Alumni Recognition

Every day our alumni are doing great things — both big and small.

Our alumni network is extensive and world class. We are a community of hard-working leaders, innovating through the constant tides of change in business and committing to a sustainable and prosperous future. We’re known for our community that supports its own — Beavers helping Beavers. If you know a College of Business alum who deserves recognition for his or her professional achievements and service, nominate them for an award below.

Make a Nomination

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame alumni exemplify the values of hard work, persistence and ethics. They are professionally accomplished and have demonstrated strong leadership in their career as well as volunteer roles in College of Business committees and boards. As advocates for the college and the university, they've helped us advance our mission to support student success and to achieve distinction. The Hall of Fame award was established in 2001.

Past award winners

  • Jim Parkin ’86
  • Gordon Clemons ‘65
  • James Coleman '58
  • Tom Toomey ’82
  • Elise McClure ’81
  • Jackie Swint ’51
  • Jim Williams ’67
  • Robert G. Zahary ’65
  • Wayne Ericksen ’58
  • Patricia Bedient ’75
  • Larry L. Brown ’75
  • Ruth Fisher ’54
  • Donald L. Bower ’48
  • Kenneth Poorman ’61
  • Arthur Tokin ’71
  • Stanley Hong ’59
  • Duane McDougall ’74
  • Al Reser ’60
  • Jon Masterson ’61
  • Harley Smith ’59
  • R. Stevens Gilley ’56
  • Kenneth Thrasher ’71
  • Joan Austin
  • Ken Austin ’54
  • Bernie Newcomb ’65
  • James Robb ’54
  • Stephen Bailey '70

Innovative & Distinguished Business Professional

Our Innovative and Distinguished Business Professional alumni have at least 20 years of professional experience and are game-changers in their field. They’ve demonstrated innovation and professional excellence with both quantitative and qualitative results that evidence great impact. The Innovative & Distinguished Business Professional award was established in 2002.

Past award winners

  • Laura Naumes '81
  • Zoe-Vonna Palmrose ’68
  • Steven Daniels ’81
  • Mark Reser ’88
  • Ted Stalick ’87
  • Jill Eiland ’73
  • Gordon Clemons ’65
  • Don Atkinson ’89
  • Diane Detering-Paddison ’81
  • Steven Gomo ’74
  • Tod D. Perkins ’86
  • John Stirek ’82
  • Stephen M. Bailey ’70
  • Tad Davies ’78
  • Wesley R. Edens ’84
  • Linda Hirneise ’75
  • Gayle Fitzpatrick ’78
  • Elise McClure ’81
  • Jack Wilborn ’71, MBA '79
  • Larry L. Brown ’75
  • Pam Garcia ’81
  • E. Scott Hildebrandt ’78
  • Bruce C. Hraba ’67
  • Allen P. Leggett ’60
  • Joseph F. Lobbato ’81, MBA ’82
  • Donald A. Robert ’82
  • Patty Bedient ’75
  • Dennis Powell ’70
  • James Schupp ’79
  • James Williams ’66
  • Scott Parrish '81
  • Angela Snow '81
  • Scott Parrish ‘81
  • Robert Zagunis ‘77

Distinguished Young Professional

Our Distinguished Young Professional award recognizes College of Business alumni with less than 20 years of professional experience who exemplify the values of hard work, persistence and ethics. They show high potential for professional accomplishment as shown by their early career accomplishments. The Distinguished Young Professional award was established in 2001.

past award winners

  • Christine Clair '10
  • Nikki Neuburger ’04
  • Kate Johnson ’98
  • Terence Chesire ’98
  • Tim S. Hildebrandt ’06
  • Caitlan Bake '11
  • Katie Haakenson '09
  • Tim Jakubowski '04
  • Alicia Miller '05
  • Angelina Lusetti '07
  • Rachel Todd '08
  • Doug Deurwaarder '01
  • Courtney Carter '04
  • Joshua Bruegman '02
  • Greg Laird '03
  • Ryan Hildebrand '04
  • Casey Anderson ‘14

