Gov. Dayton to be recognized as Advocate of the Year by University of Minnesota Oct. 20 Alumni Association

Also honored will be top volunteers, groups and programs

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/12/2011) —The University of Minnesota Alumni Association will honor its outstanding alumni volunteers, groups and programs Thursday, Oct. 20 at the 2011 Alumni Awards Celebration in the McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis. The event begins with a 5:30 p.m. reception, followed by a 6 p.m. dinner and program.

“The University of Minnesota community benefits in many ways from the valuable contributions of its dedicated alumni, and we are honored to annually recognize individuals who devote their time and talent to promote the university,” said Phil Esten, president and chief executive officer of the Alumni Association.

This year, in addition to the annual awards presented, Gov. Mark Dayton will be awarded the Advocate of the Year award for his efforts to preserve funding to the University of Minnesota and emphasize its pivotal role within the state.

“Gov. Dayton has time and again demonstrated his passion for higher education, and he has gone above and beyond in advocating for the University of Minnesota this past year,” Esten said.

Six groups and three additional individuals will receive Alumni Association awards in recognition of contributing to the mission of the association by connecting alumni, students and friends in support of the university during the past year. For outstanding overall programming, the Outstanding Alumni Society award goes to the College of Pharmacy Alumni Society and the Outstanding Alumni Chapter award goes to Arizona West Valley.

Receiving Program Extraordinaire awards for outstanding and creative, innovative and engaging activities are the College of Design Alumni Society; the College of Liberal Arts Alumni Society; the College of Education and Human Development Alumni Society; and the Southwest Florida Chapter.

The Faculty/Staff Volunteer of the Year award goes to Roger Caspers from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. Student Volunteer of the Year awards will go to Katrina Sacchetti from the College of Pharmacy and Hannah Rusch from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.

The University of Minnesota Alumni Association is a nearly 60,000-member organization dedicated to engaging the University of Minnesota’s global community to support and advance the university’s excellence. , visit www.MinnesotaAlumni.org.

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• Last modified on October 12, 2011