UNC Greensboro’s Alumni Awards helped kick off Homecoming 2026 on Oct. 2.
This year, the university honored Alan Overbey ’86 with its prestigious Minerva Award for Distinguished Service. Additionally, it recognized eight individuals in the following categories: Professional Achievement, Young Alumni, WC Legacy, and Honorary Alumni Award.
Overbey founded an employee benefits agency that became Banyan Consulting Group and grew into one of North Carolina’s largest independently owned employee benefits firms. Along with his wife, Lovelle ’91, ’04, ’08 MA, he has also served the greater Greensboro community.
Overbey chairs the Bryan School Advisory Board and serves as vice chair of the UNCG Foundation Board. His community involvement includes leadership with Scouting America, United Way of Greater Greensboro, Piedmont Land Conservancy, and Downtown Greensboro Inc.
DePaul Mittman ’78 and Angie Polk-Jones ’89, ’07 MSA received the Professional Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding careers that bring distinction to the recipients, their communities, and the University.
Mittman, a distinguished educator, earned degrees from UNCG and N.C. A&T State University. At Western Guilford High School, he established Guilford County Schools’ first African American history course. In athletics, Mittman co-founded the North Carolina Track and Cross-Country Coaches Association and has held leadership roles with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
Polk-Jones has more than 35 years of experience in education and athletics. She was the inaugural principal of The Middle College at UNCG. She is director of athletics and driver education for Guilford County Schools, where she supports athletic programs across 35 middle and high schools. At UNCG, Polk-Jones was a Kodak All-American student-athlete in women’s basketball and was distinguished as the program’s all-time leading scorer for 27 years. She was the first UNCG student-athlete to have a jersey retired.
Kathy Foster ’84, ’92 MSN and Wayne Foster ’01 PhD each received the WC Legacy Award, which recognizes UNCG’s early decades as a college for women. Woman’s College became co-educational in 1964. Each half of this married couple has made amazing contributions to their respective fields and their shared University.
Kathy Foster spent over three decades with Cone Health in roles from clinical nurse specialist in inpatient and subacute rehabilitation to quality management to leadership as director of Cone Health’s Family Medicine Center. Since 2018, she has worked as a quality improvement coordinator for AuthoraCare Collective Hospice. She has contributed to UNCG both as president of the UNCG School of Nursing Alumni Association and as a member of the UNCG Board of Visitors.
Wayne Foster is a leader in speech-language pathology and audiology. He has served in leadership roles in the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and received its inaugural Legacy in Leadership Award earlier this year. He is currently audiologist and research coordinator for Cheshire Center in Greensboro. His service to UNCG includes the UNCG Foundation Board and the Health and Human Sciences Alumni Leadership Group. The Fosters endowed a scholarship in 2026.
Clinton Wilson ’07, Preston Blakely ’17, and Cordara Harper ’20 MM, ’21 PMC received the Young Alumni Award.
Wilson is executive director of student support services for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and oversees programs that service academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs. With nearly two decades of experience in public education, his career reflects a commitment to supporting student well-being. In addition to his work in public schools, Wilson co-founded Transcend Resource Solutions LLC, which works to reduce barriers to mental health and educational services for marginalized populations.
Blakely currently serves as mayor of Fletcher, N.C., and works for his family business, Quality Janitorial Group. Blakely has contributed his leadership to numerous regional and statewide boards and committees. His service includes the Governor’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, Land of Sky Regional Council, and the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Western North Carolina Recovery.
Harper is an award-winning music educator who teaches and provides leadership across Grambling State University’s choral, vocal, and music education programs. Harper’s honors include Yamaha’s 2025 “40 under 40” Music Education Excellence Award, the University of Louisiana System Outstanding Faculty Award, and Grambling State University’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He is also a two-time quarterfinalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award.
Anjan Basu, a career educator, received the Honorary Alumni Award. Basu studied at UNCG from 1998 to 2001, then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from NC A&T State University. While at UNCG, he was active in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Basu remains engaged with UNCG, supporting Homecoming efforts and raising approximately $60,000 for the Pi Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha’s General Student Body Scholarship. Basu now teaches at N.C. A&T and is a doctoral candidate in African American literature at Howard University.