Adrian College Recognizes Remarkable Alumni
posted 10/8/08
Awards given out at homecoming

ADRIAN, Mich. - Adrian College proudly gave out this year’s alumni awards to some of its finest graduates at this year's homecoming weekend, Oct.3-5. The recipients and their awards are listed below. The 2008 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees were also honored over the weekend, and their numerous accomplishments are listed here.

HONORARY ALUMNI AWARD
C. Henry Mensing

C. Henry Mensing has been a member of the Adrian College family for 30 years. His passion for athletics has been prominent during his career here at the College. He began as a football coach in 1978 and spent 27 years with the team. He coached baseball for two years in 1991, and was the named the athletic director in 1990, a position he held for 16 years. In 2006 Henry took on the new task of director of athletic development/athletic director emeritus and continues to work in this position today.

Henry is graduate of Tecumseh High School and earned both a Bachelor of Science degree (’71) and a master’s degree (’76) from Eastern Michigan University. Henry has surrounded his life around education and athletics. He has spent many years as a teacher, a coach, and an educational administrator.

Henry serves on the Tecumseh School Foundation and other community committee boards. He has also received many coaching award and is a member of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association and the American Football Coaches Association.

He has dedicated many hours and contributions to the College to help get AC where it is today.

Even though Henry is not a graduate of Adrian, many of his colleagues say he is a true bulldog. They are humbled by his care for the students, his pride for the black and gold, and his continual contact with alumni. They describe him as a tireless worker but importantly as a friend.

Athletic Director Mike Duffy ’82 says it is a “slam dunk” to honor Henry with this award. Associate Athletic Director and baseball head coach Craig Rainey ’89 calls Henry his mentor. “He was always the person to step forward and do whatever it took to help AC. He was my mentor and I owe him everything.”

In his spare time Henry likes to golf, travel, and is interested in all sports. He and his wife Lorrie make their home in Tecumseh. They take great joy in their three children Andrew, Jason, and Tyler. Two of their sons are Adrian College graduates.

The Honorary Alumni Award honors individuals who have shown extraordinary loyalty and affection for the College over time.

ALUMNI SERVICE AWARD
James R. Jackson ‘51

James R. Jackson is one of the most faithful members of the Class of 1951. James started at Adrian shortly after the end of World War II. He was one of many students who had just graduated from high school who started college in the fall of 1947 with many returning war veterans. He describes the mixture of students as “magical”. As a group they had the worldly experience of the veterans and the wide-eyed enthusiasm of the high school graduates.

James received a Bachelor of Arts and after graduation he went into the insurance industry. He received many awards for excellence as the owner of Jackson Park Agency, a general independent insurance agency. He has since retired.

James has served our College in many ways for many years. He has been an annual contributor to the since graduation, has been a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, a member of the Board of Trustees, co-founder of the annual alumni golf outing which is 40 years running, and is co-founder of the annual Florida alumni reunion which has taken place for the past 25 years.

His relationship to his brothers of the ATO fraternity remains strong today. In the early 1980’s he established the ATO alumni newsletter and publishes four issues a year and sends it to a mailing list of 125 Adrian alums.

The late Carl Pocock, friend and fraternity brother of James was specifically humbled by James’ dedication to the fraternity with the foundation of the newsletter and reunions as well as his faithful service the College,” Pocock (May 2006).

“I for one have kept every one [of the issues] and appreciate Jim Jackson’s efforts of keeping us informed about our brothers

Adrian College has always been a major part of his life. A large number of the students he matriculated with remain his dear friends today. They still have reunions in Adrian and Florida to reminisce about their school days and to catch up. They also make it an appoint to keep track of the school. Adrian has come a long way since he graduated in 1951 but he believes the changes and improvements are positive and continuing.

James has also become an unofficial recruiter for Adrian. He has referred 21 students to the College. Currently three of his recruits are on campus now and his grandson began his freshman here at Adrian this fall.

His service to humanity does not stop at the College. He provides financial support of veterans and supports the Boy Scouts and the church. He also served on the board of directors for United Way charity while employed.

James and his wife Betty Lou make their home in Allen Park, Mich. They have five children: David Jackson, Jill Jackson, Nikki Defeyter, Julie Ross, and Kimberly Jaroslawski.

The Alumni Service Award honors alumni volunteers who have dedicated much of their time, talent and service to Adrian College for a project or in various ways over a prolonged period of time.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD
Stephen H. Swigart ‘70

Stephen H. Swigart is the Chairman/CEO of Spartan Chemical Company, Inc., a company his father, E.T. Swigart, founded in 1956. He graduated from Adrian College in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history.

Spartan Chemical began in a small, 1500 square foot building on Summit Street in downtown Toledo. The first product was HD-10 All Purpose Cleaner, later renamed SD-20, which became an industry leading synthetic detergent that is still sold today. This international chemical that Stephen heads is now located on a 133 acre facility in Maumee, Ohio with 550 employees including a plant in Brazil and sales in over 30 foreign markets.

