The university presented its Distinguished Service Award to Steve Warren, an Asheville attorney who chaired and serves on the WCU board of trustees. Kevin Vasquez, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Butler Animal Health Supply, received the Alumni Association’s Professional Achievement Award. David Morgan, a principal investigator of the Goualougo Triangle Chimpanzee Research Project in the Republic of Congo, was awarded the Academic and Professional Achievement Award. Andy Dunn, consultant for the Vancouver Canadians baseball team and previous director of player development for the Washington Nationals, was honored with the Young Alumnus Award.

The awards were presented during a ceremony in Ramsey Regional Activity Center as part of 2007 Homecoming activities.

Warren (pictured at right), a 1980 graduate of Western with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, began serving on Western’s board of trustees in 2003, including two terms as chair from 2005-2007, and now serves as vice chair. An attorney with the firm Long, Parker Warren & Jones, Warren helped guide the board through a review and adoption of an updated strategic plan that addressed the university’s role in economic development. He also co-presented with Chancellor John W. Bardo a paper titled “Higher Education and Economic Development” at the National Conference on Trusteeship in 2007.

“Steve Warren is a valued friend and an invaluable ally to me personally and to Western Carolina University,” said Bardo. “He has provided strong leadership as chair of the board of trustees, and I know that he will continue to do so in his current role of vice chair. He has offered wise counsel to his fellow trustees and to the university administration during an important phase of the university’s history. He has served his alma mater in a capacity that epitomizes the word ‘distinguished.’”

Vasquez (pictured at right), recipient of the Professional Achievement Award, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at WCU in 1979 and a master’s degree in business administration from Central Michigan University. Under his leadership, Butler Animal Health Supply based in Dublin, Ohio, grew total sales from $245 million to more than $1 billion. In 2006, President George W. Bush presented him the Ohio Businessman of the Year award. In 2007, Vasquez won an Ernst & Young Regional Entrepreneur of the Year award.

“The Alumni Association is proud to recognize and commend the success Kevin Vasquez has achieved with Butler Animal Health Supply, his many contributions to the veterinary distribution industry, and the awards and recognition he has received on the national level,” said David Andrew, president of the WCU Alumni Association.

Morgan (pictured at right), recipient of the Academic and Professional Achievement Award, graduated from Western in 1992 with a degree in biology. His study of the behavioral ecology of wild chimpanzees in the Republic of Congo has attracted global attention and was the subject of research for his doctorate, which he earned from Cambridge University. Discover magazine ranked findings from his research in the top 100 scientific breakthroughs of 2003. Morgan also works with international organizations centered on conservation.

“David Morgan should serve as an example to us all to follow our passions wherever they may lead,” said Andrew. “His work in the Congo is historic.”

Dunn (pictured at right), recipient of the Young Alumnus Award, earned a bachelor’s degree from WCU in sport management in 1997. He began his career in professional baseball as an intern with the Oklahoma City 89ers and has held roles from vice president of sales and marketing for the Florida Marlins to director of player development for the Washington Nationals. Dunn oversaw the transformation of RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., back to a baseball facility.

“Andy Dunn has a career that many people dream of having,” said Andrew. “To be able to work in professional sports is special because there are only a finite number of jobs. To do what he has done at such a young age makes it all the more extraordinary.”

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Last modified: Monday, Oct. 22, 2007