Distinguished Early Career Business Professional

past award winners

  • Curt Willener '04
  • Peter W. Newport '98
  • Meadow Clendenin Stahlnecker ’99
  • Eric Winston ’98
  • Ryan Smith ’95
  • Brian J. Bronson ’93
  • Steven Zamsky ’90
  • Brian A. Oliver ’87
  • Eric Schoenstein ’88
  • Kim Brockamp ’91
  • Laurie Russell ’94
  • Scott Burri ’86
  • Donald C. Atkinson ’89
  • Brent Bullock ’83
  • James D. Parkin ’86
  • Ron Parker ’86
  • Sally Smedal ’82
  • James Winters ’86
  • Craig Froude ’89
  • Scott South ’83
  • Beth Taylor ’81

Distinguished Graduate of the Last Decade

The Distinguished Graduate of the Last Decade award recognizes College of Business alumni with less than 10 years of professional experience who have shown significant contributions to their community, their profession or the college through early career roles, leadership and/or volunteer service. The Distinguished Graduate of the Last Decade award was established in 2018.

past award winners

  • Natalie Tonneson '13
  • Willen Sin ’13
  • Elana Anderson Stone ’09
  • Michael Conan ’17
  • Mallory Trost '14
  • Jeff Lulay ‘16
  • Kayla Arnot '17, '20

Weatherford Award

The Weatherford Awards honor entrepreneurs and innovators who further Oregon’s pioneering spirit. The designation celebrates Oregonians who have changed the face of business throughout the region and the world by advancing entrepreneurship, innovation and social progress.

past award winners

  • Rob Pace '84 — Founder, HundredX
  • Matt Watson '99 — Founder and Creative Director, Watson Creative
  • Randy Conrads ’72 — Founder, Classmates.com
  • Ken ’53 and Joan Austin — Founders, A-dec
  • Jim Bernau — Founder, Willamette Valley Vineyards
  • Chris Botti — Award-winning jazz trumpeter
  • Carolyn Chambers — Philanthropist and Oregon pioneer of the telecommunications industry.
  • Stanley Cheng ’71 — CEO, Meyer Corporation, U.S., and founder, Hestan Vineyards
  • Frank Cloutier — Leader of the HP team that developed the InkJet Printer
  • Dan Di Spaltro ’07 — co-founder of cloud-computing management startup, Cloudkick
  • Alex Polvi ’07 — co-founder of cloud-computing management startup, Cloudkick
  • Logan Welliver ’07 — co-founder of cloud-computing management startup, Cloudkick
  • Kyle Doyel ’80 — Founder and president, Kyzen Corp.
  • Frank Dulcich — Co-founder and CEO of Pacific Seafood, the largest vertically integrated seafood company in North America
  • Douglas Engelbart, Ph.D. ’48 — Inventor of the computer mouse
  • Dick Fosbury ’72 — Inventor of the Fosbury Flop high jumping technique
  • John Gardner, Ph.D. — Founder and president, ViewPlus Technologies, Inc.
  • Paul Gulick — Founder of Clarity Visual Systems; co-founder of InFocus Corporation, father of the digital projector
  • Doc and Connie Hatfield — Founders, Country Natural Beef
  • Kaichang Li, Ph.D. — Inventor of formaldehyde-free wood adhesives
  • Bob Moore — Founder, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods
  • James Peterson, Ph.D. — World-leading wheat breeder
  • Mike Rich ’81 — Screenwriter of feature films, including Finding Forrester and The Rookie
  • Donald A. Robert ’82 — CEO of Experian
  • Governor Barbara Roberts — First female elected governor of Oregon
  • Cory Schrieber — Pioneer of the NW natural food movement
  • Jack Smith — Inventor and co-founder of Hotmail, serial entrepreneur 
  • Rex Smith ’73 — Chairman and COO of the Hotmail venture
  • Bert Sperling ’72 — Founder, Sperling’s Best Places
  • Dr. Albert Starr — Co-inventor of the world’s first successful artificial heart valve
  • Junki Yoshida — Yoshida Group Chairman and CEO, mastermind behind the famous Yoshida sauce
  • Fred Ziari — Founder of ezWireless and IRZ Consulting, an innovative leader in water and energy conservation technologies
  • Ryan Hildebrand ’04 — Co-founder, Seed.co
  • Tim Hildebrandt ’05 — Controller, Seed.co
  • Ryan Kirkpatrick '06
  • Rob Pace ’84 – Founder, HundredX
  • Jeremy Cox ’99 and Christopher Cox ’00 – Co-Founders, 10 Barrel Brewing Co.

