  • 2024: Phaedra Grove ’92, ’95 MPA
  • 2022: Jeff Collins ’84
  • 2020: David B. Craft ’85
  • 2019:
    • Siddiga Ahmed ’16 
    • Erika B. Schlager ’81
    • Richard Sele ’87
    • Jana Welch Wagenseller ’76
  • 2017: 
    • Lynn Kendrick Erdman ’77
    • Karen T. McNeil-Miller ’80, ’81 MEd
  • 2016:
    • Rebecca Kasuboski Cook ’66
    • David Huffine ’84
  • 2015:
    • Dr. Karrie G. Dixon ’00 MA
    • Dr. Barbara Mitchell Parramore ’54
  • 2014:
    • Carolyn Burnette Ingram ’69
    • Dr. Josephine Alexander Foster ’52, ’55 MEd, ’64 PhD
  • 2013:
    • Claudia Buchdahl Kadis ’65
    • Beth Klinkscales McAllister ’63
  • 2012: Mary-Owens Bell Fitzgerald ’55
  • 2011:
    • Patricia Gibson Garrett ’66
    • Susan Whittington ’72, ’74 MEd
  • 2010:
    • Ann Phillips McCracken ’60
    • Louise “Coffee” Maxwell Worth ’40
  • 2009: Dr. Sarah Cowan ’65, ’81 PhD
  • 2008:
    • Dr. Sally Beaver Buckner ’53
    • Sue Sigmon Williams ’58
  • 2007:
    • Dr. Frances Alexander Campbell ’55
    • Dr. Jay A. Mancini, ’77 PhD
  • 2006:
    • Ernest J. Grant ’93 MSN
    • Dr. Lynette Boney Wrenn ’49
  • 2005:
    • Patricia Rothrock ’45
    • Dr. Ellen Strawbridge Yarborough ’55, ’83 PhD
  • 2004:
    • Dr. Cynthia Howard ’74
    • Patricia Shore Clark ’58
  • 2003:
    • Rose Zimmerman Post ’48
    • John L. “Jack” Pinnix ’69, ’75 MA
  • 2002:
    • Nancy Beam Funderburk Wells ’49
    • Dr. Rita Hundley Pickler ’79, ’81 MSN
  • 2001:
    • Marilyn McCollum Moore ’49
    • Linda Arnold Carlisle ’72
  • 2000:
    • Beatrice Goldman Fisher ’42
    • Joyce Daughtry White ’60
  • 1999:
    • Dorothy Ficker Jenkins ’39
    • Dr. Myrle Lutterloh Swicegood ’44, ’74 PhD
  • 1998:
    • Barbara Apostolacus Lipscomb ’49
    • Betsy Bulluck Strandberg ’48
    • Sue Sherrill Phillips ’33
    • Catherine Bernhardt Safrit ’35
  • 1997:
    • Betsy Buford ’68
    • Claudette Burroughs-White ’61
    • Nancy Hill Campbell ’49
    • Carolyn Black Ferree ’66
    • Eleanor Dare Kennedy ’45
  • 1996:
    • Sarah Young Austin ’47
    • Lois Elizabeth Frazier ’42
    • Elizabeth “Bibbie” Yates King ’36
    • Anne Lillian Pitoniak ’43
    • Sarah Denny Williamson ’49
  • 1995:
    • Elizabeth JoAnne Smart Drane ’60
    • Martha Ann Heafner Gaither ’53
    • Barbara Jaylee Montague Mead ’51
    • Mary Elizabeth Barwick Sink ’44
  • 1994:
    • Deane Lomax Crowell ’49
    • Mary Elizabeth Keister ’34
    • Mary Falls Peel McDonald ’42
    • Betty Nance Smith ’48
    • Jane Baucom Stephenson ’59
  • 1993:
    • Alice Smith Barkley ’78
    • Julia “Judy” Bynum Barrett ’42
    • Louise Stirewalt Reynolds ’42
    • Faye West Warren ’41
    • J. Nancy White ’46, ’63 PhD
  • 1992:
    • Elizabeth “Betty” Moore Bullard ’52
    • Alice Wray Faucette Callahan ’52
    • Elisabeth “Betty” Crawford Ervin ’50
    • Martha Adams Fowler McNair ’49
    • Edna Earle Richardson Watson ’40
  • 1991:
    • Ann Flack Boseman ’51
    • Evon Welch Dean ’42C
    • Frieda Boger Lane ’44
    • Helen Fondren Lingle ’41, ’66 MEd
    • Eloise Ward Phelps ’31
  • 1990:
    • Barbara Parrish ’48
    • Cathy Stewart Vaughn ’49
    • Kitty Rettew Bregman ’39
    • Donna Hill Oliver ’78 MEd, ’95 PhD
    • Elizabeth Parker McPherson ’51
  • 1989:
    • Yvonne Cheek ’67 MM
    • Margaret Smith Hunt ’36, ’67 MEd
    • Sina McGimpsey Reid ’65
    • Phyllis Vreeland Roberts ’46
    • Kay Yow ’74 MEd
  • 1988:
    • Lib Uzell Griffin ’38
    • Hilda Weil Wallerstein ’26
  • 1987:
    • Trudy Rainey Creede ’39
    • Lou Hardy Frye ’42
    • Nell S. Smith ’51
  • 1986:
    • Betty Shipman Bennett ’46
    • Meredith Mitchum Layer ’68
    • Mercer Reeves Hubbard ’35
    • Dot Kendall Kearns ’53, ’74 MEd
    • Frances Newsom Miller ’42
  • 1985:
    • Cornelia Jones Privott ’20
    • Mildred Templeton Miller ’33
    • Elizabeth Reeves Lyon ’38
    • Ada Markita Fisher ’70
  • 1984:
    • Hilda Wallerstein Fleisher ’51
    • Ellen Sheffield Newbold ’55
    • Mary Boney Sheats ’38
  • 1983:
    • Evelyn Shepherd Apple ’39
    • Jane Bledsoe Davidson ’51
    • Maud Gatewood ’54
    • York Kiker ’39
    • Sarah Hamilton Matheson ’24
  • 1982:
    • Marjorie Hood ’26
    • Lee Kinard ’74 PhD
  • 1981:
    • Irby Shaw Walker ’36
    • Lucy Spinks Keker ’38
    • Nancy Hope Willis ’48
  • 1980:
    • Ellen Griffin ’40
    • Martha Kirkland Walston ’43
    • Celeste Ulrich ’46
    • Maria Richardson Bliss ’55
    • Neill McLeod ’57
  • 1979:
    • Susannah Thomas Watson ’39
    • Jeanne Owen ’41
    • Betty Dorton Thomas ’44
    • Jessie Rae Osborne Scott ’51
  • 1978:
    • Nolie McDonald ’26
    • Rose Pully ’40
    • Marian Adams Smith ’49
    • Sylvia Wilkinson ’62
  • 1977:
    • Clyde Fields ’12
    • Margaret McConnell Holt ’30
    • Betsy Ivey Sawyer ’46
    • Jumela Boulus (Sister Mary Michel Boulus ) ’47
    • Mary Jo Conrad Cresimore ’57
  • 1976:
    • Alma Rightsell Pinnix ’19
    • Virginia Ward ’29
    • Gladys Strawn Bullard ’39
    • Jane Harris Armfield ’60
    • Heather Ross Miller ’61
  • 1975:
    • Gladys Avery Tillett ’15
    • Judge Susie Sharp 
    • Bennie Lee Craig Inman ’35
    • Mildred Caroon Bailey ’40
  • 1974:
    • Charlesanna Fox ’30
    • Isabelle Moseley Perry ’37
  • 1973:
    • Moffitt Sinclair Henderson ’12C
    • Katherine Taylor ’28
    • Mebane Holoman Burgwyn ’35
  • 1972:
    • Margaret Hayes ’19
    • Sadie Molye Suggs ’21
    • Helen Dunn Creasy Hunter ’22
    • Ruth Clinard ’29
    • Elizabeth Langford Davenport ’33
    • Betty Brown Jester ’31 (Special Award)
  • 1971:
    • Kathrine Robinson Everett ’13
    • Frances Gibson Satterfield ’28
    • Elise Rouse Wilson ’43
    • Bonnie Angelo Levy ’44
    • Betty Ann Ragland Stanback ’46
  • 1970:
    • Sue Ramsey Johnston Ferguson ’18
    • Mary D. Johnson ’19
    • Juanita Kesler Henry ’20
    • Reva Mitchell ’32
    • Julia Watson Maulden ’33
    • The Class of 1915
  • 1969:
    • Iris Holt McEwen ’14
    • Lucy Cherry Crisp ’19
    • Elizabeth Hinton Kittrell ’19
    • Iola Parker ’23
    • Frances Fowler Monds ’33
  • 1968:
    • Virginia Brown Douglas ’02
    • Lula M. Disosway ’18
    • Ruth C. Wilson
    • Hermene Warlick Eichhorn ’26
    • Annie Lee Singletary ’31
  • 1967:
    • Rosa Blakeney Parker ’16
    • Euline Smith Weems ’17
    • Julia Montgomery Street ’23
    • Adelaide Fortune Holderness ’34
    • Eleanor Southerland Powell ’42
  • 1966:
    • Emily Harris Preyer ’39
    • Sadie McBrayer McCain ’16
    • Juanita McDougald Melchior ’17
  • 1965: Virginia Terrell Lathrop ’23
  • 1964: Clara Booth Byrd ’13
  • 1963: Jane Summerell ’10
  • 1962: Emma Lewis Speight Morris ’00
  • 1961: May Lovelace Tomlinson ’07
  • 1960: Laura Weill Cone ’10

