Posted: Tuesday, February 14, 2017

The University of Evansville Alumni Association has announced the recipients of its annual Alumni Awards for 2017. The awards are given to alumni who have achieved personal success and contributed exceptional services to their community and to the University.

This year’s recipients are Paul Jones, Rami Malek, Carol Dallinger, and Don and Martha Fischer. Dallinger and the Fischers will receive their awards at the University’s 163rd Founders Day luncheon at noon on Sunday, February 19, in Eykamp Hall, Ridgway University Center. Jones and Malek will receive their awards at a later date.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award will be given to Paul Jones, a 1971 industrial engineering graduate of UE. Jones enjoyed a very successful career in both engineering and business. He is the retired chairman and CEO of A.O. Smith Corporation, and served on that corporation’s board. He was chairman and chief executive officer of U.S. Can Company, Inc., and president and chief executive officer of Greenfield Industries, Inc. A member of UE’s Board of Trustees, Jones chairs its international engagement committee. He was instrumental in creating partnerships between UE and A.O. Smith, benefiting business and engineering students. He has also assisted in recruiting students to UE from A.O. Smith’s production facility in China. He and his wife Pat made the lead gifts to the University’s recent library renovation and Hyde Hall project. They gave $1 million to UE’s new engineering equipment fund and support UE athletics. 

Malek will be honored with the Young Alumnus Award. He has been a working actor since graduating from UE in 2003 and returning to his hometown of Los Angeles, California. He steadily built his television and film work into a starring role in the critically acclaimed television series, Mr. Robot. In recognition of his work on that series, Malek received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and a Critics’ Choice Award. He has also received a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and TCA Award nominations. While continuing to work on Mr. Robot, he is slated to star in two major film releases: a remake of Papillon and Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Dallinger will be given the Samuel Orr Honorary Alumnus Award in recognition of her many years of dedication and service to the University and its Department of Music. Her influence has been felt by generations of string students from Suzuki students to UE students to alumni. Dallinger has served on the music faculty at UE since 1972 and is the founder and coordinator of the University’s Suzuki Violin program. Dallinger has been recognized for her many contributions to teaching with the UE Alumni Association’s Outstanding Teacher Award in 1995 and the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s award in 2000.

The Fischers will be given the Edith Bates Volunteer Service Award. In 2012, Martha Fischer retired from UE after working as the insurance specialist in the University’s human resources office for many years. Don Fischer, a 1968 graduate of UE, is retired from the US Air Force and the City of Evansville. Since retirement, both Fischers have been full-time volunteers for UE. Together they serve the athletics department coordinating all insurance claims. Their countless hours of volunteer service and expertise in health care administration enable the athletic training and administrative staffs to focus on other tasks related to the University’s student-athletes. The two also coordinate monthly meetings of UE’s emeriti faculty. They are wonderful examples of truly dedicated UE volunteers. 

The designer and creator of this year’s award is 2003 UE graduate Matthew Gaddie of Louisville, Kentucky. The owner of The Meadows studio, he also recently produced the Governor’s Awards in the Arts for the State of Kentucky. 

For more information about the Founders Day luncheon, contact UE’s Office of Alumni and Parent Relations at 812-488-2586 or alumni@evansville.edu.  

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