Colorado State University – Pueblo honors six at Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner 

Pueblo- The Alumni Association at Colorado State University – Pueblo will honor the achievements of six exceptional alumni and the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner on Saturday, October 7, as part of the 2006 Homecoming celebration activities. The event will take place in the Occhiato University Center Ballroom, beginning with cocktails at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the awards presentation. The cost of the event is $20 per person. For information or reservations, contact the Alumni Office at (719) 549-2858 or via email at alumni@colostate-pueblo.edu.

The 2006 recipients are: Dr. Robert Geahlen, ’75, Director of the Purdue University Life Sciences graduate program (PULSe) in West Lafayette, Indiana.; William Gonzales, M.D.,’75, physician at the Veterans Administration Clinic in Pueblo; Betty Martinez, ’85, ’89, Pueblo business woman and realtor; Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at CSU-Pueblo; Kathleen “Kitty” Kennedy, ’75, educator and president of Pueblo District #60 Board of Education; Candice Crain, ’04, rising country music star, Nashville, Tennessee; and Dr. Jack Seilheimer, long time CSU-Pueblo biology professor, and former dean of the College of Science and Math.

 

The Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award will be presented to Dr. Robert Geahlen. A Pueblo County valedictorian, Geahlen has remained in the field of education since 1975, when he earned his bachelor’s degree from then USC, double majoring in biology and chemistry. After gaining his Ph.D. in BioChemistry from the University of Wyoming, Geahlen taught medicinal chemistry, molecular pharmacology, and immunology at Purdue. Having published 100+ papers, Geahlen has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and is an editor for Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-Molecular Cell Research. He is well known for his research on the regulation of immune cell function, supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. As Director of the Purdue University Life Sciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, Geahlen has graduated 15 Ph.D. and six master’s students from his laboratory in West Lafayette, Indiana.

South High School graduate Dr. William Gonzales receives this year’s Outstanding Alumnus Award. Gonzales utilized an associate’s degree in Radiologic Technology from then SCSC to gain employment at Parkview Episcopal Hospital, where he worked as a registered radiologic technologist and part time at Pueblo’s Vocational College (now PCC). He returned to USC to
earn a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s degree in business from the St. Louis Catholic Hospital, and ultimately earning his medical degree in 1987 at the University of Colorado Health
Science Center in Denver. After doctoring in a group practice in Pueblo, Gonzales opened up a solo practice, while training and mentoring pre-med students from USC, physician assistants from PCC, and nurse practitioners from Beth El in Colorado Springs. His service to Pueblo has continued through his involvement in the Health Academy Program at School District 60, physician spokesman for Pueblo’s Network Education Awareness of Diabetes, and serving on CSU-Pueblo’s Biology Advisory Committee. He is a full-time physician for the V.A. Outpatient Clinic of Pueblo.

Pueblo community leader, realtor and business owner Betty Martinez will receive the Outstanding Alumna Award. A Pueblo native, Martinez learned entrepreneurship and empowerment from a family of field workers and coal miners. A first generation college graduate, Betty worked her way out of public assistance to earn a B.S. in criminology and a B.S. in Social Work from then USC, a Law Paralegal Certification from Denver University, and a real estate license. In addition to opening the doors with the first Hispanic woman owned real estate company, Betty Martinez Realtors, she also started America Mortgage, which has merged with Bankers Mortgage. Not forgetting her roots, Betty holds a strong commitment to service and community advocacy, serving on numerous boards and committees such as Pueblo Child Advocacy Center, El Pomar Foundation – Leadership Pueblo, Girl Scouts of America, Boys and Girls Club, and Mi Casa Resource Center for Women.

