Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award

 Dr. Robert Geahlen, ‘75

A Pueblo County High School valedictorian, Geahlen has remained in the field of education since 1975, when he received his bachelor’s degree from then USC, double majoring in biology and chemistry. After earning his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wyoming, Geahlen did postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Edwin G. Krebs at the University of Washington, Seattle. Dr. Krebs is the 1992 Nobel Laureate in Medicine. At UW, Geahlen was supported by a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a fellowship from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Entering Purdue University in 1982 as assistant professor of medicinal chemistry, Geahlen has remained at Purdue for nearly 25 years teaching additional courses in molecular pharmacology, biochemistry, signal transduction, immunology, and grant writing. He directs the Purdue University Life Sciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Program and has graduated 15 Ph.D. and six master’s students from his laboratory.

Having published 100+ papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work at many national and international conferences, Geahlen has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and currently edits Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-Molecular Cell Research. He has served on several grant review panels for the NIH and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. He is well known for his research on protein-tyrosine kinases and the regulation of immune cell function, supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.

Dr. Geahlen and his wife, Dr. Marietta Harrison, also in the Pharmacology Department at Purdue, live in West Lafayette, Ind. Their daughter, Jessica, studies biology and their son, Austin, is a business major at the University of Indiana in Bloomington.

Honorary Alumni Award

Dr. Jack Seilheimer, ‘81

Longtime biology professor and University supporter, Dr. Jack Seilheimer, will receive the first-ever Honorary Alumni Award from the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Mich., Seilheimer earned his B.S. in biology from Western Michigan University in 1960, and his Ph.D. in zoology (limnology) from the University of Louisville. Seilheimer came to Southern Colorado State College in 1963 as professor of biology and served as biology department chair from 1981-87 and Dean of the College of Science and Math from 1987-2000. His decades of commitment to CSU-Pueblo compile pages of volunteer time and dedication, including Founder of the Biology Club and serving on three presidential search and screen committees. Over the years, he has secured several educational and environmental grants and has many publications to his credit. He developed and taught the first totally online courses offered by the Division of Continuing Education at CSU-Pueblo.

He has been an International Exchange Coordinator placing 92 international students in Pueblo host families for over 14 years, including his own home. Additionally, Seilheimer was coach for SCSC football, was co-founder of the Arkansas Valley Audubon Society, co-founder of the Pueblo Greenway and Nature Center, and founding member and volunteer for "Beyond Fishing," a troubled youth intervention program. The Seilheimers have been long time members of CSU-Pueblo’s Booster Club for Athletics, and he is also an ordained minister since 1957.

In addition to his CSU-Pueblo passions, Seilheimer has been involved in many community organizations, such as the Pueblo Symphony and the Community Advisory Boards for St. Mary Corwin and the City-County Health Dept.

Long time staff member Marijane Martinez recalls fondly her many years working for Jack; the mutual respect, his leadership and the family atmosphere he promoted in the Biology Department. Jack, we are proud and honored to call you an alum!

Outstanding Alumnus Award

William Gonzales, M.D., ‘82

Pueblo South High School graduate Dr. William Gonzales utilized an associate’s degree in Radiologic Technology from Southern Colorado State College to gain employment at Parkview Episcopal Hospital, where he worked as a registered radiologic technologist and as a part-time instructor at Pueblo’s Vocational College (now PCC). He returned to USC to earn his bachelor’s degree in biology (minor in chemistry), a master’s degree in business from the St. Louis Catholic Hospital, and ultimately earning his medical degree in 1987 at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver. Following an internship in internal medicine and two-year residency at Northwestern in Chicago, Gonzales started his medical career in Michigan City, Indiana in a multi-group practice.

Having married in 1983, he and his wife Angela, decided to return to their hometown of Pueblo with their new baby, doctoring in a group practice until 1996. He worked as a medical doctor for Parkview’s Occupation Health Management team until 1998, when he opened up a solo practice as internist and managing member of Internal Health Care, LLC, training and mentoring pre-med students from USC, physician assistants from PCC, and nurse practitioners from Beth El in Colorado Springs.

His service to Pueblo continued as physician spokesman for Pueblo’s Network Education Awareness of Diabetes, physician advisor to Qual-Med and Phy-Cor Insurance, co-chairman of Parkview’s Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee and director of the hospital’s Nutrition Support Team, involvement in the Health Academy Program at School District 60, and serving on CSU-Pueblo’s Biology Advisory Committee. He is currently a full-time physician for the Veteran’s Administration Outpatient Clinic of Pueblo.

