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Distinguished Alumni Deliver Talks Across Campus

Several of HSU's 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients will be presenting talks across campus on Friday, April 20.



From top to bottom: Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients Dean Bresciani, Chester Mathis, and Marla Spivak. From top to bottom: Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients Dean Bresciani, Chester Mathis, and Marla Spivak.

From noon to 1:30 p.m., Distinguished Alumnus Dean Bresciani presents a talk in Nelson Hall East, Room 106. Bresciani has held several top posts at universities across the country and is currently the 14th President of North Dakota State University. Bresciani credits his passion for higher education to his experience working with HSU’s Humboldt Orientation Program.

From 3 to 4 p.m., Distinguished Alumnus Chester Mathis presents a talk in Gist Hall 218. Mathis was HSU’s 1978 valedictorian, and is currently an Endowed Chair Professor of Radiology and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Director of the Positron Emission Tomography Facility at the University of Pittsburgh. Mathis’s innovative work has made advances in the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and he has recently begun working in similar areas on Parkinson’s disease.

From 4 to 5 p.m., Distinguished Alumna Marla Spivak presents a talk in Science B, room 135. Spivak is a recognized expert on honey bee health and is currently the Distinguished McKnight Professor in Entomology at the University of Minnesota. In 2010 Spivak was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant—a no-strings-attached award to pursue any project she wishes. Spivak has used the funds to start the Bee Squad, an organization aimed at educating the public about the importance of honeybees in the Twin Cities area.

Spivak’s presentation is part of the 2012 Biological Sciences Seminar Series, which meets every Friday at 4 p.m. in Science B, room 135. The series runs through May 4.

The two will also be recognized at the new Humboldt State Honors Dinner on April 20, a special event for the year’s distinguished faculty and alumni, outstanding students and staff award recipients.