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Founders' Day Convocation Sept. 27 in Duke Chapel

Honorees at the service include distinguished alumni Peter M. and Ginny L. Nicholas and John A. Koskinen and longtime Duke development head John J. Piva.

Duke University will honor outstanding students, faculty, employees and alumni at its annual Founders' Day Convocation in Duke Chapel at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27.

Honorees at the service, which is open to the public, include distinguished alumni Peter M. and Ginny L. Nicholas and John A. Koskinen and longtime Duke development head John J. Piva.

The convocation address will be delivered by Board of Trustees member Clarence G. Newsome, '72, M.Div. '75, Ph.D. '82, the president of Shaw University in Raleigh. President Richard H. Brodhead will preside over the service. The convocation will be held one day before the university's Board of Trustees opens its fall meetings.

Koskinen and Piva have been selected to receive the University Medal for Distinguished Meritorious Service, one of the university's highest awards.

Koskinen, '61, is a successful businessman who has served in high-level government posts and dedicated many years of service to the university. He spent 21 years at the Palmieri Company, which specializes in restructuring large companies facing severe management challenges. Koskinen served several years in the Clinton administration, where he was deputy director for management, Office of Management and Budget, and spearheaded efforts as the nation's "Y2K czar" to protect computer systems from the so-called "millennium bug." After that, he served three years as deputy mayor and city administrator of the District of Columbia. He became a Duke trustee in 1985, was elected board chair in 1994 and over the years served the university in many other capacities. In 1997 he received the Distinguished Service Award in Trusteeship from the Association of Governing Boards as the nation's top trustee. Koskinen and his wife, Patricia, established the Koskinen Scholarship Endowment Fund to support female student-athletes at Duke, and the refurbished soccer facility was later named Koskinen Stadium.

Piva came to Duke in January 1983 from the University of Chicago as vice president for alumni affairs and development; he was later promoted to senior vice president. In that role, he helped organize a fundraising campaign for the arts and sciences and engineering that netted $565 million, surpassing its $400-million goal. A second, more comprehensive Campaign for Duke got under way in the mid-1990s. The campaign's goal was $1.5 billion, but it ultimately raised $2.36 billion. At the time it was one of the five largest fundraising efforts in the history of higher education. Piva retired from Duke in 2004.

The Nicholases, 1964 graduates of the university, will receive Duke's Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest award given by the Duke Alumni Association. Both have served the university in a number of volunteer leadership positions. They co-chaired the Campaign for Duke, and early in the campaign gave $20 million to Duke for what would become the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. The last gift counted in the Campaign for Duke was a record-breaking $72 million from the Nicholases -- $2 million for Perkins Library and $70 million earmarked for the Nicholas School, including the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. It remains the single largest gift from an individual or couple in Duke's history.

Pete Nicholas, co-founder and chair of Boston Scientific Corp., served on the university's Board of Trustees from 1993 to 2005, chairing the board during his last two years. He also has been a charter member and chair of the board of visitors for the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, among other positions. Ginny Nicholas has volunteered as an admissions adviser, chair of the executive committee of the Duke Annual Fund and reunion class chair. In addition to serving many Boston-area charitable organizations, she is the founder and president of Open Market of Concord, Mass. Open Market is affiliated with Aid to Artisans, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting craftspeople around the world.

The Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award will go to Jerry Reiter, an assistant professor of statistical science and a 1992 Duke graduate. Presented each year by the Duke Alumni Association, the award is administered by a panel of undergraduate students who select the recipient based on letters of nomination submitted by members of the student body.

The University Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award, given by the Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church, will be presented to Thomas J. Nechyba, professor of economics and public policy and chair of the economics department.

Other faculty awards will be presented to:

-- Alvin Crumbliss, professor of chemistry and new dean of natural sciences: Dean's Distinguished Service Award;

-- Joseph C. Nadeau, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering: Lois and John L. Imhoff Distinguished Teaching Award;

-- Herbert Edelsbrunner, Arts and Sciences Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics: Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring;

-- Alexander Hartemink, assistant professor of computer science: David and Janet Brooks Trinity College Distinguished Teaching Award;

-- George A. Truskey, professor and chair in the Department of Biomedical Engineering: Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising;

-- Kathryn R. Nightingale, assistant professor of biomedical engineering: Klein Family Distinguished Teaching Award at the Pratt School of Engineering;

-- Lee Baker, associate professor of cultural anthropology and African and African American Studies: Richard K. Lublin Distinguished Award for Teaching Excellence;

-- Jan Riggsbee, assistant professor of the practice and director of Duke's Elementary Teacher Preparation Program: Robert B. Cox Trinity College Distinguished Teaching Award;

-- Susan Lozier, professor of physical oceanography and chair of the Nicholas School's Earth and Ocean Sciences Division: Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring;

-- Laurie Shannon, E. Blake Byrne Associate Professor of English and associate professor of theater studies: Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring;

-- Claudia Koonz, professor of history: Howard Johnson Distinguished Teaching Award;

-- David J. Brady, Addy Family Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Stansell Family Distinguished Research Award; and

-- Earl Dowell, William Holland Hall Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science: Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research.

Those to be honored during the Founders' Day service include Angier B. Duke Scholars, Benjamin N. Duke Scholars, James B. Duke Graduate Fellows, Reginaldo Howard Scholars, University Scholars, Robertson Scholars, Faculty Scholars, The Duke Endowment Fellows, Baldwin Scholars, and many other undergraduate and graduate scholars.

Founders' Day celebrates the founding of the university and provides an opportunity each year for the university to reflect on its history and heritage and to recognize major contributions by students, faculty, administrators, employees and alumni.

The occasion will mark the 106th anniversary of the first event honoring the Duke family at this institution. In 1901, when the school was Trinity College, the school held a Benefactors' Day to pay tribute to university namesake Washington Duke.