Springfield, Ohio - Wittenberg's 2016 Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 7-9, will reunite hundreds of alumni on campus, as well as recognize eight distinguished individuals.
The recognition ceremony will take place during the annual Alumni Awards Breakfast from 9-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, room 105 of the Joseph C. Shouvlin Center for Lifelong Learning. In addition, the association will formally honor this year's Distinguished Teaching Award recipient.
Fred Mitchell, class of 1969, will receive the Alumni Association's most prestigious recognition, the Class of 1914 Award, given to individuals who have served Wittenberg above and beyond what might be expected of any contributor to the college's welfare.
Mitchell, currently an adjunct professor at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, has experienced an illustrious career as a sportswriter and columnist with the Chicago Tribune for more than 40 years covering the Chicago Bears, Cubs and Bulls. He has written 11 sports books and routinely appears on local and national TV and radio.
Despite traveling all over the country, Mitchell has stayed actively engaged with Wittenberg serving on the Alumni Board for nine years and the Wittenberg Board of Directors for eight years He was also named a Wittenberg Fellow in 2000. While attending Wittenberg, Mitchell was a member of The Torch staff, the Pi Delta Epsilon Journalism Honorary Society, Concerned Black Students and excelled on both the football and track teams earning him a place in Wittenberg's Athletics Hall of Honor.
Two alumni will receive Alumni Citation awards, given to those who have brought honor to Wittenberg with their exceptional accomplishments in which service to humanity is placed above personal gain or recognition. Receiving the awards are Ingrid Lundquist, class of 1978, and Brian Agler, class of 1980.
Lundquist is employed by The Pennsylvania State University, in University Park, Pa. She is embedded at nearby New Castle High School, as part of the guidance office, where she provides college advising to first-generation students from low-income families. The program is part of the Federal Trio programs dating back to the 1960s. There are only 450 of these programs across the country, and Penn State administers seven of them.
Agler is the all-time winningest coach in women's professional basketball history. Just last year, he was named head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks. A veteran of the WNBA, with 11 years of experience and a WNBA title guiding the Seattle Storm to a championship in 2010, Agler led the Tigers to their only NCAA Division III championship in basketball as a freshman. In 1995, he was inducted into Wittenberg's Athletics Hall of Honor.
Outstanding Young Alumni awards will be presented to Derrick Braziel, class of 2009, and William Thomas, class of 2008. Together they co-founded MORTAR in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the mission of transitioning the city's Over-the-Rhine area into one of the most promising neighborhoods in America. For their continuing efforts, Braziel and Thomas were named to the Forbes' fifth annual 30 Under 30 in 2015 featuring America's most important young entrepreneurs, creative leaders and brightest stars from an initial screening list of more than 15,000 of the best of the best.
MORTAR Cincinnati is a non-profit dedicated to providing opportunities for underrepresented entrepreneurs to start and sustain businesses. The organization offers nine-week training courses to help current residents build entrepreneurial skills and grow their own businesses.
This year's GOLD award will be presented to Abby Hurt Fisher, class of 2007. Currently the vice president of programs at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio in Columbus, Ohio, Fisher leads a staff of about 25 people for one of the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliates in the country. The non-profit provides support and coaching for one-to-one match relationships for youths living in poverty and facing adversity.
During her time at Wittenberg, Fisher was a member of Just Eve, Chi Omega, and worked in various offices on campus. She also tutored children at a local homeless shelter through a volunteer program in one of her classes, which led to her future career.
Others to be recognized this year include Bill and Deanna Brougher of Springfield, who will receive Honorary Alumni status, and John Ritter, professor of geology and the 2013 Ohio Professor of the Year, who earned the 2016 Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teaching.
The Broughers have been a fixture at Wittenberg events for many years. Married for 33 years, they have three children. The family has grown up watching football and basketball games, tennis matches, concerts and lectures. Deanna served as the manager at the Chi Omega house for six years. Bill, retired from the manufacturing business after 30 years with Eagle Tool & Machine Co. in Springfield, has been active with the Springfield Rotary Club and the Springfield Foundation board and enjoys volunteering with fundraising events at Wittenberg.
Ritter, who joined the Wittenberg faculty in 1990, is a geology professor and department chair of geomorphology and environmental geology. He has also played a leadership role in the region, serving on local boards and committees, including the Clark County Soil and Water Conservation District, and using the area's environmental resources to engage his students in collaborative research.
