Alumni Awards
Distinguished Alumni Award
Do you know Boise State alumni who are worthy of recognition for their career or personal accomplishments? The Boise State Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award is an outstanding form of recognition. You are invited to submit a nomination and help to grow the impressive list of honorees.
The Alumni Association selects three Distinguished Alumni Award winners who bring honor and glory to Boise State based on a record of outstanding accomplishments in their chosen profession. The award recipients are honored at an awards ceremony and gala during Homecoming week.
Congratulations Alumni Award Recipients of 2009!
Standing from left to right: Dr. Kustra, James Kerns, Barbara Buchan,
Jennifer Williams, Trent Johnson
Sitting from left to right:
Susie Schumacher, Tom Beitia
- Barbara Buchan, '78
- Trent Johnson, '83
- James Kerns, '82
- Jennifer Williams, '77
At 52 years of age, Barbara Buchan, a 1978 Boise State graduate in athletic training/teaching, was the oldest member of the 2008 United States Paralympic team. That didn't stop her from winning two gold medals for her disability class in the individual 3,000-meter cycling pursuit and in the individual time trial. Buchan had dreamed of Olympic fame as a teenager growing up in Mountain Home. She was the 1972 state championship in the mile while a student at Mountain Home High School and ran track at Boise State. After taking up cycling, she quickly became one of the nation's best and was a contender for the United States Olympic team. But while competing in a qualifier for the World Championship in 1982, she was involved in a crash that shattered her skull and left her in a coma. Despite a grueling rehabilitation and permanent brain injuries, she persisted in her goal. In 1988, she won silver in the 800 meter run at the Paralympics in Seoul, Korea. Since there was still no women's cycling at the 2000 Paralympics, she raced against male cyclists and finished ninth and 10th in two races. In 2008, she brought home her gold medals. Today, Buchan, who lives in Bend, Ore., is the director of Team USabled, a non-profit organization for disabled children.
Trent Johnson graduated from Boise State in 1986 with a degree in physical education and played for the men's basketball team from 1974-1978. In 2008, he was named head coach of the Louisiana State University Tigers men's basketball team, becoming the first African American head coach of a men's sports team at LSU. Johnson won the SEC COY award during his first season after compiling a 13-3 regular season record to win the conference title outright. His 26-7 overall record, along with the SEC title, earned his team its first NCAA tournament berth since 2006. Previously, Johnson was head coach at Stanford and Nevada. Both his 2004 Nevada and 2008 Stanford teams reached the NCAA Sweet 16 and he has been named Coach of the Year in both the Western Athletic Conference and Pac-10 Conferences and was a finalist this season for both the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award and the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year. He was the only head coach in Stanford history to guide the Cardinal to the postseason in each of his first four seasons.
After earning his degree in criminal justice administration from Boise State in 1982, James Kerns went to work for the Boise Police Department, where he is currently deputy chief of operations. In this role, he oversees a $45 million budget, more than 300 sworn officers and all the department's patrol, investigative and community outreach functions. Prior to that, as captain in 2004, Kerns led the effort to reform alcohol policies during the summer float season on the Boise River, and to clean up the environment in and along the water. Over the years he has represented the BPD at the 2002 National Governor's Conference, Boise Y2K preparations and the 1996-2003 Boise River Festivals. Kerns also is active in the community, helping with the BPD Bigs 'n Blue Program, with Big Brothers and Big Sisters and with the "Shop with a Cop" program. He is best known for his efforts with Special Olympics, where he serves as the Law Enforcement Torch Run state director. Kerns led the Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg for the recent World Winter Games, which led teams of international athletes through 55 Idaho cities over two weeks.
Jennifer Williams, who graduated from Boise State with a master's degree in secondary education, art emphasis, in 1977, recently retired as a high school art teacher. That doesn't mean she's taking it easy. Williams is author of a textbook titled "Art 2" and still teaches art classes at Boise State, where she oversees the Art Department's student teachers and continues to travel to the state's smallest rural schools with her celebrated Project Van Go. The mobile art workshop was created in the early 1970s to provide art education to rural schools with the help of William's high school and college students. The outreach program is aimed at students, parents and other teachers in remote areas who would not otherwise have that exposure. Over the years, William's students also created more than 2,500 murals, including projects at Zoo Boise, the Idaho Humane Society and the American Red Cross. For these and other efforts, Williams won the 2000 Governor's Award in the Arts, was named Teacher of the Year twice by the Mountain Home School District, the US West Outstanding Teacher, Idaho Art Teacher of the Year three times, Skyview High School Teacher of the Year and Idaho Teacher of the Year, among other state and national awards. Former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne proclaimed Feb. 19, 2000, as Jennifer Williams Day in her honor.
Alumni Service Award
The Alumni Association will select up to two Alumni Service Award recipients whose extraordinary interest in the University, demonstrated through dedicated volunteer service to the Alumni Association or Boise State, serve as an inspiration to the campus community.
Alumni Service Award Nomination Form
Congratulations! 2009 Alumni Service Award Recipient
- Tom Beitia, '84, '87
- Susie Schumacher, '85, '00, '05
Tom Beitia started his relationship with Boise State when he lived on campus in Chaffee Hall in 1980. The Bronco Advocate who often describes himself as "just a boy from Gooding, Idaho," completed his education with two bachelor's degrees and an MBA, and he still spends an extraordinary amount of time on campus as a volunteer. While his day job finds him leading Banner Bank's Cash Management Division as senior vice president, Tom currently serves as a Boise State Foundation board member and a member-at-large for the newly established Past Alumni Leaders Chapter. He began his alumni board service in 2001 and, through the years, held positions including secretary, vice president, president, chair of the alumni homecoming float committee, and volunteer extraordinaire for the Future Alumni Network Club (formerly SAA). Tom has been a stalwart supporter of the Bronco Advocacy Network, the Auction, the Top Ten Scholars Banquet, and most other alumni events. Tom is a lifetime Alumni Association member.
One year after finishing her associate's degree from Boise State, Susie Schumacher started her career at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Twenty-three years and two more degrees later, Susie continues her work for St. Al's as the revenue integrity officer. Her primary work responsibilities lie in overseeing organizational compliance with federal and state coding and billing regulations relating to healthcare. Her Boise State commitments span almost as many years. Susie started her Alumni Association Board service in 1998 and, after moving through committee posts and leadership chairs, was elected president in 2006. Her university volunteer service continues in the capacity of advisory board member for the Master of Health Science Advisory Board, and the Student Union Board of Governors. She was elected to the position of secretary for the Past Alumni Leaders Chapter in early 2009 and is an avid Bronco sports fan and a lifetime Alumni Association member.
View Past Distinguished Alumni Award and Alumni Service Award Recipients