ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AWARDS HONOREES

Each year the Alumni Association Board bestows awards of recognition to alumni and long-time university supporters. The following individuals were honored at the All-Alumni Dinner on Friday, October 8, 2021, during the university’s Reunion weekend. Each award recipient embodies the mission and values of Rockford University through their talents, contributions, and successes, both professionally and personally.

Congratulations to our 2021 Alumni Award recipients

Outstanding Young Alumni Award – Given to an alumna/us who has finished her/his Rockford University tenure within the last 15 years. This alumna/us will have fulfilled the ideals of Rockford University by vision, dedication, and initiative in a purposeful endeavor, or through responsible and sustained efforts in the improvements of a community, or a notable achievement in a profession, thus having brought honor and esteem to Rockford University.

KRYSTA “KIKA” YOUNG RISA ’08/’09

Krysta Young Risa, more commonly known by friends and family as Kika, has worked at Forest City Gear — which has been owned by her family for three generations — since high school. She worked her way through the organization, starting with administrative and maintenance duties, and now serves as the director of corporate management. In this role, Risa oversees everything from compliance and export control to human resources and facilities management.

Rockford University purple runs deep through Risa’s veins. Not only did she receive both her bachelor’s degree and MBA from the university, her parents — Fred ’65 and Wendy ’82 Young — are also graduates.

Risa is also married to a fellow Regent, Anthony Risa ’06/’09, and together they are raising three children — Adelynn, AJ, and Evelyn. When she’s not working or taking her kids to athletic practices, Risa enjoys homesteading. The family has a dozen chickens and a garden at their Roscoe, Ill., home.

Risa’s community involvement is lengthy. She has been on the board of the Employers’ Coalition on Health (ECOH) since 2017 and currently serves as the vice chair. Her work with the Rockford Chamber of Commerce is extensive, and in 2019 she was honored as one of the Chamber’s 40 Leaders Under 40.

Award of Distinction – Given to alumni for fulfilling the ideals of Rockford University and bringing honor and esteem to the university in one or more of the following ways: through their vision, dedication, and initiative in a purposeful endeavor; by their responsive and sustained efforts in community improvements; or by their notable achievements in a profession.

MARYANN JONES HAYSLIP ’93

Following graduation from Rockford College with a double major in Spanish and child development, Maryann Jones Hayslip went on to receive two master’s degrees, one in Spanish literature and one in school leadership and administration. She put her degrees to good use while creating Spanish programs at multiple private schools throughout Illinois and Kentucky. After a fulfilling teaching and administrative career, Hayslip decided to retire as a school principal in 2021 to pursue personal interests and travel. She is currently publishing a children’s book, serves as a creative consultant for a paper-crafting company, and has a popup bakery in the works for this fall and into the holiday season.

Hayslip met her late husband, Donovan, at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He was working on a master’s degree in French while she pursued the same in Spanish. Hayslip and her husband took the “romance” languages very seriously and were married in 1996. Together they had three boys who kept them busy over the years.

Hayslip is thankful for the solid foundation she received during her years as a liberal arts student at Rockford University and credits it for much of her success. She was among the few child development majors who was able to conduct her student teaching in a bilingual classroom. She also had the opportunity to learn administrative tasks while forming a campus chapter of a foreign language honor society. Her diverse experiences continued with the chance to study abroad in southern Mexico and serve as the university’s newspaper editor. These opportunities helped her excel in her job search and eventually allowed her to combine her passions for teaching and Spanish into a rewarding profession.

Hayslip received many awards throughout her career. Most recently, she was presented the Terrell H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership, Top 10 Principal in the Nation in 2020. CAROL HEMPEL HUNTER ’71

Carol Hempel Hunter is a life-long educator with a passion for both excellence and equity. She has experience as both teacher and administrator in every grade level from preschool through higher education.

Hunter graduated from Rockford College in 1971 with a Bachelor of Art in humanities and went on to get her Master in Education from the University of Virginia. Just after completing her master’s, she helped start a cooperative preschool, and went on to teach at Woodberry Forest School and Orange County Public Schools in Virginia for over 30 years, finishing off as an adjunct instructor at the University of Mary Washington.

In every school setting she worked, Hunter focused on helping all students reach their full academic potential. She was fortunate to be able to collaborate with community members and educators to promote equity in education and to implement programs that helped gifted learners develop their talents. Hunter worked with teams of teachers, community members, and administrators to establish an Academic Scholars Institute for young Black men. In addition, her work with English Language Learners supported equity and excellence in the classroom for many non-English speakers and their families.

Hunter has received various awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Orange County Education Foundation and the Outstanding Educator Award (Region 5) from the Northern Virginia Council for Gifted Education.

Hunter and her husband, Ross, whom she met during freshman orientation, dated throughout their time at Rockford College. They were married on January 1, 1972 and raised two successful daughters in Orange, Virginia. Hunter now lives in South Carolina where she serves as a docent at the Columbia Art Museum.

In her free time, Hunter counts learning as a hobby. Teaching was the perfect profession for her because there was always something new to learn along with her students. She loved putting together units of study and gathering information and resources to bring ideas and concepts to life. Hunter also enjoys traveling; she loved studying in Japan on the Fulbright Memorial Fellowship in 2005 and hopes to continue international travels soon.

