Six Graduates Honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards

From left: Gloria Snyder, David Walt, Kevin Law, President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., Scott Abrams, Diane Brink, and Christine Goerke

Six prominent graduates of Stony Brook University have been named recipients of the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Awards, which represent the Stony Brook Alumni Association’s highest honor.

The 2010 honorees are: Scott Abrams (B.E. ’80), founder and president of The Omnicon Group; Diane Brink (B.S. ’80), vice president of marketing and strategy for IBM’s Global Technology Services; Christine Goerke (B.A. ’94), a Grammy Award-winning soprano; Kevin Law (B.A. ’82), president and CEO of the Long Island Association; Hyun-Soon Lee (M.S. ’79, Ph.D. ’81), vice chairman of the Research and Development Division of the Hyundai Motor Company; and David Walt (Ph.D., ’79), the Robinson Professor of Chemistry and professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor.

In commending each of the alumni for their individual accomplishments and commitment to the greater community, Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., said: “Our current students look to distinguished graduates as models as they strive to maximize their professional abilities and find their way in life. Our distinguished alumni provide compelling demonstrations of what our students can do with their time at Stony Brook, their subsequent careers, and their places in the community. Each of these alumni inspires new generations to reach for greatness.”

President Stanley, Provost Eric Kaler, and CEAS Dean Yacov Shamash presented Hyun-Soon Lee with his Distinguished Alumni Award during their recent trip to Korea.

Gloria Snyder, president of the Stony Brook Alumni Association, noted that each individual honoree has made extraordinary contributions to the community, ranging from corporate and civic leadership to innovative research and artistic achievement. “As different as their paths to success have been, all of our recipients share a common bond,” said Snyder. “They all chose to transform talents into skills that make the most of their Stony Brook experiences. They all deserve special recognition for how well they used their time at the University as a foundation for discovering, reshaping, and enriching the world around them.”

Established in 1983, the Distinguished Alumni Awards recognize and pay tribute to outstanding Stony Brook University alumni who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the University and have exceptional achievements and careers that reflect the highest values embraced and promoted by both the Stony Brook University and the Stony Brook Alumni Association.