The 2024 Gustavus Adolphus Alumni Association award winners (L–R): Randall "Randy" Richert ’85, Denise “Dennie” Gordon ’74, Jamesetta “Jamie” Alexander Newland ’72, Ari Silkey ’99, and Stephanie Swanson ’14.
The Gustavus Adolphus College Alumni Association Board of Directors has named two Gustavus alumni as recipients of the College’s 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award and recognized three others for their contributions to their respective fields. The recipients were recognized at the annual Alumni Association Awards Celebration on Friday, October 11.
The Distinguished Alumni Citation recipients are Jamesetta Alexander Newland ‘72 and Randall Richert ‘85. This honor recognizes outstanding and exceptional career achievement of graduates of the College and includes criteria such as the difficulty of accomplishment; quality, creativity, and distinctiveness of performance; humanitarian achievements; recognition by peers; and lasting contribution to the world of ideas and affairs.
In addition, the Alumni Association Board has given Dennie Gordon ‘74 the Golden Anniversary Award, Ari Silkey ‘99 the Silver Anniversary Award, and Stephanie Swanson ‘14 the First Decade Award. Each of these honor the recipients’ “outstanding and exceptional” achievements at various stages of their post-graduate careers.
The Board also named Stephen Bennett, Gift Planner in Advancement, and Richard Leitch, Associate Professor in Political Science, as this year’s “Honorary Gusties.” This award recognizes those who, while not having graduated from or attended Gustavus, are formally considered bona fide “Gusties” by the Alumni Board because of their length of dedicated service to, interest in, and enthusiastic support for the College as professor, instructor, teacher, administrator, coach, staff member, clergy, parent, friend, or spouse of a graduate.
To determine each year’s honorees, the Board works with the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement to review nominations from classmates and fellow alumni, faculty, staff, and others. The Recognition Committee of the Board carefully reviews nominees, researches their backgrounds, and thoroughly evaluates their accomplishments before narrowing the field to a proposed slate of winners. The Committee then brings their recommendations to the full Board for another round of review and discussion and a final vote. “Every year we take on this monumental task of evaluating extremely qualified candidates in a number of different categories,” Deb Johnson Rosenberg ‘79, President of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, told the assembled guests. “This process reinforces the foundations of the Gustavus education and its ability to propel our grads to amazing adventures here and around the world. I can quite honestly say that every year we are totally blown away by what our fellow alumni have accomplished.”
The career highlights of each of the 2024 honorees are outlined below. To learn more about the Alumni Awards, visit gustavus.edu/alumni.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI CITATIONS
Jamesetta “Jamie” Alexander Newland ‘72 — Distinguished Alumni Award
Jamesetta “Jamie” Alexander Newland is a highly accomplished medical professional, teacher, and administrator. She is considered an expert in Nurse Practitioner education whose services have been sought internationally by schools of nursing in Botswana, China, Japan, and Lithuania. She has earned many awards for her outstanding contributions to the nursing profession and for her leadership in education management, practice, and research. She also has numerous scholarly publications and serves as the editor-in-chief of The Nurse Practitioner, a highly respected peer-reviewed clinical journal for nurse practitioners.
Randall “Randy” Richert ‘85 — Distinguished Alumni Award
Randall “Randy” Richert is a retired Colonel in the US Air Force. As a member of the Air Force for 28 years, he served in numerous leadership positions in missions around the world and at home, receiving several awards and commendations. He holds multiple degrees, including an MS in criminology and an MA in defense studies from Canberra University, Australia, and has taught as an adjunct professor at two universities. He also has served in first responder roles, including as a New Jersey firefighter, as a city marshal for Bossier City, LA, and as a deputy sheriff in St. Clair County, IL. He has simultaneously had a long football coaching career at the international, professional, college, and high school levels and has returned to Gustavus several times over the years to speak to the football team.
OTHER ALUMNI AWARDS
Denise “Dennie” Gordon ‘74 — Golden Anniversary Award
Dennie Gordon has been a trailblazing director her entire career, which has spanned the worlds of feature films, television series, miniseries, and branded content. Her range of genre-busting entertainment spans an unusual spectrum of comedy and drama. After leaving Gustavus, she graduated from Yale’s School of Drama with an MFA in directing and later directed network television, feature films, and commercials, winning awards in every sector. Among her more well-known credits are Ally McBeal, Legion, Grace & Frankie, The Office, 30 Rock, What a Girl Wants, and many others.
Ari Silkey ‘99 — Silver Anniversary Award
Ari currently serves as the General Manager of North American Surface Transportation at Amazon. He has been recognized as an innovative thought leader devoted to providing Amazon with leadership and innovative solutions that will help decarbonize the organization’s fleet and achieve its goal of net-zero carbon by 2040. He has led the successful development and deployment of more than 100 products that have positively impacted transportation safety, productivity, and sustainability. He also serves on multiple boards and councils focused on designing and shaping the future of technology in transportation.
Stephanie Swanson ‘14 — First Decade Award
Stephanie graduated from Gustavus with a degree in Communications and Political Science, holds a Masters in Public Health from UMass Amherst, and is currently the director of the Providers Clinical Support System Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder at the American Society of Addiction Medicine in Washington, DC. During her career, she has managed numerous projects that address substance use prevention and has written and secured several multi-million dollar grants that culminated in a partnership with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has served in several leadership positions, setting strategic direction and providing leadership to federally funded overdose preparedness and response projects, and she also has served as a subject matter expert on substance use prevention.
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Media Contact: Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad
luch@gustavus.edu
507-933-7510