The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has named the winners of its 2004 Distinguished Service Awards, given to honor extraordinary service to education overall, service on behalf of particular institutions, or service benefiting the field of education advancement.
The award winners are Jean Bixby Smith, chair of the Scripps College Board of Trustees; Roger L. Plummer, a member of the Board of Directors for the University of Illinois Foundation; David H. Ponitz, president emeritus of Sinclair Community College in Dayton Ohio; and Dan L. Heinlen, president and chief executive officer emeritus of the Ohio State University Alumni Association, Inc. They will receive their awards on July 11, during CASE’s Annual Assembly, in San Diego, California.
Jean Bixby Smith and Roger Plummer are winners of the Ernest T. Stewart Award for Alumni Volunteer Involvement. The Stewart Award is named for the first executive director of the American Alumni Council, one of CASE’s two predecessor organizations.
Jean Bixby Smith, who graduated from Scripps College in 1959, began her involvement with the Scripps Alumnae Association in 1974. She became a member of the college’s Board of Trustees, of which she is currently chair, in 1980 and in 1984 co-chaired the Campaign for Scripps College, the first major fund-raising campaign in the college’s history, which raised nearly $60 million. Smith in 1988 received the Distinguished Alumna Award and in 1992 received the college’s Ellen Browning Scripps Award, given to individuals who best exemplify the characteristics of the college’s founder. Although Smith’s five-year term as chair of the college’s Board of Trustees ended in 2001, she was asked to extend her term by three years-unprecedented in the college’s history.
“The Scripps College of today is an infinitely stronger and more vital institution because of Jean Smith’s exceptional commitment, wisdom, and service to her alma mater over the past 45 years,” wrote Smith’s nominator, Nancy Y. Bekavac, president of Scripps. “Her wise leadership and willingness to give unstintingly of her time and talent have made her a role model for students, alumnae, and her fellow board members.”
Roger Plummer’s service to the University of Illinois dates to the 1970s, when he began assisting the university in its efforts to recruit and retain minority students. Aside from his service to the foundation’s Board of Directors, Plummer, a 1964 graduate, also has been a member of the Board of Trustees and the College of Business Advisory Council and chaired the Alumni Association. He and his wife, Joanne, are founding sponsors of the annual “Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival” and created an endowed scholarship in the UI College of Engineering. He received the 2004 Distinguished Service Award from the university’s Alumni Association, the highest recognition the association can give for service. Plummer also speaks frequently at university events, and has been an “Engineering Executive Lecturer” on several occasions.
“Roger has had an ongoing connection with the University for many years, a relationship personified by extraordinary financial support coupled with proactive advocacy and perceptive advice,” said Sidney S. Micek, president of the University of Illinois Foundation, in a letter on Plummer’s behalf. “With each passing year, the excellence that the world has come to expect from the University of Illinois depends more and more on the efforts of world-class alumni like Roger Plummer.”
David Ponitz is the recipient of the James L. Fisher Award for Distinguished Service to Education, named in honor of CASE’s second president. President of Sinclair Community College from 1975 until 1997, Ponitz also headed community colleges in Michigan and Illinois, and earlier in his career was superintendent of school systems in several Midwest communities. While at Sinclair, he led three successful countywide levy campaigns, forged corporate contracts with more than 200 companies, and co-founded with other colleges and universities the Miami Valley Research Park, a hub for technology companies. In Illinois, he helped to create legislation that established a statewide community college system. The Dayton Business Journal in 2001 named Ponitz as one of the city’s top 25 most influential people. He was also honored in 1999 with the Governor’s Award for Education.
“Over the past quarter of a century, no single individual has had a greater impact on the education of two generations of Ohio citizens,” wrote one of his supporters, Richard F. Celeste, governor of Ohio from 1982 until 1990 and U.S. Ambassador to India from 1997 to 2001. “More than any of his colleagues in higher education, he sought ways to lift the quality of primary and secondary education in his region and in our state.”
Dan Heinlen, who retired as president and chief executive officer of the Ohio State University Alumni Association on Dec. 31, 2003, is recipient of the Frank L. Ashmore Award for Service to CASE and the Advancement Profession. The award is named for the 1959-1961 executive director of the American College Public Relations Association, one of CASE’s predecessors. Heinlen joined the staff of the Alumni Association in 1965 and headed it since 1973. He was also secretary of the Association’s Board of Directors, the Alumni Advisory Council, and the Ohio State Student Loan Foundation, Inc. He has been chair of the CASE Board of Trustees, chair of CASE Assembly planning committees, and a speaker at conferences in nearly all of CASE’s eight districts. In addition, he has authored chapters on alumni affairs for books including the Handbook of Institutional Advancement, 3rd Edition (CASE Books, 2000). Heinlen is also a founding member of the Council of Alumni Association Executives.
“The essence of Dan Heinlen’s accomplishments can be summed up in two words: commitment and excellence. Whether service to the university, fellow professionals or church and community, he has always strived for quality leadership within a framework of personal warmth and good humor,” wrote Robert G. Forman, executive director emeritus of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, in a letter of support.