Part of Stephen’s father’s dream was to create a company with integrity to match the quality product produced and sold. This level of integrity is fulfilled through every aspect of the company today. Under the direction of Stephen, the company continues to develop products that revolutionize the maintenance industry with their cutting edge chemistry and forward thinking purpose. Under his leadership, Spartan led the National Green Cleaning movement with their Green Solutions and BioRenewables product lines.

His modest dedication to Adrian College is inspiring. He endowed the Adrian Business Scholarship for the College and contributed to the Business Board Room in Jones Hall. He has served on the College’s board of associates and has also hosted an alumni event at his state-of-the-art corporate facility for Toledo area alumni. Steve has hosted AC officials for a tour of his facility and to talk about “greening” technology.

Stephen has also served on numerous trade association boards. He chaired the PGA tournament when it was held in Toledo in the early 90’s, served the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) in various capacities, and served on the Independent Distributor Council for the National Paper Trade Association.

He has been a contributing panelist to three independent studies produced by the National Association of Wholesaler Distributors and Arthur Anderson, entitled “Facing the Forces of Change.” Stephen also served on the Board of Directors for the Seybold Company in Cincinnati; Cyclo Industries in West Palm Beach, Fla., and JMS Corporation of Knoxville, Tenn. Steve’s newest career move is the founder and board member of Waterford Bank, a new bank in Toledo.

Stephen has been honored throughout his career having received The Jack D. Ramaley Industry Award 2005; Chairman’s Award for Membership Development (ISSA); and the John H. Plant Membership Development Award (ISSA).

Stephen and his wife make their home in Toledo and have two children, John and Maggie.

The Distinguished Alumni Award honors alumni who have graduated at least 25 years previously and who have earned regional and international recognition in their respective careers, are recognized for involvement in their communities, and who have demonstrated continued support to Adrian College.

YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Dr. Elizabeth Ruhl Quinn ’93

Elizabeth Ruhl Quinn graduated from Adrian College in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in biology/chemistry. She later went on to receive a Doctor of Philosophy in molecular medicine and genetics from Wayne State University in 1998. She completed her post-doctoral research fellow in 2001 at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.

Liz is a Ph.D. scientist who has helped make great strides in the life science and biotechnology industry. She recently took a new position on September 2 at DiscoveRx Corporation where she serves as Product Manager. DiscoveRx provides a family of assay solutions for GPCRs, Kinases, Protein Expression and Translocation, all using its proprietary EFC chemiluminescent detection technology. The company’s objective is to provide high throughput screening / drug discovery institutions with the tools to advance their research more effectively.

As a Project Manager in the marketing department, Liz’s job is to market and brand existing products as well as to launch and brand new products. She is responsible for training the sales team, educating the customers with webinars and technical trainings, conducting site visits with customers we well as determining forecasts for each product and increasing worldwide sales. She is directly responsible for profits and losses. Liz is looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities that are before her.

Throughout her young career, Liz has been recognized and promoted several times. 2004 was a big year for her as she received the Special Achievement and Recognition Award (SARA) recognizing exceptional efforts to achieve a key milestone for the company she then worked at, BD Biosciences Clontech. That year she also contributed to an increase in total revenue of bulk PCR product line by $3 million which totaled 5% of total revenue for the business.

More recently in 2007 before leaving Clontech, she was promoted to Project Manager of the PCR and RT product lines and was selected by the senior management to lead a cross-departmental core team focused on improvement, marketing, promotion and growth of a key Clontech line. Liz has played an active role on several peer reviewed publications. She is also a member of the American Society of Gene Therapy and the American Association of the Advancement of Science.

While at Adrian Liz received many honors including the Dean’s Award Scholarships, Alpha Chi National Scholarship Honorary, Beta Beta Beta National Biology Honorary, and Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities. Liz attributes her special time at Adrian to three “very dedicated” professors: Dr. Robert Husband, Dr. Judith Roes Hammerle, and the late Dr. Cindy Bosio. Not only were they her teachers, they were her mentors who she describes as “amazing”.

When Liz is not busy at work she finds time to volunteer. She has spent time teaching Vacation Bible School, donating blood, has been a guest lecturer on Molecular Biology at Marquette University, and has volunteered in Molecular Biology lab demonstrations. She is also a financial supporter for a variety of charities including Operation Smile, American Cancer Foundation, Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Lutheran Blind Mission.

She also enjoys spending time with her friends and family and attending her children’s school activities.

Liz and her husband Thomas make their home in Sunnyvale, Calif. with their two children, Joshua, 5, and Rebecca, 2.

The Young Alumni Achievement Award was first presented by the Alumni Board in 1986. It honors alumni who have graduated within the last 10 to 25 years and who have demonstrated significant professional and personal achievement that reflects credit and honor upon Adrian College, the faculty and fellow alumni.