2013 CAA Recipients

Bowling Green State University is proud to recognize outstanding, notable and accomplished alumni at the

2013 College Alumni Awards

Please join us in congratulating the 2013 College Alumni Award recipients:

• Brad Brown ’81, College of Technology
• Richard Jeffrey ’70, Firelands
• Anthony Rucci ’72, ’76, ’78, College of Arts and Sciences
• Tom Stofac ’81, College of Health and Human Services
• Jennifer Winstel ’90, Schmidthorst College of Business
  
• Dr. Pamela Cross Young ’74, College of Education and Human Development
• William G. Zurkey ’77, College of Musical Arts

Meet the Awardees

Bradley Brown '81
College of Technology

Bradley Brown is the corporate accounts manager at Anderson & Vreeland where he develops national programs to drive sales of digital and consumable products. He has more than 20 years experience in results-driven leadership which has resulted in highly effective divisional, turnaround and vertical campaigns that drive revenues, profits and growth.

Prior to joining Anderson & Vreeland, Brown served as vice president for the national account and newspaper divisions and vice president for the national account division for Pitman Company. He achieved this after four years as national account manager. He is recognized for his business to business and corporate sales expertise, building vendor relationships, vertical sales acumen, developing customer relationships, working through delicate customer situations in both sales and receivable situations, and building cross-functional internal relationships between operations and finance.

Brown earned his bachelor’s in technology from Bowling Green State University.

Rick Jeffrey '70
Firelands

Rick Jeffrey is the Erie County Auditor in Sandusky, Ohio. Before winning the auditor seat, he was a leader in the Erie County business community with service at F. Leo Groff, Inc., Prepared Foods of Sandusky (Kraft/General Foods/Oscar Mayer), Gould Inc. – Elastomer Products Division, and president of Hartley Refuse Service, Inc.

Jeffrey has also served as chairman of the Erie County Chamber of Commerce, city commissioner of Sandusky and president of Rotary Club of Sandusky. His leadership has extended to a number of civic groups including the United Way, Providence Hospital, St. Mary Central Catholic High School, St. Mary’s Church and the Bay Area Officials Association. He has held leadership positions with YMCA International Management Council and the County Auditors Association of Ohio.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bowling Green State University.

Dr. Anthony Rucci '72 '76 '78 
College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Tony Rucci is professor of management at the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. He joined the college in 2006 following a 28-year career as an executive officer with three Fortune 100 companies. His professional roles have included: executive vice president and chief administrative officer, Cardinal Health; chairman of the board, Sears Mexico; executive vice president and chief administrative officer, Sears Roebuck and Co.; senior vice president, corporate strategy and business development, Baxter International; and chief executive officer, Ohio State University Physicians, Inc.

Rucci served as business dean and tenured professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He has also taught at Bowling Green State University and the University of Texas, Dallas. Rucci has published more than 25 articles and book chapters and has been cited and interviewed in major media including USA Today, Fast Company, Smart Money and the Wall Street Journal. He has received numerous honors and awards, including: the 2012, 2010, 2009 and 2008 Outstanding Executive MBA/MBA/Graduate /Undergraduate Professor Awards from the Fisher College; the 2008 Distinguished Executive Award from the Academy of Management; and an inducted Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources.

Rucci holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in industrial and organizational psychology from Bowling Green State University.

Tom Stofac '81
College of Health and Human Services

Tom Stofac is chief executive officer of the Ohio Masonic Home, an aging services company that serves nearly 750 residents on campuses in Springfield, Waterville and Medina, Ohio. They also provide community-based services to more than 1,700 clients in various locations across the state.

With 30 years of experience in the long-term care industry, Stofac is known as a visionary leader, strong strategic facilitator, innovative thinker and a cultural change agent. As the top executive for the Ohio Masonic Home, he is responsible for the long-term guidance, direction and success of the organization. Prior to joining the company in April 2011, Stofac was the president of Stofac Consulting, LLC. Previously he was president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio. He has also served the senior care industry in Minnesota, Massachusetts and North Dakota.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Stofac earned his bachelor’s degree in gerontology from Bowling Green State University.

Jennifer J. Winstel '90
College of Business  

Jennifer J. Winstel has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, much of it on Wall Street. She has spent the last 10 years employed by the largest bank in Canada, the Royal Bank of Canada, as the head of U.S. Institutional Equity Sales. Prior to this position, Winstel rose to head of Middle Market Institutional Sales for the U.S. Markets for RBC Capital Markets.

Winstel is recognized for her expert ability to elicit, perceive and resolve critical issues affecting organizational performance. She is successful in building, motivating and leading highly profitable teams while managing profit and loss for optimal results. She also brings her strengths in fiscal analysis/management, fundraising and risk control to a number of educational and cultural organizations in her community of Charlotte, North Carolina and is currently working on building a charter school serving an underprivileged community.

Winstel earned her bachelor’s in business administration from Bowling Green State University and completed executive education for the financial services industry at the Securities Industry Institute at Wharton.

Dr. Pamela Cross Young '74
College of Education and Human Development

Dr. Pam Young is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and director of accreditation for the School of Education and Allied Professions at the University of Dayton. She joined the University of Dayton as the director of accreditation in 2005 after serving more than 30 years as a public school administrator. During her career she served as director of curriculum and instruction, director of staff development, building administrator, teacher and university adjunct instructor. She retired as an associate superintendent for the Ohio Department of Education.

While an administrator in Springfield, Young became the state of Ohio’s second Ohio Milken National Educator Awardee and was president of the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators. In 2010, she received the University of Dayton School of Education and Allied Professions Service Award. Her varied service and leadership efforts include chair of Community Mercy Health Partners Board of Directors, member of BGSU College of Education and Human Development Advocate Board, past vice president of the Catholic Central School Board of Trustees and past president of the Springfield Arts Council.

Young holds a B.S. Ed. from Bowling Green State University; an M.Ed. from Mansfield State University, Mansfield, Penn.; and a Ph.D. from the University of Dayton.

William G. Zurkey '77
College of Musical Arts

William G. Zurkey has been director of choral activities at Avon Lake High School for the past 26 years. His choirs have been selected to perform at nine Ohio Music Education Association Professional Conferences and at the Midwest Kodaly Music Educators Regional Convention. Long active in Ohio public school music, Zurkey has served OMEA as a District Honors Choir festival guest conductor, state chair for the All-State Choir, and regional chair of the All-State Choir.

He is currently the president of the Ohio Choral Directors Association and on the ACDA Central Division Board. Last summer, Zurkey was hired to create and direct the new Cleveland Pops Orchestra Chorus. He has served on the Ohio Department of Education curriculum writing team for the fine arts academic standards in music, and is currently an ODE-certified mentor. Zurkey has also been director of the Senior Honors Chorale at the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music Outreach Program and served as an adjunct faculty of music education at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where he directed the Women’s Chorale.

Zurkey holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Bowling Green State University, a Master of Music from Cleveland State University, and has completed work in doctoral studies at Kent State University.