Distinguished Business Partner

The Distinguished Partner Award, established in 2003, honors a company, business or industry group whose joint efforts have resulted in significant benefits to the professional development of students, its employees, or individuals pursuing job training/retraining for future employment. The award recognizes significant support and collaboration with the OSU mission, and the partner is recognized for being highly engaged and creating a scholarly, community-based work environment that positively impacts both the community and scholarship efforts.

past award winners

  • Oregon State Credit Union
  • Portland Society for Information Management
  • Adidas
  • Oregon Department of Transportation
  • Mutual of Enumclaw
  • Fred Meyer
  • The Boeing Company
  • Ferguson Wellman Capital Management
  • Ron J. Susa, ’80, Chevron Corporation
  • George Graves, KPMG LLP
  • Stephen J. Nigro, Hewlett Packard Co.
  • Joe Karas, Moss Adams LLP
  • James M. Baumgartner, Black Helterline LLP
  • Craig Chambers, Oregon Financial Services
  • Joyce Furman, Philanthropist and Community Leader
  • Stockamp & Associates
  • George Puentes, Puentes Bros. Inc./Don Pancho Mexican Foods
  • Bob Sznewajs, West Coast Bank
  • Sonja Lee Haugen, Austin Industries
  • Patricia Hraba, Waterford Hotels and Inns
  • Irva Kay Neyhart, Stover Neyhart & Co., PC
  • Don Waggoner, Leupold & Stevens, Inc.
  • Gallo

Alumni Fellows

Established by the Oregon State University Alumni Association in 1988 to recognize eminent alumni. Honorees have distinguished themselves in their professions and communities. The presentations and ceremony occur during homecoming and the OSU Alumni Association retains final approval of recipients.

past award winners

  • James Coleman ’58
  • Stanley Hong ’59
  • Ben Whiteley ’51
  • Bernard Newcomb ’65
  • Duane McDougall ’74
  • Mike Rich ’81
  • Ken Thrasher ’71
  • John Gray ’40
  • Stephen M. Bailey ’70
  • Gayle Fitzpatrick ’78
  • Tom Toomey ’82
  • Anita Winn ‘79

Distinguished Service Award

Distinguished Service Award recognizes and celebrates exceptional contributions, inspiring commitments to the community and the college, and serves to promote the importance of service and excellence in our society.

past award winners

  • Art Stonehill
  • Matt Spathas '80
  • Frank Morse '70
  • Brigadier General Al Guidotti '56

Innovative Business Leader

past award winners

  • Tom Toomey ’82
  • Roger W. Hinshaw
  • Carl Casale '83
  • Rob Pace '84
  • Eric Meslow '91
  • Abhi Talwalkar '85
  • Ken Wightman '68
  • Kathleen McNally '86
  • Ruth Beyer '77
  • Jim Wiggett '72
  • Gustavo Montero '84
  • Steve Oliva '63
  • David Vernier '76
  • Christine Vernier
  • Scott Campbell '80

Nominations

Know someone who deserves some recognition? Let us know.

General Criteria

  • Nominations to remain in the nominee pool for two years, after which the nomination must be resubmitted for consideration.
  • Recipients must agree to attend the awards presentation in their honor to receive the award. In the event that a selected recipient cannot attend, the nominee will be considered for the following year. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the OSU College of Business Alumni Award Selection Committee for reasons such as illness or infirmity.

Ineligibility Criteria

  • Candidates for public office
  • Current members of OSU Board of Trustees
  • Members of the award selection committee
  • Any current OSU, OSUF, or OSUAA employees

Nominate an alumni