By Jacob Press
What do a world-famous magician, a pioneering science administrator, and a celebrity basketball executive have in common? They have achieved professional success while doing work they love, are remarkably humble, and acknowledge that their education at West Virginia University provided a foundation for their achievements. Michael Ammar, Jennie C. Hunter-Cevera, and Rodney K. Thorn have one more thing in common: they were recognized by the WVU Alumni Association as the sixteenth class of WVU's Academy of Distinguished Alumni.
A Proud History
Proof of the excellence of an educational institution can be
found in the achievements of its graduates. So it was that 16
years ago the WVU Alumni Association Board of Directors envisioned
an academy that would recognize those who have attained national
reputations in their particular fields of endeavor.
Inductees are recommended each year by WVU alumni or the dean's offices of their respective college or school. A 17-member selection committee comprised of alumni, faculty, and university administrators evaluates the candidates and selects the honorees. "Every year, we are faced with very tough decisions," says Stephen Douglas, CEO of the WVU Alumni Association and member of the Academy's selection committee. "I'm just glad that we will have many future opportunities to recognize the graduates who make us so proud."
The 67 individuals who have been inducted to date are exceptional in their achievements and character. They include Gen. Earl E. Anderson and Lt. Gen. Robert H. Foglesong; actor David Selby; Michele V. McNeill, founder of pharmaceutical firm Kern McNeill International; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists George Esper and Terry Wimmer; best-selling author Stephen Coonts; Professional Football Hall of Famer Sam Huff; Jerry West, member of the National Basketball Association Hall of Fame; Ray Lane, former president and chief operating officer of Oracle Corporation; and Loretta M. Ucelli, director of White House communications for President Clinton.
While these alumni may be extraordinary in their achievements, they are representative of the success that countless talented and hard-working graduates of WVU have achieved in virtually every walk of life.
New Inductees
Michael
Ammar, born and raised in Logan,
West Virginia, arrived at the Academy through a most unconventional
career path. "I always loved magic, but my turning point
was seeing a friend in the ninth grade do a magic trick in study
hall. Eventually he taught me how he did it, and I realized I
could do this too if I practiced." Ammar began perfecting
his act, and he never stopped-even after coming to WVU to enroll
in the College of Business and Economics. "This is where
I developed much of the magic that I still perform today. I was
obsessed."
In 1978, Ammar graduated from WVU with a B.S. in business administration.
"My family assumed I would return to Bluefield, West Virginia,
and help my father run the family steakhouse restaurant. I had
been performing magic for several years, and had spent a couple
of summers working at the restaurant, so I had a good idea about
what both worlds involved. After a few heart-to-heart discussions
with my family, I decided that a life of magic was the only way
I was really going to be happy. This terrified my mother and
father, who had been raised on the concept of hard work at a
'real' job. It soon became clear to them that I still intended
to work hard-but because I loved what I was doing, it never felt
like work."
Within four years of graduation, Ammar rose to the top of his
profession. In 1982, he became only the second American in the
45-year history of Lausanne, Switzerland's World Congress of
Magic (FISM) to win the gold medal in close-up magic. By 1990,
the Academy of Magical Arts in Hollywood had awarded him its
Oscar equivalent in six separate categories-the maximum number
of voted awards for which he is eligible.
Ammar's stature has continued to grow, and he is recognized now
as one of the greatest living performers of magic-according to
David Copperfield, he is "the magician's magician."
Ammar was the only close—up magician on NBC's 1998 World's
Greatest Magic V special. He has performed on television
in England, France, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Australia,
and Russia. His accolades include Best Close-Up Magician award
named by FOX Family Channel's World Magic Awards, and Magic
Magazine listed Ammar as one of the most influential magicians
of the twentieth century. Tannens Magic in New York named him
2002 Magician of the Year. He also performed and coordinated
all magic talent at George W. Bush's presidential inaugural banquet.
Author of more than a dozen widely-praised books, Ammar also
has published a magic magazine, three audio cassettes, and more
than 50 best-selling magic videos and DVDs. Upon its release,
The Magic of Michael Ammar (1991) became the fastest-selling
magic book in history.
Currently, Ammar is on a 100-city U.S. lecture tour, marking
the 100th anniversary of the Society of American Magicians. He
credits the "total learning environment" at WVU with
giving him the tools that have been essential to his success.
Jennie C. Hunter-Cevera, a Monessen, Pennsylvania, native,
says her years at WVU were a formative time, where she not only
forged lifelong friendships but discovered intellectual passions
that have led her to scientific achievement and national prominence.