The first-ever Cuerno Verde Award (graduate of the last decade) goes to Candice Crain, 2004 CSU-Pueblo art/music alumna. A music lover and talent her entire life, Crain won Songwriter of the Year in 2003 from the Colorado County Music Association, Female Entertainer of the Year and Co-Writer of the Year with her mother, Cate Roldan, a 1995 CSU-Pueblo graduate, which qualified her for the North American Country Music Association International finals, where she competed against 700 others and won the prestigious Horizon Award, Most Promising Entertainer and Songwriter of the Year Awards in 2004. Candice and Cate also won the Co-writers of the Year Award during that visit to Tennessee. Upon receiving her degree, Crain moved to Nashville, where she has continued making industry buzz as a single artist. Crain was accepted into the 2005 and 2006 CMA Music Festival, has appeared in Country Music Today magazine and Germany’s premier country music magazine, Country Home, and has been the focus of numerous national radio and newspaper interviews.

Kathleen “Kitty” Kennedy will be presented with the Alumni Association’s Outstanding Service to the Community Award. Kennedy received her B.S. degree in Social Sciences from CSU-Pueblo in 1975. A lifelong learner and educator, Kitty later received a master’s degree in curriculum development from Leslie of Boston in Massachusetts. Her 20+ years of service to Pueblo and School District 60 includes dropout prevention coordination, early childhood education, and visual and performing arts instruction. Kennedy’s community service began more than 30 years ago serving on countless boards and commissions, including the Children’s Museum, Broadway Theatre League, Pueblo City – County Library, D60’s Education Foundation, Pueblo Workforce Development, GEAR UP, 2010 Commission, YWCA and Centennial High School’s Foundation Board. Her recognitions include the “Up with Reading” Community Award, and Pueblo Women’s History Week “Outstanding Woman of the Year.” Under her tenure as D60’s Board of Education President, Kitty and the District have earned recognition for student success from President Bush, U.S. Secretaries of Education Rod Paige and Margaret Spellings and Governor Bill Owens.

The 2006 Outstanding Service to the University is awarded to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at CSU-Pueblo, a campus based substation providing security and law enforcement services to the University through an Interagency Agreement signed by Sheriff Dan Corsentino in 2002. Using a technique called “community policing,” the PSCO deputies counsel, support, and protect, making CSU-Pueblo a very safe campus. Vice President Joanne Ballard advocates they are “proactive about education students on making safe decisions and being life-smart, and they advise and assist the administration in risk assessment, safety rules and precautions, traffic and crowd control, and response to threats.” Under the leadership of
Commander Harry Wetzel and Sergeant Bill Brown, and with six deputies and Dennis Naylon, who oversees communications, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at CSU-Pueblo has proven to be a huge asset and resource for the University, forging a strengthened and supportive community partnership between the two entities.

Longtime biology professor Dr. Jack Seilheimer will receive the first-ever Honorary Alumni Award, as nominated by the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Mich., Seilheimer earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Western Michigan University in 1960, and a Ph.D. in zoology (Limnology) from the University of Louisville. After teaching biology at the University of Louisville, Seilheimer came to Southern Colorado State College in 1963, where he has been ever since, serving as professor of biology since 1963, biology department chair from 1981-87, and Dean of the College of Science and Math from 1987-2000. The Seilheimers have been a long time member of CSU-Pueblo’s Booster Club for Athletics, and he is also an ordained minister since 1957.
His decades of commitment to CSU-Pueblo compile pages of volunteer time and dedication, including, but not limited to: faculty representative to the BOG; Faculty Senate; President of Sigma Xi Chapter; Founder of the Biology Club; and serving on three presidential search and screen committees. He developed and taught the first totally online courses offered by the Division of Continuing Education at CSU-Pueblo. He has been an International Exchange Coordinator placing 92 international students in Pueblo host families for over 14 years, including their own home. Over the years, he has secured several educational and environmental grants and has many publications to his credit. In addition to his CSU-Pueblo passions, Seilheimer has been involved in as many community organizations, co-founding the Arkansas Valley Audubon Society and the Pueblo Greenway and Nature Center, as well as “Beyond Fishing,” a troubled youth intervention program.


Colorado State University - Pueblo is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, CSU-Pueblo is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.