The Vanderbilt University Alumni Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce its recipients of the 2017 alumni awards: Dr. Stephen Jones, BA’74, MD’78; Joe Martin, BA’64; Doug Parker, MBA’86; and Zakiya Smith, BS’06. They will be honored Oct. 5 at a special ceremony during Reunion and Homecoming Weekend.
“I am proud to recognize each of these honorees. Their professional accomplishments and service to their communities and the university represent the best of our alumni community,” says Jane Ann Gass, BS’74, awards committee chair for the Alumni Association Board.
A retired major general with the U.S. Army, Jones will receive the Alumni Volunteer Award. He has dedicated his time and counsel to mentor Vanderbilt ROTC undergraduates and School of Medicine graduates entering military residency programs. He also served on the Vanderbilt Medical Association Alumni Board.
Martin will receive the Alumni Public Service Award. He was a leader for public education in Georgia for 25 years and, while serving the Peace Corps from 2012 to 2015, secured a $6 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide financing for farmers in Macedonia.
Parker, who is chair and CEO of American Airlines Group, will receive the Professional Achievement Award for his accomplishments in the airline industry, where he has been credited with record revenue growth and operational performance.
The Young Professional Achievement Award will be presented to Smith, a former senior White House adviser for education. She was twice named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list and now serves as strategy director for the Lumina Foundation, where she develops new models for student financial support in higher education.
—MATT ANDERSON