  • 2024:
    • Judy Newton Scurry ’68
    • Mary Lib Manning Slate ’61
  • 2023:
    • Anne Stroud Taylor ’53
    • Anne Hayes Tate ’68
    • M. Jeffrey Colbert ’84, ’86
  • 2022:
    • Alice Garrett Brown ’65
    • Susan McDonald ’67
    • Ann Thomas ’57
  • 2020: Agnes Johnson Price ’62
  • 2019:
    • Betty Flinchum ’57, ’63 MED 
    • Emile “Emmy” Mills ’62, ’65 MFA
  • 2017:
    • Betty Brooks ’52
    • Manuel Dudley ’94, ’97 MSES
    • Jeannie Daniels Felts ’68
    • Gayle Hartis ’65
    • Roger Joyner ’73 MS
    • Emily Herring Wilson ’61
  • 2016:
    • Debra Turner Bailey ’79, ’81 MPA
    • Nancye Baker Bryan ’66
    • Mildred Curlee Cooper ’47
    • Mary Jo Conrad Cresimore ’57
    • Lois Frazier ’42, ’48 MS
    • Anne Ford Geis ’54
    • Lena (Anne) Gordon ’57​ (awarded posthumously)
    • Eleanor Walker Gwynn ’68 MFA
    • Sarah Cole Jordan ’56
    • Mary Hassell Whisonant ’63
  • 2015:
    • Anne Prince Cuddy ’64
    • Ann Turner Collins ’53
    • Gayle Hicks Fripp ’63, ’69 MA
    • Martha Kirkland Walston ’43
    • Dr. Sue Medley ’65, ’76 MEd, ’85 EdD
    • Patricia Wood Davis ’57
    • Alice Sink ’59C, ’78, ’81 MFA
    • Rev. John A. Robinson, Jr. ’69
    • Dr. Jerry Tolley ’82 EdD
    • Judy Rosenstock Hyman ’56, ’73 MEd
  • 2014:
    • Sally Schindel Cone ’72 MEd
    • Sadye Dunn Doxie ’57
    • Betty Crawford Ervin ’50
    • Linda Flowers ’68 (awarded posthumously)
    • Eric Hart ’96
    • Jessie Donathan Howard ’49
    • Tom Martin ’70
    • Carol Furey Matney ’63
    • C. Neill McLeod ’57
    • Whitty Ransome ’67

