UK Alumni Association announces service awards

The University of Kentucky Alumni Association Distinguished Service Awards and Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award are presented annually to honor and recognize those who have provided extraordinary service to the university and the association. The 2020 recipients were recognized during the recent UK Alumni Association Board of Directors Summer Workshop.

2020 Distinguished Service Award Winners

The UK Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award is selected by the Alumni Service Awards Committee. Nominees for this prestigious award should have demonstrated a history of diligent work for the UK Alumni Association and/or a local alumni club; contributed to the accomplishments of the UK Alumni Association and/or a local alumni club; provided leadership and dedication to university and association programs; provided meaningful service to alumni and friends of the university, community and profession; and earned at least 12 credit hours.

This year’s Distinguished Service Award winners are:

Mike Anderson resides in Greenville, Indiana, and graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He is the vice president of operations for Churchill Downs Incorporated in Louisville. Anderson is a Life Member of the UK Alumni Association and a member of the Wildcat Society. He served two terms as the president of the Greater Louisville UK Alumni Club and previously served as the club’s treasurer and vice president. Anderson stays involved in all facets of the club, including development, events, book awards, scholarship management, accounting and planning. Anderson has been a member of the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2018 and served on the Club Development and Membership committees.

Dr. Eli Capilouto is in his ninth year as the 12th president of the University of Kentucky.

Under his leadership, the $4.4 billion flagship and land-grant research university has gained significant momentum in fulfilling its multi-faceted mission of teaching, research, service and health care. Over the last seven years, the university has completed, initiated or authorized many construction projects including 14 new residence halls, several dining facilities, the construction of the Bill Gatton Student Center, the expansion of the Gatton College of Business and Economics and the renovation of the J. David Rosenberg College of Law, to name a few. He has led a process to enrich UK’s academic experience by increasing institutional investments in student financial aid, developing the Lewis Honors College, expanding Living Learning Communities and rebuilding academic and community spaces. Due to these innovative and remarkably successful initiatives, the university has experienced record retention and graduation rates during his tenure, in addition to unprecedented diversity and overall enrollment, surpassing the 30,000 student threshold for the first time in the institution’s history. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. Capilouto previously served as provost of the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) and dean of the UAB School of Public Health — a period of remarkable growth and transformation at one of the leading academic and health sciences institutions in the South. He holds several undergraduate and graduate degrees from schools within the University of Alabama system, a doctor of medicine in dentistry from UAB and a doctorate in health policy and management from Harvard University.

Ruth Day resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and earned a bachelor’s degree in

accounting from the University of Kentucky in 1985. She is chief information officer for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, heading up the Commonwealth Office of Technology, and is a member of the Governor’s executive cabinet. She was previously vice president for administrative services at Landstar System Inc., a transportation services corporation. She is a member of the Capital Campaign Committee, was chairwoman of the Great Teacher/Scholarship Committee, and has served on the Nominating for Board and Club Development committees. She is a Life Member of the UK Alumni Association, a UK Fellow, a Wildcat Society member and a member of UK Women and Philanthropy. She was inducted into the Gatton College of Business and Economics Hall of Fame in 2012 and is a member of the Gatton Dean’s Advisory Board, Business and Economics Accounting Advisory Board and Women’s Business Leaders-Gatton.

Jane Cobb Pickering resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and earned a bachelor’s degree

in education from the University of Kentucky in 1974. Pickering founded the Chattanooga UK Alumni Club in 1996 and served three terms as the club’s president. She prepares the club newsletter, which is sent at least bi-monthly to approximately 200 recipients; hosts and cooks for the club’s annual Kentucky Derby party; helps with student send-offs and hosts football and basketball game watch parties. She is a Life Member of the UK Alumni Association, a member of the Wildcat Society and a member of UK Women and Philanthropy. Pickering has been a member of the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2014, where she has served on the Great Teacher Awards/Scholarship, Diversity and Communications committees, and was the assistant chairwoman for the Club Development committee. She is also a member of the president’s club.

Fritz Skeen resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He earned a bachelor’s degree in

business administration in 1972 and an MBA in 1973 from the University of Kentucky. He served as president of the UK Alumni Association from 2018-19. Skeen was chairman of the Great Teacher Awards/Scholarship, vice-chairman of the Alumni Service Awards and vice-chairman of the Budget, Finance and Investments committees. He has also served as treasurer and president-elect of the UK Alumni Association and on the Membership Committee. He and two fellow UK graduates restarted the Jacksonville UK Alumni Club, where he continues to serve on the board. During his 30-year career with IBM Corp., Skeen held a variety of sales, marketing and executive positions, including regional manager in Los Angeles, director mid-range systems and group director – telecommunications product marketing in Westchester County, New York, and general manager – greater Chicago. Skeen is a Life Member of the UK Alumni Association, a Wildcat Society member, a UK Fellow, a member of the K Fund and returns to campus to play tuba in the UK Alumni Band. He is a member of Phi Sigma Kappa and was president of the UK chapter when he was a student. Skeen is the immediate past President of Sawgrass Country Club. While President of the club he was named Distinguished Club President of the year by Boardroom Magazine.

Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award

The Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award is named for a long-time UK administrator who spent the better part of his/her life in service to UK students.

A nominee for this award must be an alumna or alumnus who is a member of the UK Alumni Association, is 35 years of age or younger at the time of nomination and has worked on behalf of young people through the university, the association, their alumni club or in the local community.

In addition, the nominees must have a history of raising funds for scholarships and/or awarding scholarships for students to attend UK; worked with local high school students through club-sponsored events and/or preview nights to interest students in attending UK; worked to educate youth in the local community through tutoring, coaching or other means to keep them interested in learning; and assisted in efforts to support the student alumni association through mentoring or other means.

This year’s Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award winner is Erin Carr Logan.

Erin Carr Logan resides in Seattle and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from

the University of Kentucky in 2006. She is a category and program management leader for Amazon Inc. She restarted the Pacific Northwest UK Alumni Club and has served as its president since 2015. Under her leadership, the club started a scholarship fund and has expanded alumni activities to western Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The club has been recognized for Outstanding Contribution to Alumni Engagement for new events including an NBA event, shared with other alumni clubs nationally, a Major League Soccer event and joint SEC watch parties in Seattle. As a student, Logan was president of the Accounting Club, a Gatton Ambassador and a Top 100 Campus Leader. She served as chairwoman of the Student Development Council Phonathon and Inter Greek Programming Assembly Greek Week, was on the Kappa Kappa Gamma Scholarship Committee and served as a founding member of Student Association of Fundraising Professionals. Logan was a student caller for UK Philanthropy, raising more than $100,000 in alumni support and earning the highest average pledge, highest dollars per hour and highest upgrade percentage.

For more information on the awards, and to see past winners, visit www.ukalumni.net/awards. Recipients will be recognized in-person next summer at the UK Alumni Association’s 2021 Summer Workshop. This year’s Summer Workshop was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic.