Distributed October 4, 2002
For Immediate Release

News Service Contact: Kristen Cole



2002 alumni awards

Former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria receives top alumni award

The Brown Alumni Association presented its highest honor, the William Rogers Award, to William H. Twaddell ’63, U.S. ambassador to Nigeria from 1997 to 2001, during the 19th annual Alumni Recognition Ceremony Saturday, Sept. 28, 2002.


PROVIDENCE, R.I. — William H. Twaddell, former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, received the Brown Alumni Association’s highest honor – the William Rogers Award – during the 19th annual Alumni Recognition Ceremony, Sept. 28, 2002. The annual Brown Bear and Alumni Service Awards, as well as several other honors, were also presented during the ceremony.

The William Rogers Award, established in 1984, is named for the first student and graduate of Brown. Following his graduation in 1769, William Rogers served as vice president of the Society for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery and of the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons. The Rogers Award honors an alumnus or alumna whose professional work and service to humanity exemplifies the charge of the Brown Charter to live a life of “usefulness and reputation.”

William H. Twaddell

Appointed U.S. ambassador to Nigeria by President Clinton in 1997, William H. Twaddell oversaw an era of improved relations between the two countries during his five-year term. He arrived in Nigeria during the waning days of a military oligarchy marked by corruption and civil war. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, with more than 100 million people, had been plagued by tribal schisms since gaining its independence from Great Britain in 1960. After Nigeria’s dictator Gen. Sani Abacha died in 1998, Twaddell was instrumental in working with the new government. He furthered development of a counter-narcotics pact for the country, which had become a major hub of narcotics production and distribution.

The son of a Brown linguistics professor, Twaddell enjoyed the excitement of living abroad. After graduating from Brown in 1963, he joined the Peace Corps, served in the U.S. Army, was a reporter for the New York Times and served in the Foreign Service. Twaddell now lives in Providence and remains active with the Nigeria Working Group, which seeks to further relations between members of the Corporate Council on Africa and their Nigerian private-sector counterparts.

The Brown Bear Awards

The Brown Alumni Association annually presents the Brown Bear Awards to alumni who have given outstanding personal service to the University over a period of years. Neither financial aid to the University nor professional achievement are considered. Each year an anonymous committee reviews nominations from alumni and staff and selects up to three recipients. This year’s recipients:

  • J. Richard Chambers ’69, of Nashville, Tenn., a former member of the Brown Alumni Association Board of Governors. He served as national chair of the Brown Fund, on class gift committees, and as class agent. Each year, he opens his home to students from the Nashville area who are just entering Brown.
  • Stephen R. Ehrlich ’55, of Short Hills, N.J., a trustee emeritus, who has served on numerous committees of the Brown Corporation. His financial expertise acquired as a leader on Wall Street helped to guide the Budget and Finance Committee, Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, and the Facilities and Design Committee.
  • Augustus A. White III ’57 also received an honorary degree in 1997. White, of Weston, Mass., served the Brown Corporation as a fellow and a trustee and was active on a number of key committees that helped guide the School of Medicine and the University’s minority affairs. An orthopedic surgeon, he has been an advocate for diversity in higher education and medicine.

The John Hope Award

Created by the Brown Alumni Association as part of its efforts to encourage public service, the John Hope Award is named for a 1894 African-American alumnus who dedicated his life to education and community service. With this award, the BAA honors a graduate whose career is dedicated to public service or a volunteer devoted to public service or social action. This year’s recipient is David E. Saltzman ’84, of New York City, a cofounder and executive director of Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to eradicating poverty in New York City. Founded in 1988, the foundation invests in New York agencies, schools and charities specializing in early-childhood development, youth education , job training, health care, hunger, housing and domestic violence.

The H. Anthony Ittleson ’60 Award

This award is given by the Brown Annual Fund to a volunteer or group of volunteers who best exemplify the extraordinary leadership of H. Anthony Ittleson ’60, national chair of the Brown Annual Fund from 1986 to 1990. This year’s recipients are Daniel and Brooke Neidich, of New York City, parents of a member of the Class of 2004; and Roy and Rosalind Neff, of Villanova, Pa., parents of members of the Classes of 2002 and 2005. The Neidichs and Neffs serve as co-chairs of the Parents Leadership Council.

The Alumni Service Award

The Alumni Service Awards are given annually for distinguished, continuing volunteer service to Brown. The committee considers volunteers’ spirit of cooperation and selflessness as the key criteria for these awards. This year’s recipients are:

  • Charles A. Andrews, Jr. ’51, of Providence, R.I.;
  • Bernard E. Bell ’42, of Providence, R.I.;
  • George H. Billings ’72, of Falmouth Mass.;
  • Genine Macks Fidler ’77 and Josh E. Fidler ’77, of Owings Mills, Md.;
  • Edward W. Hu ’87, of Los Angeles, Calif.;
  • Nancy Josephson Sanitsky ’79 of Beverly Hills, Calf.

The Young Alumni Service Award

The Young Alumni Service Award, established in 1999, recognizes alumni graduating in the last 10 years whose early volunteer service for Brown sets an example for their peers, helps to keep other young alumni involved with Brown, and shows promise for continued service and leadership in the future. The 2002 Young Alumni Service Award was presented to Joelle Murchison Hayes ’95 of Hartford, Conn., a contributor to BAA’s Alumni Careers and Networking Committee.

The Spotlight Awards

Originally created within the Brown Alumni Schools Committees program as a way to highlight just a few of the thousands of BASC members who work hard for Brown every year, this award has been expanded over time to highlight exemplary projects or service in any area in support of Brown. Both individuals and organizations may be recognized through this award. The 2001 Spotlight Award recipients are:

  • Joan Miller Brown ’76, of West Allenhurst, N.J.;
  • John C. Campbell ’85, of Madera, Calif.;
  • Kenneth A. Citak ’82, of Englewood Cliffs, N.J.;
  • H. Carleton Clinch ’72, of Ridgewood, N.J.;
  • D. Porpoise Evans ’93, of Miami Shores, Fla.;
  • Frederick P. Koontz ’85, of Tulsa, Okla.;
  • John Carroll ’84, of Chattanooga, Tenn.;
  • Russell E. Rotondo ’80, ’85 M.D., of Knoxville, Tenn.;
  • Jay C. Candelmo ’99, of Worcester, Mass.;
  • Eugene F. Tortolani ’52, of Barrington, R.I.;
  • Pamela D. Gerrol ’87, of Newtonville, Mass.;
  • Barbara Perrino Piscuskas ’56, East Sandwich, Mass.;
  • Norman A. Sieman ’78, of Newton, Mass.

Also receiving Spotlight Awards were the Delt Foundation, the Brown University Latino Alumni Council, and the Inman Page Black Alumni Council.

The Brown Alumni Association (BAA) is the official, independent organization of Brown alumni, encompassing alumni of the undergraduate College, the Graduate School, and the Brown Medical School. The BAA’s mission is to keep alumni connected to the richness of Brown so that they will always be a part of the life of the University.

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