Berea College VP Bill Laramee receiving Honorary Alumnus Award during 2009 Berea College Homecoming Nov. 13-15
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10/30/09
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| Dr. Bill Laramee, Berea College vice president for alumni and college relations, will become the next best thing to a Berea graduate during the College’s Homecoming activities Nov. 13-15. Laramee, who will receive the Honorary Alumnus Award, is one of three receiving awards from the college.
Receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Award, Berea’s highest alumni honor, will be retired botany professor and conservationist Dr. J. Dan Pittillo of Sylva, N.C. Della Mae Justice, assistant attorney general for the state of Kentucky’s Consumer Protection Division is receiving the award of Outstanding Young Alumnus. All awards will be presented at a reception Friday evening in the Boone Tavern Main Dining Room from 5:30 – 7 p.m. All are invited to attend.
Pittillo’s interest in botany began in high school when he began collecting plant specimens which contributed to the publication “Manual of the Carolinas.” Another 500 specimens he collected as a student at Berea are now part of the core collection of Berea’s herbarium. Pitillo helped found the North Carolina Bartram Trail Society, serving on its board for 32 years and also helped with the development of the conservation group Western Carolina Alliance. He has received many awards for both his conservation efforts and his contributions to the field of botany. Pittillo and his wife, Jean, enjoy hiking the mountains with friends and family, which includes twin granddaughters.
A host of other Homecoming 2009 events also are planned with many events open to the public. This year’s theme is “Berea, Berea Beloved.” A special event open to the public as well as alumni is: In March of 2009, President Larry Shinn announced the creation of a Scenario Planning Taskforce to develop three possible scenarios for a future Berea College that honor Berea’s core mission but that also operates with an institutional budget that is 25 percent smaller. This initiative came, in part, because of the stock market’s decline and the impact on Berea’s budget, but also in response to his awareness of a changing landscape in terms of expectations and support for higher education. President Shinn will be sharing details of the SPT’s final report: Of Journeys, Landscapes, and Destinations, and the timeline and processes to make decisions among the options provided in the report. This is a very defining time for Berea College, and a time when President Shinn wishes to listen carefully to alumni and friends who share an interest in positively shaping Berea’s future. President Shinn will also take time to answer questions and to respond to the ideas of participants. This is a time to be heard and to have an influence! All are encouraged to attend. Other highlights include: - Shakespeare’s “King Lear” performed by Actors from the London Stage. 8 p.m. McGaw Theatre. General Admission $5-10. For reservations and tickets call the box office at (859)985-3300. New event for alumni only: - Women’s and men’s basketball action in Seabury Center arena will begin at 5:30 p.m., when the Lady Mountaineers, led by new coach Terrance Brooks play Ohio State University Mansfield. The Berea College Mountaineers, coached by John Mills, take on the Ohio State University Mansfield men beginning 7:30 p.m. Coronation of Homecoming queen and king will take place at the men’s game halftime. Game tickets are required for admission and are good for both the women’s and men’s games. Tickets are $5 at the door. Sunday, Nov. 15 For a complete schedule of events, ticket prices, and to make reservations, contact the Berea College Alumni Association at (859) 985-3104 and visit Alumni Relations. For more information, contact Jacqui Greene, coordinator of Alumni Events, at (859) 985-3108 or . Berea College Alumni classes celebrating their reunion this year are: 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2009. |
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| CONTACT: Contact: Jacqueline Greene, coordinator of alumni events (859) 985-3108 or |
Dr. J. Dan Pittillo who grew up in Henderson, N.C., earned a B.A. in biology from Berea in 1961. He also holds a masters degree in botany from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. He taught in the biology department of Western Carolina University for almost 40 years until his retirement.
Dr. William J. (Bill) Laramee has served as vice president for alumni and college relations at Berea College since 2000. Laramee and his wife, Monica, first joined Berea College in 1972, when Bill held the position of associate dean of men, followed by other student affairs related positions until 1978 when they returned to their home state of Vermont. There Bill served as a senior administrator at Lyndon State College. In 1999, he returned to Berea as a major gift officer. Bill earned his undergraduate degree from Western New England College in Massachusetts, a masters degree from Dartmouth College and M.Ed. and Ed.D. degrees from the University of Massachusetts. He has been honored by the state of Vermont with the Martha H. O’Connor Award for Private Citizen Contribution to Public Education and recognized as a Kentucky Colonel for public service in the state of Kentucky. Monica Laramee is a 1977 Berea graduate who assists in development operations at Berea and, with Bill, has taken a special interest in the lives and development of many Berea students. The Laramees live in Berea and have four grown children and four grandchildren.
Della Mae Justice, recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, graduated from Berea in 1993. She went on to attend the University of Kentucky College of Law, where she graduated 5th in her class. Before the public service position she currently holds as an assistant attorney general in Kentucky state government, Justice served as a Law Clerk for U.S. District Court Judge, Hon. John G. Heyburn II and later worked as an associate in a Lexington law firm. After relocating to her hometown of Pikeville, Ky., Justice began her own practice. In Pikeville, she helped educate voters on the professional qualifications of judges through the Pike County Women’s Bar Association and also taught business law at Pikeville College. Justice is married to Troy Price, a 1992 Berea graduate, and the couple are parents to three children.
