ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR

Westley S. Unseld 68A
College of Arts and Sciences

ALUMNI FELLOWS

College of Arts and Sciences
Lucy Helm 79A, 82L
College of Arts and Sciences

College of Business
Charles A. Brown Jr. 62B, 67GB
Norman V. Noltemeyer 62B

School of Dentistry
Eric J. Dierks, 70A, 74DMD, 79MD

College of Education and Human Development
Russell F. Cox 79E, 81GE

Speed School of Engineering
Stuart L. Scott Jr. 88S, 90GS

School of Law
Hon. Denise M. Clayton 76L

School of Medicine
Blaine S. Nashold Jr. 49MD

School of Music
Michael H. Tunnell 78GM

School of Nursing
Cis B. Gruebbel 93GN

Kent School of Social Work
Carey D. Cockerell 74K

2008 Alumnus of the Year

Westley S. Unseld 68A

Westley S. "Wes" Unseld, a 1968 University of Louisville graduate, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1996 he was named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of all time.

Mr. Unseld played on Louisville’s Seneca High School basketball team, leading it to two state championships before he became the star center on the Cardinal basketball team. At UofL he was on the dean’s list and was a three-year letter winner. Mr. Unseld scored 1,686 points in 82 games (averaging 20.6 points per game); led the conference in rebounding in 1966, 1967 and 1968; and led UofL to a 60-22 record with two trips to the NCAA tournament and one trip to the NIT tournament.

After graduating with a B.S in health and physical education and history in 1968, Mr. Unseld was drafted into the NBA by the Baltimore Bullets. During his first season Mr. Unseld became only the second person ever to win both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same season. He was a five-time NBA All-Star. He led the Baltimore (and after a move, the Washington) Bullets to four NBA finals. When the Bullets won the championship in 1978 over the Seattle Supersonics, Mr. Unseld was named MVP. Following his retirement as a player, he was hired by the Bullets as a vice president and was made head coach in 1987. In 1996 he became general manager of the Washington Wizards and served in that role for seven years.

Among Mr. Unseld’s many direct contributions to his community, he has worked and contributed extensively to help his wife, Connie, establish and manage a private elementary and middle school along with a development program for infants and toddlers.

Alumni Fellows

College of Arts and Sciences
Lucy Helm 79A, 82L

Lucy Helm joined Starbucks Coffee Company in 1999. As senior vice president and deputy general counsel in Starbucks Law & Corporate Affairs Department, Ms. Helm leads the Global Business team, which supports the company’s contracts and commercial transactions. Ms. Helm previously led the Starbucks Litigation and Employment team and, for several years, managed Starbucks corporate records management program. Ms. Helm also serves as the executive sponsor of the Starbucks Law Department pro bono committee.

In addition to her work at Starbucks, Ms. Helm currently serves as board chair of the Washington YMCA Youth & Government Program and is an active volunteer with Parkview Services, a Seattle based nonprofit organization providing housing and other services to persons with disabilities.

Ms. Helm received her B.A. from the University of Louisville and is a cum laude graduate of the UofL School of Law. Prior to joining Starbucks Law & Corporate Affairs Department, Ms. Helm was a principal at Riddell Williams P.S., in Seattle and was a commercial litigator with Barnett & Alagia in Louisville. Ms. Helm was also an assistant director and advocacy director at the Center for Accessible Living in Louisville.

College of Business
Charles A. Brown Jr. 62B, 67GB
Norman V. Noltemeyer 62B

Charlie Brown and Norman Noltemeyer turned a life-long friendship dating back to grade school into one of the top development and management firms in the area.

As partners in Brown Noltemeyer Company, Mr. Brown and Mr. Noltemeyer have established a real estate portfolio that includes more than 5,000 apartments, seven shopping centers, 11 industrial buildings, six office buildings, two residential subdivisions and the Kingfish Restaurant chain.

