Outstanding Alumni Award

2010 Outstanding Alumni Award - nominations due May 15, 2010

Once again the Alumni Association is searching for outstanding alumni in two categories: graduated 2000 or later and graduated prior to 2000. The criteria are service to the college, community and/or humanitarian efforts, and professional accomplishments. Letters of recommendation should be sent to

Jennifer Jones, Committee Chair
87 College Dr.
Castleton State College
Castleton, VT 05735
jennifer.jones@castleton.edu

Outstanding Alums: Michael Collins, 2009 • Art DeLorenzo, 2008 • Leonard Johnson, 2007

John Stempek, 2006 • Dave Perrin, 2005

Michael Collins '61
2009 Outstanding Alumni

The Castleton Alumni Association presented Michael Collins with the

2009 Outstanding Alumni Award at Convocation, August 27.

The committee was presented with many qualified candidates for this award, however it came to a unanimous conclusion quite quickly to honor Mr. Collins this year due to his numerous contributions to Castleton, his communities, and his life’s work in education. His nomination letter sums up quite nicely, his career and the tremendous impact he has had on young people, “Upon graduation from Castleton in 1961, Mike Collins embarked on a career as an educator, a career that has spanned five decades and continues today as he remains an engaged, vigorous and respected independent school administrator. Mike Collins has served as a teacher, counselor, department head, Assistant Dean of Student Services and… Headmaster at three outstanding independent schools [in Texas, California and Georgia]…Retiring in 2004, he has since served three independent schools as Interim Head of School, continuing to lead and inspire students, faculty and families…”

In addition to his work in education, Mr. Collins has been an active member of his community wherever he has lived or traveled through Rotary International, Outward Bound, Interlochen Arts program in Michigan, Chamber of Commerce in San Antonio, TX, and School Bashista in the VillageChapagoon, Nepal where he served as a volunteer teacher. Mr. Collins has also served as a volunteer and mentor to numerous underprivileged children, providing them greater access to education and summer camps. For Castleton, Mr. Collins has been a strong supporter in many ways, including the Class of 1960 Scholarship.

On a personal note, Mr. Collins and his wife Sally, also an alumna, are the parents of two adult children, Michelle and Kelly and the grandparents of six grandchildren, Hannah, Austin, Brenna, Grayson, Lauren and Rhett. Mike and Sally currently reside in Michigan during the summer and North Carolina during the rest of the year.

Mr. Collins’ life and work reflect the very best of Castleton.

Art DeLorenzo '64
2008 Outstanding Alumni

Art DeLorenzo ’64 received the Alumni Association’s Outstanding Alumni Award at the college’s

convocation ceremony, August 28.
Art was recognized for his strong support of Castleton, including his work on the Alumni Association Board as a member and a Past-President and his contributions to the college’s Emerging Leaders program in which he mentored a group of more than 15 students over the course of four years. He concluded that service by delivering the 2005 Commencement Address. He has also been a long-time, strong supporter of the college through the annual fund.

The MVP on the legendary 1963 national co-champion soccer team, DeLorenzo was the driving (and financial) force behind a 2008 college magazine celebrating 50 years of Castleton men’s soccer.
DeLorenzo retired 2005 as a vice president at American Express and today acts as a business consult.
In making the Outstanding Alumni Award, board member Jennifer Jones told the 500 assembled students and faculty, “Mr. DeLorenzo has served the college most admirably, and his life accomplishments are a model for current students and alumni.”

DeLorenzo said, “I was blessed to have found this college. I am also grateful to have had two wonderful parents, Albert and Catherine, and to have been exposed to role models at Castleton; Harvey and Hazel Dunlap, who were my surrogate parents, Dr. and Marilyn Patterson; and mentors in and out of the classroom, Leonard Johnson and Ruth Best, who molded my teaching skills. Together they helped me understand that my role in life was to make a difference in the lives of those I touched.”

He encouraged students to absorb all the knowledge they possibly could “so that you can enrich the lives of those you touch.” He imagined an alum speaking at Castleton in 2068 reflecting on the college’s great influence.
He concluded by speaking directly to new students: You are an amazing class, I've heard all about you and you have the opportunity to be the greatest class that has ever entered this college.”

Leonard Johnson '45
2007 Outstanding Alumni

President Dave Wolk, Leonard Johnson and
Jennifer Jones at Fall 2007 Convocation

The Castleton Alumni Association presented Professor Emeritus Leonard Johnson with the 2007 Outstanding Alumni Award.

