The Alumni Board and University President Neil Kerwin presented the 2010 Alumni Awards at a ceremony and reception in the American University Museum on Saturday during All-American Weekend.
More than 50 alumni attended the event to see friends and celebrate what Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations Thomas Minar called a “time to for us to honor our own.”
The awards were given to:
• Jim Brady, a 1989 School of Communication alumnus and recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves through their professional accomplishments. • Richard Hocker, a 1968 and 1970 graduate of the Kogod School of Business and recipient of the Alumni Recognition Award, given to alumni who inspire the world around them through service to a philanthropic organization or the AU community. • Kevin Malecek, a 2001 and 2002 graduate of School of Public Affairs and recipient of the Rising Star Award, which recognizes alumni who graduated within the last 10 years and have already made significant contributions to society through professional or philanthropic work.
Brady is the general manager of TBD.com, as well as vice president and treasurer of the Online News Association. He formerly served as vice president and executive editor of washingtonpost.com and as vice president of Studio Production and Operations at AOL.
“I was shocked when I got the call to say I’d be getting this award,” Brady said. “When I left the University, I wasn’t someone who you’d think would be chosen for an award like this.”
Despite his time as a self-described average, administration-hating college student, Brady now holds AU in great esteem.
He praised SOC for having the right faculty and the right attitude at a time when many communication schools have not kept up with the journalism industry’s new media trends. Brady credited AU for giving him a strong foundation and launching him into a fulfilling career.
“I’ve gotten to help figure out where journalism is going,” he said. “It’s been a great ride, and I have this University to thank as a starting point for that.”
Hocker also views AU as his starting point and said that recent years have brought an amazing transformation in the University. He serves as the founder and chief information officer of Penn Capital Management Co., a Philadelphia-based investment firm.
However, it is also his work with the Ethel Mae Hocker Foundation, named after his mother, which earned him the Alumni Recognition Award.
The foundation provides scholarships for the students to attend schools they would not otherwise be able to afford.
“America’s a place with a lot of hard work … tremendous opportunity and ambition,” Hocker said. “I’m not even talking about the college level. If we can get our young people through grammar school and through high school, that’s where the success starts.”
Hocker was also a key donor during the renovation of Kogod’s building and continues to finance the two Bloomberg terminals in the new Financial Services lab.
Malecek serves as the District 3 Councilman for the City of Willoughby Hills, Ohio, as well as vice president of the city council. He is also director of the Evening and Saturday MBA Program at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and is vice president of the Board of Trustees for Laketran, the regional transit authority for Lake County, Ohio.
A former Speaker of the AU Undergraduate Senate, Malecek continued his political career past graduation, choosing to turn his lifelong dream into a reality.
“My friends and I would have late-night talks about running for office,” he said. “Then I actually went and did it … I do not regret pursuing my passion for public service.”
rkaras@theeagleonline.com