Both Charlie and Norman received their Bachelor of Science degrees in business from UofL in 1962. Charlie earned his MBA from UofL in 1967. They have both been long time supporters of the university, donating time and money to support the mission and vision of the university. While both are active in various civic, community and educational efforts, the University of Louisville remains one of their primary interests.

In addition to financial support of many programs with the university, (including the STAR Program, which helps children with autism, Cardinal Athletics and the College of Business), Mr. Brown and Mr. Noltemeyer are actively engaged as volunteers, advocates and ambassadors.

School of Dentistry
Eric J. Dierks, D.M.D., M.D.

Dr. Eric Dierks received his B.A. in 1970, D.M.D. in 1974 and M.D. in 1979, all from the University of Louisville. He completed residencies in both oral and maxillofacial surgery as well as otolaryngology (head and neck surgery) and is one of only about a dozen American surgeons to be board-certified in both disciplines.

His academic surgical career included the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, where he served as director of resident education, and the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Ore., where he served as program director.

In 1992 he started the first fellowship in head and neck oncologic surgery in the United States, which trained oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the complex surgery of oral cancer and other head and neck tumors. His former fellows have gone on to academic positions throughout the United States and Europe and three have started fellowship programs of their own. He currently maintains an academically affiliated practice in Portland, Oregon.

College of Education and Human Development
Russell F. Cox 79E, 81GE

Russell F. Cox joined Norton Healthcare in September 2000 as vice president of support services and was appointed senior vice president, operations and development, in October 2002; executive vice president in September 2004; and executive vice president and chief operating officer in September 2005.

He currently has direct executive oversight for hospital/regional market operations, service line functions, system-wide medical affairs and nursing operations, clinical quality, foundations/philanthropy and marketing/communications. He has served on various nonprofit and volunteer boards, and currently serves on the Downtown Development Corporation Board and Executive Committee as well as the Leadership Louisville Foundation Board and Executive Committee.

Before joining Norton Healthcare, he spent six years as executive director of resource operations at Caritas Health Services in Louisville. He has also worked for Humana Inc., Galen Healthcare and Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation in various executive roles, including human resources, development and acquisitions, and operations support.

Cox, a lifelong resident of Louisville, received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Louisville and is a graduate of Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Management executive program.

J.B. Speed School of Engineering
Stuart L. Scott Jr. 88S, 90GS

Stuart L. Scott is chief operating officer and member of the Board of Directors of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. Scott leads the product development, operations and corporate functions with operations in North America, Europe and Asia.

Prior to this position, Scott was the chief information officer for Microsoft Corporation where he was responsible for the IT, quality, and risk management organizations. Scott was recognized as one of the IT industry’s Top 50 Innovators by Information Week in 2007 and as one of the Top 100 CIOs by CIO Magazine. The prior 17 years, Scott held roles at General Electric Co., where he was a corporate vice president and served as CIO for its consumer, industrial and healthcare divisions.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, mathematics and computer science from the University of Louisville, as well as an MBA from Vanderbilt University. He is a Six Sigma certified black belt and a graduate of GE’s Leadership Development Program. Scott lives with his wife and seven children in Washington State. He spends his free time with his family, as a leader in his church, and playing golf.

Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
Hon. Denise M. Clayton 76L

Judge Denise Clayton became the first African-American female appointed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in October 2007. She represents the 4th Appellate District, Division 1.

Prior to her appointment, Judge Clayton was chief circuit judge for Jefferson County for almost seven years. She was the first black woman to be a Kentucky Circuit Court judge. She was also chief regional circuit judge for the Metro Region for several months before she was appointed to the Court of Appeals. Judge Clayton previously served in Jefferson County as a judge for District Court, Family Court and Drug Court.

Judge Clayton graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio. She earned her juris doctor degree from the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law.

She is the chairwoman for the Commission on Racial Fairness for Jefferson County’s courts and is a member of the Louisville Bar Association, Louisville Black Layers Association, Women Lawyers Association and Focus Louisville. She is also on the board of directors for the Coalition for the Homeless, Plymouth Community Renewal Center, Summerbridge and Norton Hospital Foundation.