Professor Johnson, who is often called Mister Castleton, earned degrees from Castleton in 1945 and 1948. He was a teacher for nearly half a century in area schools and then at the college. In 1992 he became the only individual in Castleton’s history to be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

President Dave Wolk said, "Leonard Johnson epitomizes all that is good about Castleton. He is wholeheartedly dedicated to the college, and he understands how transformational the college experience has been and always will be for our students. Leonard loves the college, and we love Mister Castleton."

In announcing the award at Castleton’s fall convocation ceremony, Jennifer Jones of the Alumni Board of Trustees said, "Professor Johnson’s life and work have been a reflection of what he considers his three priorities in life, ‘faith, family, and Castleton.’"

After a standing ovation, Professor Johnson took the stage and gave students and faculty a demonstration of how to hold an audience’s attention and how to teach. He recalled his first teaching job at an annual salary of $667.78. He gave a brief account of his life as a teacher and how it was intertwined with the history of the college. "I remember Castleton in the early days with just a few students and a couple of faculty – you remember each one," he said.

Following the ceremony, Professor Johnson was surrounded by people he had taught and worked with. Not surprisingly, he remembered them all.

At 85 Professor Johnson spends the summers in his house where he grew up in Center Rutland and then winters in Florida with his beloved niece Elizabeth and her husband Elliot.

John Stempek '71
2006 Outstanding Alumni

John Stempek ’71, ’75, a respected teacher and school administrator, is the recipient of the Alumni Association’s 2006 Outstanding Alumni Award.

The announcement was made by President of the Alumni Association Dennis Proulx at Fall Convocation before an auditorium filled with faculty and students.

Stempek has had a great impact on young people throughout Rutland County. After student-teaching in Rutland Town and Fair Haven, he taught elementary school in Proctor before serving as vice-principal in West Rutland and then principal in three Rutland schools. For the past six years, has been assistant superintendent of the Rutland City School District.

Dan Stebbins ’71, who nominated Stempek and attended the convocation ceremony, says, “John’s public persona has been a continuous endorsement for the value of a Castleton education. He has a great feel for the needs of students and their families. John is a devoted teacher at heart.”

At Castleton Stempek majored in elementary education, minored in history, and may have taken every course offered by historian Holman “Bill” Jordan. He played baseball, basketball, and golf – and ran in one track meet. Originally from Hoosick Falls, New York, he got to know Vermont while traveling with the Spartan teams.

In his career, Stempek has been the Vermont Jaycee’s Outstanding Young Educator, the Vermont Teacher of the Year, and the Vermont Elementary Principal of the Year. Stebbins says that is no surprise: “He relates to people, and gets his message across. He loves what he does and truly loves the kids he serves. You can’t help but love John.”

President Wolk, who worked with Stempek in the Rutland schools, says, “John Stempek has been an impressive credit to his alma mater. He treats people with respect, and he earns it in return. His trusted and wise counsel, to parents and educators as well as to Castleton's education programs, his extensive community service in the Rutland region, and his humble but effective leadership have earned him my personal admiration.”

Dave Perrin '76
Castleton’s first Outstanding Alumnus, 2005

Dave Perrin ’76, dean in the School of Health and Human Performance and professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina, was awarded the first ever Outstanding Alumni Award by the Castleton Alumni Association.

Sandra Fitzpatrick ’59 chaired the search committee and made the announcement at the Reunion luncheon in June. “We wanted to set the bar high,” she said. “Dave Perrin did shine in every one of the criteria.” The committee evaluated professional achievement, humanitarian work and community service, and support for Castleton.

After graduating from Castleton, Perrin received an M.A. from Indiana State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He served for eight years as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Athletic Training (l996 - 2004) and was founding editor of the Journal of Sport Rehabilitation. He is author and editor of six books on athletic training.

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association has presented him with the Distinguished Educators Award, the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award, and the William G. Clancy Jr. M.D. Medal for Distinguished Athletic Training Research. He is a member of the NATA Hall of Fame and Castleton’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

He initiated and was a generous donor to Castleton’s Athletic Training Scholarship and he is now establishing the Betty Hale Perrin Nursing Scholarship in honor of his beloved mother, a career nurse.

“My mother primarily made it possible for me to go to Castleton,” he says. “She put money away in a secret savings account in Rutland so that I would have enough to finish.”

“Castleton was perfect for me,” he remembers. “I was not a great high school student, but at Castleton I encountered faculty who were terrific -- and it clicked for me academically. My years at Castleton were four of the greatest years of my life.”

Perrin started by donating copies of his books to the college library. “Since I’ve become an administrator, I’ve become more aware of how critical support from the alumni really is. I’ve tried to do more, knowing how much Castleton has done for me.”