The UofL community and public are encouraged to nominate graduates who deserve to be recognized for their career accomplishments, philanthropic endeavors and contributions to the community. A formal recognition ceremony for all honorees will take place in fall 2024 during Homecoming week on UofL’s Belknap Campus.

“Our annual Alumni Awards celebration is the signature event of our week of Homecoming festivities. These awards recognize distinguished graduates who are exemplary ambassadors for the university and reflect the high standing and character of their alma mater,” said Josh Hawkins, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving.

In addition to the Alumni Fellow awards designated for each school and college, Louisville Alumni will also present awards for Emerging Leader, Diversity Leadership, Military Alumni, Alumni Ambassador and the Wilson Wyatt Alumnus/a of the Year. 

The Wilson Wyatt Alumnus/a of the Year award personifies the qualities, mission and values of the university. The 2023 Alumnus of the Year was awarded to Steve Trager, executive chair of Republic Bank and Trust Company.

Students, graduates and friends of the university can submit online nominations to the Office of Alumni Relations through Friday, March 1.

Criteria for each award, as well as nomination forms, are available online at . Listings of previous Alumni Awards honorees can also be found on the website. For more information, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 502-852-6186 or visit .

The University of Louisville is now accepting nominations for its 2023 Alumni Awards, the highest honor bestowed by Louisville Alumni. For more than 30 years, the Alumni Awards have honored and celebrated the historic achievements of UofL graduates.

The UofL community and public are encouraged to nominate Louisville graduates who deserve to be recognized for their career accomplishments, philanthropic endeavors and contributions to the community. Honorees will be recognized during the 2023 Alumni Awards ceremony this fall during Homecoming week on UofL’s Belknap Campus.

“Louisville Alumni is grateful for the strong culture of alumni innovators, educators and collaborators who share the common bond of being UofL graduates,” said Josh Hawkins, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. “These awards recognize distinguished graduates who are exemplary ambassadors for the university and reflect the high standing and character of their alma mater.”

In addition to Alumni Fellow awards designated for each school and college, Louisville Alumni also will present awards for Emerging Leader, Diversity Leadership, Alumni Ambassador and the Wilson Wyatt Alumnus(a) of the Year. 

New to the program this year is the first-ever Military Alumni Award, an honor that allows UofL to celebrate its commitment, support and appreciation of UofL’s many military-connected alumni.

The Wilson Wyatt Alumnus(a) of the Year award personifies the qualities, mission and values of the university. The 2022 Alumna of the Year was awarded to Lucy Lee Helm ’79, ’82 who, as chief partner officer, guided Starbucks through multiple human resources and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Students, graduates and friends of the university can submit online nominations to the Office of Alumni Relations until Friday, Feb. 17^.

Criteria for each award, as well as nomination forms, are available online at . Listings of previous Alumni Awards honorees also can be found on the website. For more information, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 502-852-6186 or visit .

The Alumni Awards are the highest honors bestowed by Louisville Alumni. Helm is one of 18 honorees who will be celebrated this fall during

Helm received a Bachelor of Arts with highest honors in political science in 1979 and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Brandeis School of Law in 1982. She was twice selected as a University of Louisville Alumni Fellow: in 2008, for the College of Arts & Sciences and in 2017, for the Brandeis School of Law.

She retired from Starbucks Coffee Co. after a prestigious 21-year career in legal and human resources roles, including serving on the company’s executive team as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary and executive vice president, chief partner officer (leading human resources).

“Lucy Helm is an extraordinary Cardinal who is deeply committed to UofL’s mission. We are proud and excited to recognize her accomplishments at this year’s Alumni Awards celebration,” said Josh Hawkins, assistant vice president for alumni relations. “Her commitment to excellence inspires all of us to follow her lead and make a positive impact on our community.”

At Starbucks, Helm was a champion of diversity, equity and inclusion, including leading the company’s achievement of gender and racial pay equity in the U.S. She also created Starbucks’ pro bono services program, which became a model for other corporate law departments. Helm is now the global chair of the board of Mercy Corps, a global relief and development organization.

The Alumnus of the Year honoree personifies the qualities, mission and values of the university. The award is presented to a graduate who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in professional and philanthropic endeavors and who has shown loyalty and support to the entire university.

Helm joins the 2022 Alumni Fellows who represent each of UofL’s colleges, schools, libraries and student affairs division, as well as the signature award winners, who will be recognized for extraordinary achievements in their profession and enduring service in their community.

