School recognizes outstanding alums

The ranks of Purdue University's Distinguished Agricultural Alumni grew by nine when the 2004 class was honored during a campus ceremony April 2.

The award, presented each year by the College of Agriculture, honors midcareer graduates who have made significant contributions to their profession or society and have a record of outstanding accomplishments.

“These nine people represent who we are and what we do so well,” said Vic Lechtenberg, Purdue's dean of agriculture.

“They are innovators and educators. They are leaders and motivators. We take great pride in our alumni, and these are nine of our best.”

2004 Distinguished Agricultural Alumni
Baker	Davis	Eikenberry
Griffiths	Hannah	Hoagland
Jamieson	Nuerge	Schmidt

The nine recipients in the class of 2004 are:

Tracy A. Baker, BS '87, Bradenton, Fla., vice president for innovation and beverage development, PepsiCo Beverages and Foods, since 2000. Baker is the leader of a multi-faceted team responsible for creating new beverage products.

Thomas A. Davis, BS '80, Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2001, Davis has been the publisher of Successful Farming magazine, the largest paid circulation (442,000 subscribers) farm magazine in the United States.

Kevin L. Eikenberry, BS '84, Indianapolis, owner and president, The Kevin Eikenberry Group (formerly the Discian Group), a learning consulting group. Eikenberry is working on a book, Magical Movies: Enriching Your Life Through the Most Inspiring Movies of All Time, designed to help people learn from inspirational movies.

Lesa G. Sterling Griffiths, MS '83, PhD '86, Newark, Del., director of the Center for International Studies at the University of Delaware since 2002. Griffiths received the University of Delaware Excellence in Teaching Award in 2003 and the USDA Excellence in College and University Teaching National Award in 1998.

L. Curtis Hannah, BS '67, MS '69, Gainesville, Fla., professor of plant molecular and cellular biology and horticultural sciences at the University of Florida. In 1999, Hannah was named a University of Florida Research Foundation Professor, a three-year appointment awarded competitively based on a distinguished record of research.

G. William Hoagland, BS '69, Washington, D.C., appointed director of budget and appropriations for William Frist, the U.S. Senate majority leader, in 2003. Hoagland has spent 20 years as staff director of the Senate Budget Committee.

Scott A. Jamieson, BS '84, Arlington, Heights, Ill., president and CEO, The Care of Trees, Wheeling, Ill. The company is the second largest tree-care business in the United States, with 500 employees and annual sales exceeding $40 million.

William A. Nuerge, BS '78, Independence, Ky., former CEO and president, Shire US Inc., a pharmaceutical company based in Newport, Ky., with 1,847 employees worldwide and revenues in 2002 of $1.04 billion.

Lee E. Schmidt, BS '70, Scottsdale, Ariz., principal partner, Schmidt-Curley Golf Design. (See Alumni Profile.) There have been 116 Distinguished Agricultural Alumni award recipients since the program started in 1992.