Accolades throughout her career as an educator and administrator include not only being recognized as the first Hispanic principal in Michigan but also as founder and first president of the Hispanic Scholarship Foundation of Michigan. She received CMU’s Alumni Recognition Award in 1981 and Centennial Year Award in 1992.
Laurie Morris Honorary Alumni Award
Laurie Beckett Morris and Mike Morris established the Morris Family Endowed Scholarship in 2005, and the family has continued to contribute to the endowment. Their contributions have allowed the initial endowment to be separated into three endowed scholarships, for Global Campus, the College of Business Administration and the College of the Arts and Media. Laurie and Mike regularly contribute to the Murray Football Championship Fund, University Libraries, CMU Chippewa Challenge Golf Outing and the Women’s Connection Student Scholarship. They assisted in funding the Beckett and Morris Project Room in Grawn Hall, as well as a space in Park Library named in honor of their daughter, Jamie. Laurie has purchased a Grawn Hall brick for their son, Scott, and Warriner Mall bricks for Mike, Jamie and Scott. Another of Laurie Morris’ significant contributions to CMU is her love and support for her husband, son and daughter as they collectively earned six CMU degrees.
Dr. Gene Ragland
Distinguished Alumni Award Ragland, founder and chair of the advisory board for The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions, earned a CMU Bachelor of Science degree in 1966 before attending the University of Michigan Medical School. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1972-74 and joined St. Joseph Mercy Hospital staff in 1977. He became associate director of the Emergency Department in 1985 and chief of staff in 1996, eventually working with more than 130,000 emergency patients during 25 years at the hospital. He started working as a clinical instructor for U-M Medical School in 1981. In 1983, Ragland was a founding member of Life Support Services, offering medical education to hospital and pre-hospital providers. In 1992, he founded Secure Care Inc., a correctional medicine service, where he was president and CEO until 2003.
Kala Wilburn
Alumni Service Recognition Award Wilburn, ’07, moved to New York City and established her Fannie Lucille fashion line of custom clothing and handbags. In June 2011, she returned to Flint, intending to put her dreams into action in her hometown. That same year, she lost her brother to gun violence. To honor his memory, she
established the Fashion Against Violence initiative of workshops, boot camps and industry networking, ultimately creating the annual Vehicle City Fashion week. Wilburn involves current CMU fashion students with her initiatives. She was a featured speaker for the Fashion, Interior Design and Merchandising Department’s annual career day.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Corporate/Foundation Partner Alumni Award
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has worked closely with CMU for more than 20 years, supporting research with grants and donations, and partnering with many departments on professional development. The organization employs 500 CMU alumni and actively recruits and mentors CMU students for internships and full-time positions in finance, information systems, human resources and more. BCBS is a sponsor of CMU’s Enterprise Resource Planning simulation program, known as ERPsim. The interactive event allows teams of students to solve realtime problems with the help of mentors from sponsoring companies. Tricia Keith, a 1993 alum and BCBS executive vice president, is chair of CMU’s Board of Trustees, providing leadership and engagement that is key for the growth of CMU’s presence in Detroit and across Michigan. •
Centralight Winter ’20
29