  • 2017: Keith Ayscue ’91, ’03 MBA
  • 2016: Amelia Storms Hopkins ’79, ’91 MA
  • 2015: Dr. Margaret JoAnne Safrit ’57
  • 2014: Judge Beth Keever ’72

  • 2024: Tom Waldron ’90
  • 2023:
    • Penelope Muse Abernathy ’73
    • Jaren Doby ’07, ’12 MSW
  • 2022: Jean Lojko ’80
  • 2020: Dr. Cherry Callahan ’71, ’78 PHD
  • 2019:
    • Elizabeth Hudson ’95
    • Justin Outling ’05
    • Beverly Warren ’71

  • 2024:
    • Jackson Cooper ’16
    • Roy Dixon ’15
    • Ashlee Wagner ’11
  • 2023: Eric Durham ’11
  • 2022: Devon Smith ’13
  • 2020: Debora Pleitez ’11
  • 2019:
    • George Acheampong ’09
    • Zimuzor “Zim” Ugochukwu ’11
  • 2017: Paul Chelimo ’14
  • 2015: Christine “Christy” Johnson ’03, ’05 MA
  • 2014: Dr. Cristina Rolo ’04 PhD
  • 2013: Katie Marshall ’11
  • 2012: LaToya Renee Marsh ’99
  • 2011: Dr. Katherine A. Rawson ’99
  • 2010: Dr. Brian J. Clarida ’02 MSA
  • 2009: Dr. Kelly Hannum ’97 MEd, ’03 PhD
  • 2008: Joy Munns ’02, ’04 MBA
  • 2007: George Gibbons Hoyle ’90
  • 2006: Dr. Brian Strahl ’93
  • 2005: George Philip Michael “Mickey” Freeman ’88
  • 2004: Deborah Surman ’91, ’95 MS
  • 2003: Kelly Link ’95 MFA
  • 2002: Anne M. “Meg” Sheehan ’87, ’90 MEd
  • 2001: Eric Button ’82,’87 MBA
  • 2000: Alexander “Alec” McClure Peters ’83
  • 1999: David Brown ’88

  • 2024: Lynn Eury
  • 2023: Mary Landers
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