Past award recipient bios as they appeared in that year's event program (*deceased)
Eugene P. Baxendale, ‘77 BSIE
Eugene P. Baxendale received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Fenn College of Engineering in 1977. He has been president and chief executive officer of the Osborn Engineering Company since 2002, after first serving as vice president and director of business development. He lives in North Royalton.
Baxendale has managed many of Northeast Ohio’s major projects over the past 15 years, including Cleveland Browns Stadium, Jacobs Field, and research and testing facilities at NASA Glenn Research Center.
He is a member of the Cleveland State University Alumni Association and Fenn College of Engineering Visiting Committee and participates in the College’s annual networking seminar and the University’s annual Executive Forum. He chairs the board of directors of St. Joseph Academy and has served in leadership positions for the Cleveland Engineering Society, the Cleveland Society of Professional Engineers and Berea Area Montessori School.
Anthony J. Coyne, ‘84 MS/’87 JD
Anthony J. Coyne received a master’s degree in urban affairs from the Levin College of Urban Affairs in 1984 and a JD from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1987. He lives in Cleveland and is a partner and vice president of Mansour, Gavin, Gerlack & Manos Co., LPA.
Coyne’s public service includes the Levin Chair Advisory Committee, Cleveland Bicentennial Commission Advisory Board, former member of the Catholic Charities Corporation leadership council, Blue Coats, the Citizens League of Greater Cleveland, and former member of the Ohio Planning Conference board of trustees. He is currently a member of the Community Service Alliance and chair of the Cleveland Planning Commission.
Stephen F. Kirk, ‘79 MBA/’07 D.B.A.
Stephen F. Kirk earned a master of business administration degree from the Nance College of Business Administration in 1979. He lives in Chagrin Falls and is senior vice president of the Lubrizol Corporation and president of Lubrizol Additives.
Kirk is a member of the College of Business Visiting Committee and board of directors of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association and is past chairman of the American Chemistry Council Petroleum Additives Panel. He is a director of Vocational Guidance Service and a past cabinet member of Lake County United Way.
Dr. Elaine B. Richardson, ‘91 BA/’93 MA
Dr. Elaine Richardson holds two degrees in English from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences a bachelor’s degree in 1991 and a master’s degree in 1993. She earned a Ph.D. in English from Michigan State University in 1996. She lives in State College, Pa.
A faculty member at Pennsylvania State University since 1998, she is a tenured associate professor of English and applied linguistics, specializing in rhetoric and composition. Dr. Richardson has published books, monographs and collections of essay. In 2004 she received both the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award and the National Communication Association’s Outstanding Book Award.
Dr. Danielle N. Ripich, ‘77 BA/’78 MA
Dr. Danielle N. Ripich holds three degrees in speech pathology bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1977 and 1978 from the College of Science and a Ph.D. from Kent State University in 1982. In addition, she holds a certificate in management development from Harvard University and a certificate from the Professional Fellows Program at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. She lives in Maine.
A distinguished educator and researcher, Dr. Ripich became the fifth president of the University of New England in July 2006. Prior to that, she spent seven years at the Medical University of South Carolina as dean of the College of Health Professions and professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Neurology.
She began her academic career at CSU, teaching voice and diction from 1980 to 1982. She then moved to Case Western Reserve University as an instructor but soon became chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and then associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Ripich is internationally known for her language research, particularly with children, the hearing impaired, and persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Her many honors include a Congressional Fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Lisa Suarez-Caraballo, ‘92 BS/’02 Med
Lisa Suarez-Caraballo holds a 1992 bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the College of Science and a 2002 master’s degree from the College of Education and Human Services. She is a bilingual mathematics teacher at Luis Munoz Marin Middle School in Cleveland. She lives in Columbia Station.
Suarez-Caraballo has been a National Board Certified Teacher since 2000, and was one of only three Ohio teachers to receive the prestigious Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award in 2005. Most recently, she received a Best Buy Teach Award which recognizes the creative use of technology to make learning fun.
Since 2003, she has been a NASA Educator Astronaut Teacher, a select group that helps students realize the importance of math and science education. In addition, she was among a select group of teachers chosen to participate in TeacherSolutions, a national panel studying teacher compensation, and the Science and Mathematics Education Policy Advisory Council for the Ohio Board of Regents. In 2002, the Cleveland Browns recognized her as a Community Hero.
Hon. Christopher W. Vasil, ‘70 BA/’75 JD
Christopher W. Vasil earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences in 1970 and a JD from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1975. He lives in Alexandria, Va.
He has been a key staff member of the United States Supreme Court for 25 years as deputy clerk for case management for 20 years and as chief deputy clerk since 2002. He also has been an attorney advisor in the Administrative Office of the United States Courts in Washington, D.C. and a senior deputy clerk and acting clerk of court for the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
GEORGE B. DAVIS AWARD: Charles R. Emrick Jr., ‘58 JD
Charles R. Emrick, Jr. earned a L.L.B. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1958. He is a senior partner of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP (retired) and a business advisor. He divides his time between homes in Westlake and Naples, Fla.
Emrick has served on the College of Law’s Visiting Committee and Campaign Steering Committee and is now a member of its Development Council. In 1999, on the eve of his retirement and in recognition of his years of service, his law firm donated $100,000 to help fund the Chuck Emrick/Calfee, Halter & Griswold Endowed Professorship at the law school. Emrick generously matched the firm’s gift. He is a member of the College’s planned giving society and a life member of the Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association. In 1994, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. Emrick serves or has served on the board of directors of more than 35 private companies and is a member of the board of six privately owned companies.