As she recalls, "The training and hands- on mentoring we
received were so good, so inclusive, that when I went on to Rutgers
they were amazed at the number and quality of the courses offered
by WVU's graduate school."
Hunter-Cevera
earned a B.A. in biology from the Eberly College of Arts and
Sciences at WVU in 1970. She received an M.S. in microbiology
from WVU in 1972, before going on to Rutgers University where
she earned her Ph.D. in microbiology in 1978.
Enjoying an extraordinarily varied and successful career, Hunter-Cevera
has distinguished herself in research, academic, entrepreneurial,
and public service settings. She has served as head of the Center
for Environmental Biotechnology at the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, and as project manager for the California Institute
of Food and Agriculture. She also has served as a research scientist
and director for a number of commercial biotechnology and pharmaceutical
companies, including E.R. Squibb and Cetus Corp. She has discovered
natural products that have benefited human health, the environment,
and agriculture. She also founded the Biotic Network consulting
company and cofounded the Blue Sky Research company.
Since 1999, Hunter-Cevera has served as president of the University
of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, with the mission of developing
research programs, training biological scientists, and catalyzing
economic development. She is responsible for overall leadership
and guidance of the institution and the administration of its
$52 million annual budget.
Recently, Hunter-Cevera's dedication to the solution of practical
problems led her to take the initiative in establishing the Appalachian
Center for Ethnobotanical Studies in collaboration with Frostburg
State and WVU. This center will integrate modern molecular biology
with indigenous knowledge of plants in the Appalachian Mountains.
Hunter-Cevera holds two patents for biocatalysts. She was elected
to the American Academy of Microbiology in 1995, received the
SIM Charles Porter Award in 1996, was elected a SIM Fellow in
1997, and named the Nath Lecturer at WVU in 1999.
She credits the people of WVU with setting her on the path to
success. "So many people who were there for me and taught
me not only the foundations of biology but also the foundations
for living, lifelong learning, and continued growth as a human
being.
"I changed my major six times during the course of my four
years as an undergraduate at WVU, because there was so much to
learn and experience. I did end up with a B.A. in biology, but
studying Shakespeare, sociology, anthropology, world history,
and modern dance all helped me to develop as a well-rounded individual.
This is what made WVU special for me: learning from a variety
of very different professors and courses as well as discovering
who I was through the friendships I developed. What WVU gave
to me as both an undergraduate and graduate student is immeasurable."
Rodney K. Thorn
is a West Virginia basketball legend. Born in Weirton, West Virginia,
and raised in Princeton, his talents in the classroom and on
the hardwoods gained him celebrity status while still in high
school. During his senior year in 1960, a statewide campaign—including
a resolution by the state legislature naming him one of West
Virginia's natural resources—persuaded him to enroll at
WVU, where he became one of the Mountaineers' all-time greats.
As
a player for WVU, Thorn was accorded All-America honors and averaged
21.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, and a 23.7 scoring mark
in 1962.
WVU is where Thorn says he developed his most valued skills.
"The most important things I learned as a WVU student are
budgeting time, independence, discipline, maturation, thinking
rather than reacting, and confidence."
Drafted into the NBA in 1963, Thorn played with teams in Baltimore,
Detroit, St. Louis, and Seattle during his eight-year career.
In 1971, he made the transition to coaching, working as an assistant
with the Seattle Sonics and the New York Nets of the ABA before
taking a position as head coach with the Spirit of St. Louis
in 1976. Later, he became general manager for the Chicago Bulls,
where he was responsible for the decision to draft Michael Jordan
in 1984.
Thorn became the NBA's executive vice president of basketball
operations in 1985. In 2000, he assumed his current position
as president and general manager of the New Jersey Nets, with
the responsibility of managing all team personnel and player-related
issues. In two short years he turned the franchise into one of
the NBA's best. In 2002, he was named the NBA's Executive of
the Year by Sporting News. This same year, the Nets represented
the eastern conference division in the NBA championship series.
Throughout his extraordinary career, Thorn has remained a Mountaineer
at heart. As he puts it, "The particular aspect of West
Virginia heritage that I value is the strong work ethic, honesty,
and integrity of most West Virginians."
In 1992, Thorn was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
WVU awarded him a regents bachelor of arts degree in 2000. He
is a member of the WVU Board of Governors.
|
Dear Rod: Sincerely, |
