Four distinguished members of the USI community were honored at the Alumni Association’s Graduation Celebration in May. The 2006 Alumni Association Award recipients are Suzanne A. Nicholson, Special Recognition Award; Jeannette Maier-Lytle ’88, MBA ’95, Faculty Recognition Award; Donita F. Wolf ’83, Alumni Service Award; and John M. Lawrence ’73, Distinguished Alumni Award.

Special Recognition Award
Suzanne A. Nicholson

Nicholson, director of Development and president of the USI Foundation, has advanced the University and its resources substantially since she joined USI in 1986. Over the past 20 years she has guided the growth and evolution of the Foundation and the Development Office in its mission to provide financial support for USI. She is responsible for creating a comprehensive program for donor cultivation, recognition, and communication.

Under her leadership, the assets of the USI Foundation have grown to over $52.8 million, receiving gifts from approximately 5,000 donors annually. Today more than 750 Foundation scholarships, totaling over $750,000, are awarded each year to deserving USI students.

Her organization and marketing skills resulted in USI’s first successful capital campaign. Campaign USI, a bold fund-raising initiative, concluded with current gifts and pledges of more than $18 million, and an additional $6 million in deferred gifts.

Nicholson extends her talents to many community activities and currently serves on the First Presbyterian Church of Evansville Board of Trustees, the Burdette Park Advisory Board, and the Martha and Merritt deJong Foundation. She will retire this August and plans to travel and spend time with her family, including five granddaughters.

Faculty Recognition Award
Jeannette Maier-Lytle ’88, MBA ’95

Maier-Lytle, instructor in accounting, immediately became involved on campus after she joined USI in 1997. She is a dedicated educator whose caring personality, combined with her expertise as a teacher and advisor, have gained her the enduring respect of her students and colleagues.

In addition to developing and teaching accounting courses, Maier-Lytle has coached and mentored USI accounting students competing in the Indiana CPA Society Case Study Competition. Her team of students captured the state title in 2004 and 2005, successfully competing against other top Indiana universities. USI has competed for five years, placing among the final six teams in four of the five years.

Her current research efforts focus on cost behavior in manufacturing and health care facilities, with particular emphasis on activity-based costing. She received the USI College of Business Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2000 and 2002 and the Faculty Award for Excellence in Service in 2005.

She and her husband Gary reside in Lynnville with their children, Kelsea, Adam, Alexander, and Austin.

Alumni Service Award
Donita F. Wolf ’83

Wolf personifies the Alumni Association’s mission to serve and develop a committed body of alumni dedicated to promoting and enhancing the excellence and reputation of the University. She served as president of the USI Alumni Association 2003-04, treasurer 2002-03, and Alumni Council member from 2000-05. A member of the USI Foundation Board from 2003-2005, she is a member of the Alumni Major Gifts Committee, past chair of the Alumni Annual Fund Campaign, and a Phonathon volunteer. Additionally, she has provided leadership to Advocates for Higher Education, Career Mentor and Day on the Job programs, and to the Alumni committees of Special Events and Alumni Travel.

One of USI’s most ardent cheerleaders and volunteers, she continuously spreads the word of USI and its programs to the community and area students.

Wolf is broker/owner of Century 21 Donita Wolf Realty. She is a former president of the Evansville Area Association of Realtors and the Indiana Women’s Council of Realtors. Donita and her husband Donald live in rural Mount Vernon. They have four children and two grandsons.

Distinguished Alumni Award
John M. Lawrence ’73

Conferral of the Distinguished Alumni Award provides recognition to a graduate who has made outstanding achievements in career or in public service. Lawrence, this year’s recipient, has distinguished himself as a scholar, collector, and preserver of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and books.

An Evansville native and Memorial High School graduate, Lawrence is an international expert on ancient manuscripts. His interest in manuscripts includes art, art history, history, music, and spirituality to language. He examines ink, paint, scribing, to determine the manuscripts’ origin and meaning and advises individuals on the handling and conservation of old or rare books and manuscripts. While Lawrence stores his collection under controlled temperatures in vaults, he believes that the items are meant to be seen and appreciated and shares them in public exhibitions.

Lawrence established the Scavone Awards in Medieval Manuscripts and Culture to encourage and recognize student and faculty research and works in the field. Nursing students at USI will benefit from the Melissa Faye Lawrence Endowed Memorial Nursing Scholarship that he created to honor his late wife.

A 1973 USI accounting graduate and certified public accountant, Lawrence was a forensic accountant for the U.S. Treasury Department for over 30 years, living in Wooster, Ohio. In demand as a speaker, he is widely published in his field. He also is a former faculty member at University of Akron and College of Wooster. Since his official retirement, he now consults for individuals and major U.S. corporations. He resides in Evansville.