The University of Dayton's National Alumni Association honored five alumni Sept. 15 for exemplifying UD's motto of 'Learn, Lead and Serve.'

The recipients were Eileen Dolan '79, Bill Ricco '58, Victoria Knipper Hughes '74, Joseph Scherger '71 and Mandy Brogdon '04. These alumni each have unique and significant reason for receiving the award.

Eileen Dolan received the Distinguished Alumnus Award, which is considered the most prestigious of all the awards, according to Bill Hunt, assistant vice president of alumni relations. This award is nearly 40 years old and is given to someone whose accomplishments span a large range of time. One must be 25 years or more removed from UD to be eligible for this award.

Dolan is a professor at the University of Chicago and has made major medical advancements in the area of cancer treatment. Specifically, she has helped make chemotherapy more effective and less toxic for patients by focusing on ways that DNA-repair proteins can be modulated to prevent killing cells. She currently holds 31 patents related to cancer research.

Bill Ricco was awarded the Christian Service Award. He helped found Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in 1965. Since then, the school has grown by leaps and bounds; today more than 4,200 students attend the school. He has served the school in countless ways such as athletic director, counselor, assistant principal and principal.

There were two special achievement awards given out this year. One recipient, Victoria Knipper Hughes, founded the Bill of Rights Institute, a nonprofit organization in Washington D.C. in 1999. This organization aims to help educate students about the principles on which the United States was founded. In a mere six years, the institute has provided materials to nearly 30,000 teachers.

The other recipient of the special achievement award was Joseph Scherger. He is a professor of clinical family practice and preventative medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. He has authored more than 300 medical publications. In 1989, Scherger was named Family Physician of the Year by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the California Academy of Family Physicians.

Mandy Brogdon was presented with the Joe Belle Memorial Award, which is unique in that it is chosen exclusively by students. She is an engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. She continues to be an integral part of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers since her sophomore year at UD.

Hunt, the first recipient of the Belle Memorial Award, said, 'I was extremely proud [to receive it], primarily because it was chosen by the students.'

He emphasized the importance of students choosing this award.

'It helps to cement the relationship between alumni and students,' Hunt said.

While many students may not see the motivation of getting involved with such a process, Hunt reminds those students that 'they too are someday going to be an alumnus and go on to do good things.'