The Ohio State University Alumni Association

Learn more about the accomplished recipients of this year’s prestigious awards.



Dr. R. Eric Miller

Dr. R. Eric Miller

Alumni Medalist Award
R. Eric Miller ’75, ’79 DVM, has dedicated his life to saving animal species from extinction and providing the best veterinary medicine possible in zoos and for wildlife. He credits Ohio State’s College of Arts and Sciences and College of Veterinary Medicine for his knowledge base.
Read his story

Dr. Madhav Chavan

Dr. Madhav Chavan

Robert M. Duncan Alumni Citizenship Award
A chemist by training, Madhav Chavan ’83 PhD brings a scientific rigor and a belief in experimentation to his life’s mission: providing high-quality, low-cost learning to underprivileged children in his native India.
Read his story

Tom Waltermire

Tom Waltermire

Ralph Davenport Mershon Award
For Tom Waltermire ’71, leadership and service to Ohio State began the day he arrived on campus in 1967, and hasn’t stopped. As an undergraduate, he was president of Ohio Staters and active in student government, which helped build the leadership skills he later deployed in a successful career.
Read his story


Kwame Christian

Kwame Christian

William Oxley Thompson Alumni Award
Kwame Christian ’10, ’13 doesn’t shy away from conflict; he embraces it. A bestselling author and speaker, he is the founder and CEO of the American Negotiation Institute, and hosts of the popular negotiation podcast, Negotiate Anything.
Read his story

Dr. Ariana Hoet

Dr. Ariana Hoet

William Oxley Thompson Alumni Award
Ariana Hoet ’11 has emerged as a vital voice on pediatric mental health, with her expertise sought throughout the country. She is a clinical psychologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and executive clinical director for On Our Sleeves, which provides free children’s mental health educational resources.
Read her story

Marlene and Ted Temple

Marlene and Ted Temple

E. Gordon Gee Spirit of Ohio State Award
As leaders of the Ohio State Marion Alumni Club for 30 years, Ted and Marlene Temple ’86 have organized hundreds of events that bring alumni together for fun activities while raising money for scholarships and programs benefiting Ohio State students and the Marion community.
Read their story


Dr. Donald Staffo

Dr. Donald Staffo

Archie M. Griffin Professional Achievement Award
For many years, Donald Staffo ’78 PhD lived a double life. He enjoyed a 50-year career as an award-winning educator in the fields of health, physical education and athletics while simultaneously working as a nationally recognized sports journalist.
Read his story

Anna Voelker

Anna Voelker

Diversity Champion Award
Anna Voelker (they/them) is working to advance disability inclusion in STEM, on earth and beyond it. Voelker ’18, envisions a future where astronauts with disabilities are common on space missions and people with disabilities hold more leadership positions in STEM fields.
Read their story

Katheryn Lloyd

Katheryn Lloyd

Dan L. Heinlen Award
Kathy Lloyd ’99 juggles a dual career as a lawyer and owner of 30 horses and a riding school, attributing her accomplishments to her education at Ohio State Newark and the financial support she received. Now she advocates for higher education affordability for students, especially at regional campuses.
Read her story


Pamela Hager

Pamela Hager

Josephine Sitterle Failer Award
When Pam Pozderac Hager ’80 discovered Ohio State’s Alumnae Scholarship Housing program, which offers students the opportunity to share a house at half the cost of a dormitory room, she moved in and made lifelong friends. Driven to support the next generation, she now helps the 88-year-old housing program flourish.
Read her story