Alumna/Alumnus of the Year Award – Honors an alumna/us for invaluable service to the Alumni Association and Rockford University during the past year.

THOMAS GENDRON ’88

Thomas Gendron completed an MBA from Rockford College in 1988. In 1990, he was hired at Woodward, Inc., working in both the aerospace and industrial businesses. During 30 years with the company, Gendron has provided leadership in sales, marketing, business development, and product support management.

Currently serving as chairman of the board and president and chief executive officer of the company, Gendron previously held the roles of chief operating officer, vice president and general manager of industrial controls, vice president of industrial controls, and director of global marketing and industrial controls’ business development.

Gendron’s experience with and knowledge of Woodward’s businesses and the industries in which they operate has enabled him to lead the company’s growth. He has brought significant insight due to his comprehensive understanding of Woodward and its operations at multiple levels, including the company’s strategic vision, products, suppliers, customers, and markets.

In addition to his work at Woodward, Gendron also serves on the board at Hexcel Corp. and was on the Rockford University Board of Trustees from 2013 to 2018.

Mary Ashby Cheek Award – Given to a past or present non-alumni member of the Rockford University community for enriching the university experience of many by exemplifying the ideals of the university.

LISA AND STEVE CARTER

Lisa and Steve Carter, while not alumni of Rockford University, are avid supporters of the institution and understand its immense value. Their interest sparked when Lisa started taking art classes part time at the university after her youngest child began school.

In 2015, Lisa and Steve created the Carter Family Scholarship to encourage diversity at Rockford University. The intent is to ensure that the RU experience continues to be enriched by the diverse backgrounds, interests, and talents of students across all race, gender, socio-economic status, and thought.

Lisa has served as a board member for the Crusader Community Health Foundation, the Rockford Area Arts Council, and Spectrum Progressive School. She also lends her hand to the community through volunteer work with local organizations.

Steve is the retired CFO of Woodward, Inc. and now serves as President of Ingenium Aerospace. He also serves on several corporate boards, lending his expertise to Blackhawk Bank, Appvion Inc. (formerly Appleton Papers), and Hollister, Inc. among others.

When they aren’t helping various organizations in the community, Lisa and Steve love traveling, spending time at their home in northern Wisconsin, and enjoying the company of their two children and two grandchildren.

Karl C. Williams Award – Presented to an alumnus for his constancy, devotion, and a long history of meritorious service to Rockford University.

JIM KEELING ’18H

Jim Keeling, a Rockford native, has been a longtime advocate for our city and for Rockford University. While not a traditional alumnus, he was awarded an honorary degree in 2018 for his extensive service to the university. In addition, Keeling served as the chair of the Rock Solid and Ready Capital Campaign — the largest in the university's history — and has served on the Board of Trustees since 2008, including as chairman from 2016 through 2018. Keeling is an active supporter and advocate for Rockford University’s Jane Addams Center for Civic Engagement (JACCE). He is currently helping to facilitate JACCE’s active role in the Rockford community celebration of the International Day of Peace at the Keeling-Puri Peace Plaza, of which he is co-founder and co-chair. Jim and his wife, Pam, are also active supporters of the Rockford University Forum Series and have been responsible for attracting some award-winning speakers throughout the years in coordination with the International Day of Peace activities. In 2014, Keeling received Rockford University’s Mary Ashby Cheek Award.

Keeling is also active in the Rockford community and his service hasn’t gone unnoticed. He has received many honors for his work with the city, including Rockford Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 2011, Rockford Housing Authority “Janes Addams Peace Award” in 2014, and the Turkish American Society of Rockford Humanitarian Award in 2015.

Talcott Cross Award – The oldest Rockford University award, the Talcott Cross is awarded to an alumna for her constancy, devotion, and a long history of meritorious service to Rockford University.

LAËL CRANMER GATEWOOD ’59

Laël Cranmer Gatewood, Ph.D., FACMI, has been a philanthropic supporter of Rockford University for over 40 years. Gatewood graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts in divisional science and went on to have a successful career in biomedical computing. She began at Mayo Clinic, where she worked until 1967, and then moved to the University of Minnesota, where she still serves as emerita professor, teaching pathology informatics. In 1984, she was named a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI).

Gatewood was instrumental in establishing the University of Minnesota as a leader in health informatics. She was also key in establishing the National Micropopulation Simulation Resource, a pioneering individual-based modeling resource for epidemiology. Over the years she worked with informatics colleagues to develop simulation programs for modeling genetic, chronic and infectious diseases, neural nets, and social networks.

As an educator, Gatewood was the longest-standing director — for 34 years — of a medical informatics training program funded by the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. She initiated the UMN professional degree of Master of Health Informatics. Additionally, she has authored over 200 publications in the field of biomedical computing and health informatics.

As a Quaker, Gatewood was a board member of Friends School of Minnesota for four years and is now on the Scattergood Friends School Committee board. She is an active participant with Twin Cities Friends Meeting and served as their recorder/ archivist and newsletter editor for over 20 years. She also works within the organization Northern Yearly Meeting, where she began the communications committee and coordinates weekend hospitality for interim sessions and external Quaker organizations.

In her free time, Gatewood enjoys reading biographies and family sagas, listening to classical music — she has played viola in four civic orchestras — beachcombing, and thrifting for home décor.