NBA great Unseld named Alumnus of Year; Alumni Fellows honored
October 17th, 2008
Wes Unseld
National Basketball Association great Wes Unseld, a 1968 graduate of the University of Louisville, has received the 2008 Alumnus of the Year award.
The award, the highest honor bestowed on any graduate by the UofL Alumni Association, recognizes people who have distinguished themselves in their careers and personal lives.
The association recognized Unseld and 2008 Alumni Fellows from each college at a ceremony Oct. 16.
“I’m very honored and humbled,” Unseld said of winning the award. “I was lucky to play some ball. Hopefully I’ve also done some other things that set a good example for people.”
A star UofL basketball player, Unseld had a successful NBA career as player, coach, team vice president and general manager. He was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988, and in 1996 was named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all time.
“He is probably the greatest athlete the university has ever produced. He’s a legitimate hometown hero,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Blaine Hudson of the Louisville native. Hudson nominated Unseld for the award.
It is important for the university to recognize Unseld’s achievements not only as a student and athlete, but also his NBA career and he and his family’s work in education, Hudson said.
Unseld and his wife, Connie, also a UofL graduate, founded a private school in 1979 upon the philosophy “Every Child Can Learn.”
Located in Baltimore, Md., Unseld’s School offers a curriculum for children nine months to 14 years of age. It also provides such programs as life skills, manners and etiquette, character education, outdoor education, sports, drama and workshops for parents.
“They’ve demonstrated their commitment to education and their commitment to providing opportunity to disadvantaged youth,” Hudson said. “They’ve made it a mission — a very personal mission in their lives.”
Unseld’s School has been acclaimed a “School of Excellence” in the United States. It is accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education.
Past UofL alumni of the year honorees include American Medical Association presidents, former Kentucky governors, university presidents and leaders in higher education, entrepreneurs, nationally recognized writers, chief executive officers and a member of the Aeronautics Hall of Fame.
The Alumni Fellows awards are bestowed on University of Louisville graduates who are exemplary ambassadors for their schools or colleges. School or college administration nominates honorees. The UofL Alumni Association and the university’s Board of Trustees make final selection.
2008 Alumni Fellows are:
- Lucy Helm, 79A, 82L, College of Arts and Sciences
Helm is senior vice president and deputy general counsel in Starbucks Coffee Co.’s Law and Corporate Affairs Department. She leads the Global Business team, which supports the company’s contracts and commercial transactions and also is executive sponsor of the Starbucks Law Department pro bono committee. - Charles Brown Jr. 62B, 67GB and Norman Noltemeyer 62B, College of Business
Brown and Noltemeyer are partners in Brown Noltemeyer Co. Their real estate portfolio includes more than 5,000 apartments, seven shopping centers, 11 industrial buildings, six office buildings, two residential subdivisions and the Kingfish Restaurant chain. - Eric Dierks, DMD, MD, School of Dentistry
Dierks maintains an academically affiliated dental practice in Portland, Ore., and is one of only about a dozen American surgeons to be board-certified in both oral and maxillofacial surgery and otolaryngology (head and neck) surgery. He started the first fellowship in head and neck oncologic surgery in the United States, which trained oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the complex surgery of oral cancer and other head and neck tumors. - Russell Cox, 79E, 81GE, College of Education and Human Development
Cox is executive vice president and chief operating officer of Norton Healthcare. He also serves on the Downtown Development Corp. Board and Executive Committee, as well as the Leadership Louisville Foundation Board and Executive Committee. - Stuart Scott Jr., 88S, 90GS J.B. Speed School of Engineering
Scott is chief operating officer and member of the Board of Directors of Taylor, Bean and Whitaker Mortgage Corp. He leads the product development, operations and corporate functions with operations in North America, Europe and Asia. - Hon. Denise Clayton, 76L Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
Clayton became the first African American female appointed as judge to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in October 2007. She represents the 4th Appellate District, Division 1. She is the chair for the Commission on Racial Fairness for Jefferson County’s courts and is a member of the Louisville Bar Association, Louisville Black Layers Association, Women Lawyers Association and Focus Louisville. - Blaine Nashold Jr., 49MD, School of Medicine
Nashold introduced stereotactic surgery to Duke University. The technique uses instruments to locate specific points within the brain on which the neurosurgeon will operate. He performed the first stereotactic surgeries in the South, and was a founding member and president of the American Stereotactic Surgery and president of the World Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. - Michael Tunnell, 78GM, School of Music
Tunnell has been professor of trumpet at the University of Louisville School of Music since 1988, where he performs with Louisville Brass and conducts the Trumpet Ensemble. He also performs as principal trumpet with the Louisville Bach Society and as auxiliary trumpet with the Louisville Orchestra and is a member of Sonus Brass. - Cis Gruebbel, 93GN, School of Nursing
Gruebbel is a consultant with the Studer Group, a national health care consulting firm. She aims to help hospitals across the country become better places for employees to work, physicians to practice medicine and patients to receive care. - Carey Cockerell, 74K, Kent School of Social Work
Cockerell is commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and oversees the work of 10,800 employees. The agency is responsible for preventing and investigating the abuse and neglect of children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