Bill enjoys carving Santos and crucifixes for family and friends. Hobbies include gardening, skiing, biking, tennis, and racquetball. He and his wife Angela, are proud of their son Willito, an East High honor roll student. Bill was totally unaware that his family had nominated him for the Outstanding Alumnus Award and was genuinely surprised when Laura Brandt made the announcement to him under the tent at the inaugural Festival on the Hill! His expression was priceless!

Outstanding Alumna Award

Betty Martinez, ’85, ‘89

Martinez’s interest in public service, entrepreneurialism, and social betterment began as a child from parents who knew the beet fields, coal mines, and the empowerment of small business ownership. A first generation college student, Betty was active in student government and the National Student Association of Criminology on campus. She graduated from USC in 1985 with a degree in criminology and in 1989 with her bachelor’s in social work. Martinez continued her education with a Law-Paralegal Certification from University of Denver and a real estate license. She is the first Pueblo Hispanic woman to own her own realty business, Betty Martinez Realtors, and mortgage company, America Mortgage. Recently, Betty Martinez Realtors has joined forces with Keller Williams Performance Realty, where Betty exclusively represents Vega Construction, and America Mortgage has partnered with Bankers Mortgage.

Betty’s success is inspirational in that she worked her way through college and public assistance as a single mother whose professional life included serving as a criminal investigator for the Pueblo District Attorney and the Public Defenders Office, and as an instructor for the University of Arizona in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where she helped to implement the drug and alcohol prevention program on base to serve the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

Her passion for community and helping the underserved is evident not only with her help with educating families on the process of homeownership and affordable housing, as well as her volunteerism with Pueblo Head Start, the developmentally disabled, and her continued service on numerous boards, including Pueblo Child Advocacy Center, Boys and Girls Clubs of Pueblo and Rocky Ford, Mi Casa Resource Center for Woman, YWCA, Girl Scouts of America, and the El Pomar Foundation. Professional recognitions include the Pueblo Association of Home Builders MAME award for marketing, and the Realtor’s Choice Award. In 2005, Colorado Governor Bill Owens appointed Martinez to the Colorado State Lottery Commission. She is a past president of the Latino Chamber of Commerce and a past board member of the CSU-Pueblo Alumni Association.

Martinez has two daughters; Jamie, who is also a licensed real estate broker, and Nicole, a medical student at the University of Colorado.

Kathleen Ann "Kitty" Kennedy, '75

The recipient of this year’s Alumni Association’s Service to the Community Award epitomizes and models what it means to be a life-long learner and educator. Born in Anchorage, Alaska, the oldest child in a military family, Kitty Kennedy knew a variety of educational experiences by attending nine schools by the time she had graduated from Centennial High School. Pueblo, however, was always considered home, as the family would return to live with her maternal grandparents when her father was overseas. When her parents established Pueblo as the family’s permanent residence, Kitty attended and graduated from the University of Southern Colorado and later received her master’s degree in curriculum development from Leslie of Boston.

A career educator in Pueblo, Kitty retired from District 60 after more than two decades of professional service to the district. Her District 60 career has spanned numerous classroom teaching experiences, dropout prevention coordination, early childhood education, and visual and performing arts instruction. Even while working, Kitty has always served her community as a volunteer. She got an early start in community service as an original member of the Junior League of Pueblo in 1973. Kitty has served on countless boards and community commissions including the founding and advisory committee for the PAWs Children’s Museum at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, a past president of the Broadway Theatre League, and a former trustee of the Pueblo City-County Library District. She is a Pueblo County Commissioners’ appointment to the Pueblo Workforce Development Board, a past member of the Colorado GEAR UP Community Advisory Board, a member of the School District 60 Education Foundation Board, founding member of the Communities in Schools Mentoring Program, a member of the 2010 Commission, Arts and Cultural Task Force, past YWCA Board Member, and current member of the Centennial High School Foundation and Commemorative Museum Advisory Board.