Judge Clayton is married to Ronald Clayton and has two children.

School of Medicine
Blaine S. Nashold Jr. 49MD

Blaine Nashold Jr. earned his undergraduate degree bacteriology from the University of Indiana and a master’s degree in the field from Ohio State University. In 1949 Dr. Nashold earned his M.D. from the University of Louisville.

Dr. Nashold completed his residency and fellowship at Montreal General Hospital and Queen Mary Hospital in Montreal. After serving in the Navy during the Korean War, he resumed his training in neurosurgery at McGill University, where he obtained an M.S. degree. He then trained at Bowman Gray School of Medicine.

After joining the faculty at Duke, Dr. Nashold became involved in stereotactic surgery, which, based on the Cartesian principle of measurement, utilizes instruments to locate specific points within the brain on which the neurosurgeon will operate. He introduced these surgeries to Duke University and performed the first such surgeries in the South. He collected instruments from around the world and some are displayed in the Duke University Medical Center Library. Dr. Nashold was a founding member and president of the American Stereotactic Surgery and president of the World Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. He received the Speigel-Wycis gold medal in 1993 for his contributions to neurosurgery.

School of Music
Michael H. Tunnell 78GM

Michael Tunnell has been professor of trumpet at the University of Louisville School of Music since 1988, where he performs with Louisville Brass and conducts the Trumpet Ensemble. UofL awarded him the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2003.

At the 2008 International Trumpet Guild Conference in Banff, Canada, Dr. Tunnell gave a featured presentation, and in June he traveled with his UofL Trumpet Ensemble to Italy to participate in the Orvieto Musica, a chamber music festival. In October he hosted the 2008 International Brass Chamber Music Festival on the UofL campus.

Dr. Tunnell has a master’s degree in music from UofL and a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.

School of Nursing
Cis B. Gruebbel 93GN

Mary “Cis” Gruebbel began her career in 1976 as a critical care nurse at Jewish Hospital before becoming head nurse of the pediatric unit of Kosair Hospital. At Kosair she managed 28 critical care beds, developed protocols for the pediatric transplant program and coordinated research activities.

Ms. Gruebbel completed her master of science in nursing from UofL in 1993 and accepted a position as vice president of quality resources at Clark Memorial Hospital in 1997. She was then recruited to Norton Audubon Hospital as the vice president for patient care services and chief nursing officer. In 2003 Ms. Gruebbel completed the prestigious Wharton Fellows Program for Nursing Executives.

Ms. Gruebbel is a consultant with the Studer Group, a national healthcare consulting firm, where she has helped hospitals across the country become better places for employees to work, physicians to practice medicine and patients to receive care. She works diligently with each organization to ensure everyone—staff, physicians, executives, and board members—remember why they are in the healthcare business.    

Ms. Gruebbel and her husband, Craig, have two children and two grandchildren.

Kent School of Social Work
Carey D. Cockerell 74K

Carey Cockerell has been commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services since 2005, overseeing the work of 10,800 employees. This agency is responsible for preventing and investigating the abuse and neglect of children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Prior to this, he was director of juvenile services for Tarrant County in Texas from 1984-2005 and was a superintendent with the Texas Youth Commission for 10 years.

Mr. Cockerell pioneered the first Texas youth advocacy program using paid mentors to work with youth. He established an education program for expelled middle school students called Pathways, which became a statewide model for mandated juvenile justice alternative courts in Tarrant County.

Mr. Cockerell was a Vietnam era veteran serving in the military 1971-1973. He has taught courses at Howard Payne University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Wesleyan University and he has consulted throughout the United States and in England. Mr. Cockerell has held executive offices in state and national professional organizations and is a member of numerous state and local organizations.

Mr. Cockerell and his wife, Carolyn, have been married for 35 years and have two children.