Founding professor Spencer Olin and novelist Michael Chabon are among honorees; ceremony acknowledges individuals who have brought recognition to the university

Nineteen members of the University of California, Irvine community will be honored at the 36th annual Lauds & Laurels Awards ceremony Thursday, April 27, at The Westin South Coast Plaza. The UCI Alumni Association awards program, initiated in 1971, recognizes alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends who have brought recognition to the university through their achievements, studies or profession.

"Lauds & Laurels celebrates the accomplishments of a select group of people whose efforts positively impact UC Irvine and beyond," said Jorge Ancona, assistant vice chancellor, alumni relations. "These are the most prestigious awards conferred by our alumni association, and the campus is a better place because of the achievements of our honorees."

The ceremony's highest honor, the Extraordinarius Award, will be presented to Spencer C. Olin, professor emeritus of history and founding faculty member. Since arriving on campus in 1965, Olin has served as chair of the Department of History, chair of the Academic Senate, dean of humanities and acting executive vice chancellor. As the Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professor (2004-2005), he served as adviser to the UCI Historical Records Project, served as co-curator of the exhibit Under Construction Indefinitely, and he organized the 40th Anniversary Symposium, Designing UCI.

Recipients of this year's Distinguished Alumni Awards are:

Roger Lewis Bratcher, Ed.D. '02 (Department of Education)
Bratcher, a Garden Grove resident, is assistant superintendent for secondary education for the Santa Ana Unified School District. He was named Secondary Principal of the Year in 1997 and SAUSD Administrator of the Year in 2002-03. Bratcher has been instrumental in strengthening the partnership between the school district and UCI's Department of Education.

William Butler '74 (School of Physical Sciences)
Butler, a resident of Mountain View, is founder and president of Environmental Risk Analysis, a scientific consulting firm that offers services in biostatistics, epidemiology and quantitative health-risk assessment. An outspoken supporter of the campus and a former UCI rower, Butler was the 2005 recipient of the Varsity Club Alumnus Award of Merit.

Michael Chabon, M.F.A. '87 (School of Humanities)
A Berkeley resident, Chabon is an acclaimed novelist whose third book, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay became an immediate best seller and won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. The film version of the book is in pre-production. He also has written a number of small comics projects and co-wrote the story for the film "Spider-Man 2."

Jenn Colella '03 and Beth Malone, M.F.A. '00 (Claire Trevor School of the Arts)
Colella, a native of South Carolina, co-starred in the off-Broadway musical production of "Slut" and will be opening this spring in a new Broadway musical, "The Times They Are A Changin,'" with the music of Bob Dylan. A Colorado native, Malone co-starred last fall in the off-Broadway musical "Bingo" and is the co-star of the Broadway musical "Ring of Fire," with the music of Johnny Cash.

David Dimas '78, Ph.D. '88 (The Henry Samueli School of Engineering)
Dimas, a resident of Orange, is director of support and training for MCS Software. He helped establish the Engineering Alumni Advisory Council and currently serves on The Henry Samueli School of Engineering Advisory Board. He has lectured at UCI, and he helped manage a highly successful cooperative education program between MSC Software and UCI.

John E. Edwards Jr., M.D. '68 (School of Medicine)
Edwards, a Palos Verdes Estates resident, is chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, a professor of medicine and an attending physician at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. He has devoted the majority of his career to researching and treating fungal infectious diseases. Each year, he helps bring a UCI School of Medicine graduate to intern in the Harbor-UCLA program.

Steven Joe '90 (Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences)
A Coto de Caza resident, Joe is president and CEO of D-Link North America. He has served as an adviser and member of the ICS Leadership Council and is now a member of the UCI Chief Executive Roundtable. In 2005, he was recognized by the editors of CMP Media's VARBusiness as one of North America's "Top 50 Technology Innovators."

Kristen S. Monson '82, M.B.A. '86 (The Paul Merage School of Business)
Monson, a resident of Newport Beach, is executive vice president of Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) and is responsible for 35 client relationships with more than $24 billion in client assets. She serves on the Merage School's Dean's Advisory Board and is a member of the Dean's Leadership Circle.

David Marrero '74, Ph.D. '81 (School of Social Ecology)
Marrero, a resident of Fishers, Ind., is the J.O. Richey Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He has published more than 100 journal articles and book chapters, and he pioneered the development of a broad-gauged, social ecological approach to the study, treatment and prevention of diabetes.

Nick Scandone '90 (School of Social Sciences)
A Fountain Valley resident, Scandone is a former UCI All-American and an accomplished sailor who also teaches sailing to kids and seniors. Four years ago, he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Scandone was named U.S. Sailing's 2005 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, and his award was based on his performance without any compensation for his disability.

Jeffrey Thomas Yuen '84 (School of Biological Sciences)
Yuen, a resident of Orange, is president of Jeff Yuen and Associates, an independent consulting firm that develops domestic and international regulatory and compliance strategies in the area of Food Drug Administration inspection readiness. An internationally recognized regulatory expert, he is the recipient of numerous honors and awards.

Other recipients are:

Outstanding Community Service - Vanessa Zuabi
Zuabi, who grew up in New Jersey, is an honors student double-majoring in International Studies and Philosophy in the School of Social Sciences. She is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and vice president of Model U.N. and Society of Arab Students. In 2004, Zuabi won the Peace and Justice Award for her extensive efforts in Palestinian Human Rights.

Faculty Achievement - Douglas C. Wallace
A resident of Irvine, Wallace is the Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences and Molecular Medicine and director of the Center for Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine and Genetics in the schools of Biological Sciences and Medicine. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Wallace received the William Allan Award in 1994 - the American Society of Human Genetics' highest recognition for contributions to human genetics.

Staff Achievement - Said Shokair '90
A Mission Viejo resident, Shokair is the founding director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and works tirelessly to provide UCI undergraduates with a rewarding research experience. He serves on numerous boards, orchestrates the annual UCI Undergraduate Research Journal and brings in substantial extramural funding to the program.

Outstanding Graduate Student - Bryan McDonald (School of Social Ecology)
A native of Glen Allen, Va., McDonald, a Ph.D. candidate, is assistant director of UCI's Center for Unconventional Security Affairs. His work has been published in Organization & Environment, the Natural Resources Journal, Environment, Politics and the Life Sciences, and the Canadian Journal of Political Science.

Outstanding Undergraduate Student - Vivek Mehta (School of Biological Sciences)
Mehta, a resident of Orange, was recently named to USA Today's All-USA College Academic First Team as one of the nation's top undergraduate scholars. A recipient of numerous academic awards, he has done extensive work in basic science as an undergraduate researcher in immunology.

Outstanding Student-Athlete - Ross Schraeder (School of Social Sciences, men's basketball)
A Denver, Colo. native, Schraeder was named the 2005 UCI/Big West Conference male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, an award that encompasses academic and athletic accomplishments as well as contributions to the community. He has served as a math tutor and a volunteer for several community organizations.

The Lauds & Laurels Awards ceremony begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, following a 6 p.m. reception, at The Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. Tickets are $150, with proceeds benefiting the UCI Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship Program. Table sponsorships are available from $1,500 to $7,500.

For more information, contact Eileen Hayden, (949) 824-4551, or visit www.alumni.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

Contact:
Thomas Mitchell
(949) 824-7915
tjm@uci.edu