Kitty’s professional background and personal interests have perfectly positioned her for her current role as the president of the Pueblo School District 60 Board of Education. Under Kitty’s tenure and leadership on the board, the district has received recognition for student success from President Bush, US Secretaries of Education Rod Paige and Margaret Spellings and Colorado Governor Bill Owens. Kitty and her husband Mark have raised two daughters, Kasey, 21, a senior at University of Denver, and Katie, 24, a law student at DU. They enjoy traveling together, and actively support many non-profits in Pueblo.

Candice Crain, ‘04

Candice Crain grew up loving country music. Early on, she took to her mom’s collection of country records -- George Strait, The Judds, & Barbara Mandrell, among others, and began teaching herself to play guitar with a $25 Yamaha her mom purchased from a pawn shop. By age 10, Candice was singing in gospel groups, talent contests, and fairs, with dreams of someday making it to Nashville. "I knew the moment I picked up the guitar and started singing that I had found my passion. I fell in love with music," Candice recalls.

Before graduating in 2004 from CSU-Pueblo with her B.S. degree in art and a minor in music, Candice had already won first place as "Songwriter of the Year" in the annual Colorado Country Music Association, "Female Entertainer of the Year," and first place for "Co-Writers of the Year" with her mother Cate Roldan (a 1995 CSU-Pueblo mass communications alumna). Thereby qualifying for the North American Country Music Association finals, Candice drove 1,200 miles to Pigeon Forge, Tenn. in March, 2004 to compete against 700 others. Again, Crain won numerous awards, including the prestigious "Horizon Award" for female vocalist, "Most Promising Entertainer," and "Songwriter of the Year." Candice & Cate also won again for "Co-writers of the Year."

Feeling she had outgrown Colorado, Candice hit the road for Nashville and was accepted into the 2005 and 2006 Country Music Association Music Festival. She sold out of all of her merchandise and had an outstanding performance. Between her radio crowd and her booth, she drew in thousands of fans from all over the world and signed autographs for all. Candice was placed in Country Music Today magazine as a rising star and has been featured numerous times in Country Home magazine (Germany’s premier country music magazine). She has had several newspaper and radio station interviews in Tennessee, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Europe. Since arriving in Music City, Crain has recorded an incredible demo and is already making industry buzz as a single artist. Her television performances include Nashville on Stage, and the debut music video How ‘Bout You for new artist Eric Church on Capitol Records. Candice and acclaimed singer/songwriter Jeff Skorik welcomed their first child last month. Candice can be seen performing at venues in Nashville while pursuing a record deal. Fans can visit Crain’s website at www.candicecrain.com.

The 2006 Outstanding Service to the University is awarded to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at CSU-Pueblo, a campus-based substation providing security and law enforcement services to the University through an Interagency Agreement signed by Sheriff Dan Corsentino in 2002. Using a technique called "community policing," the PSCO deputies counsel, support, and protect, making CSU-Pueblo a particularly safe campus.

Vice President Joanne Ballard advocates they are "proactive about educating students on making safe decisions and being life-smart, and they advise and assist the administration in risk assessment, safety rules and precautions, traffic and crowd control, and response to threats." Under the leadership of Commander Harry Wetzel and Sergeant Bill Brown, and with six deputies, (Kevin Anderson, Chuck Coffrin, Bruce Cooper, Kent Kirchner, Rick Rhodes and Larry Salbato), and Dennis Naylon, who oversees communications, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at CSU-Pueblo has proven to be a huge asset and resource for the University, forging a strengthened and supportive community partnership between the two entities.

In a 2004 campus survey of satisfaction with the Sheriff’s Office, 66 percent of the respondents rated overall performance as good or excellent. Overall competence was rated as good or excellent by 67 percent of the respondents, with 64 percent of the respondents rating the deputies’ attitudes and behaviors toward the campus community as good or excellent. These are amazingly high satisfaction levels given the function of the PSCO on campus.

According to External Affairs Executive Director Cora Zaletel, having the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office as part of CSU-Pueblo has been a godsend to the CSU-Pueblo campus community and the External Affairs office. Not only do they inform her office of potential dangers to students or issues that might warrant media coverage, but they are key players in nearly all campus special events. They are always represented at event planning meetings and provide both emotional and physical support to our efforts. They do not hesitate to pitch in and provide whatever is necessary to make events run more smoothly or to make our jobs easier -- from golf carts and dollies to communications equipment. They also serve as a liaison with corrections personnel relative to securing personnel to do event clean up. They exhibit a true culture of service - in both word and in deed.