The 2022 Alumni Fellows are:

• Charles P. Denny ’75, ’80
• Sadiqa N. Reynolds ’93
• Evan Holladay ’13
• Lois S. Cronholm ’62, ’67
• Lynn Hampton ’78, ’83
• Amy B. Farnsworth ’92, ’95
• Awab Habib ’15
• Michael D. Anthony ’05, ’10
• Renee Campbell ’82
• Gulam Zade ’11
• Carol Friedman Abrams ’68
• Christa-Marie Singleton ’92
• Barry C. Johnson ’81, ’85
• Kimberly Meyer ’92, ’16
• Duke Appiah ’09, ’13
• Norbert E. Paulin ’70

For more than 30 years, the Alumni Awards have honored and celebrated the historic achievements of graduates who are exemplary ambassadors for the university.

“Louisville Alumni is grateful for the strong culture of alumni innovators, educators and collaborators who share the common bond of being UofL graduates,” Hawkins said. “The Alumni Awards is our opportunity to honor and celebrate our extraordinary alumni.” 

The 2022 Alumni Awards presented by Commonwealth Credit Union will be held Thursday, Oct. 20.

The 2021 alumni board class is:

• Ahmed Awadallah ’11, ’12
• Wilson Chan ’90
• Ben Donlon ’12, ’16
• DeShara Doub ’10, ’18
• Goetz Kloecker ’02

“We have worked with our alumni network to diversify our board so that it better represents the vast experience of our alumni family worldwide,” said Josh Hawkins, assistant vice president for alumni relations. “Each of these new board members brings outstanding perspective, insight and determination to help us make this university and our alumni family stronger.”   

The Board of Directors is a representative group of the Louisville Alumni network, serving as their voice to the university and advising the office of alumni relations regarding the implementation of organized initiatives and programs.

The new board terms begin July 1, with a new Board Chair position filled by Amy Farnsworth ’92, ’95. The new executive committee will consist of Farnsworth, Tommy Nolan ’03, Will Baumgardner ’10, Dwayne Compton ’07 and Rosalyn Carothers ’85, ’90. The Louisville Alumni board of directors also recognizes the retirement of six members: Doug Kemper ’86, Barbara Nichols ’67, Norb Paulin ’70, Lowell Katz ’68, ’72, ’76, Kelly Hodges ’93, ’01, and Shellie Branson ’84, ’86.

Incoming board members

Ahmed Awadallah ’11, ’12
Awadallah is a two-time graduate from the Speed School of Engineering. An 11-year veteran of Yum! Brands, he is Director of Operations for Pizza Hut Express and Pizza Hut company-owned restaurants. Beyond his strong involvement in the Dallas community and serving as the UofL Dallas chapter alumni leader, Awadallah is an active participant in multiple non-profit boards and sports philanthropic causes. He founded AFWB Camps with fellow UofL alumni Breno Giacomini and Gary Barnidge, an organization that outreaches to underprivileged communities around the world bringing free football and leadership camps. He also is actively involved with MEP Sports, a non-profit that helps marginalized international students to get scholarships opportunities to study in the United States and play basketball.

Wilson Chan ’90
Chan is a graduate of the Speed School of Engineering and has served in numerous volunteer roles with the university since graduating. He is heavily involved with the Cincinnati UofL alumni chapter and continues to volunteer his time with the Speed School. Chan is the sales executive for Veritas Technologies for Healthcare and Public Sector where he focuses on enterprise data management, data protection and digital compliance across customers’ private, public and hybrid cloud implementation. He has been in technology sales, and formerly pre-sales engineering, for over 25 years.

Ben Donlon ’12, ’16
Donlon is a two-time graduate, earning his bachelor’s in finance, actuarial mathematics and computer engineering from the College of Arts and Sciences and his MBA from the College of Business. Donlon is the chief analytics officer for Metro United Way in Louisville where he is responsible for using higher-level data techniques to analyze financial and outcome data that informs decision-making. As an undergraduate, he received multiple awards, including “Who’s Who Among Students,” 2012 University of Louisville Volunteer of the Year, Southeastern Greek Man of the Year and the top undergraduate in his national fraternity.

DeShara Doub ’10, ’18
Doub is a two-time graduate, earning her bachelor’s in communication, with a minor in Pan African Studies from the College of Arts and Sciences and a master’s in social work with a specialization in couple and family therapy from the Kent School. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Vision of Promise LLC, a Louisville-based counseling and consulting agency. Doub has been an active alumni volunteer with the Kent School alumni council and the African American alumni council and is a member of the Black Alumni Summit planning committee.

Goetz Kloecker ’02
Kloecker graduated with a master’s in public health and completed his medical residency at UofL in 2003. Kloecker served as tenured professor on UofL’s faculty until 2020, when he started at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Northern Kentucky. His professional goal is to improve the lives of patients with lung cancer and he cofounded a chapter of the lung cancer alliance in Kentucky, receiving the Kentucky Colonel award for his health-promoting community services. In addition, he initiated lung cancer screening at UofL and started immunotherapy as a breakthrough treatment for lung cancer in Kentucky.