The Excelsior College Alumni Leadership Council annually confers awards to graduates who have made substantial personal, professional, and community contributions. The Office of Alumni Affairs today announced recipients for the 2018 Alumni Achievement Award, Carrie B. Lenburg Award and C. Wayne Williams Award. The recipients are Robert S. Smith from Lewisville, Texas (Alumni Achievement Award), Roger L. Parrino Sr. from Bellerose, New York (C. Wayne Williams Award), and Shirley Jones from Noblesville, Indiana (Carrie B. Lenburg Award).
The awards will be presented on July 12, 2018 at the Albany Capital Center, Albany, New York, during Convocation. On July 13, hundreds of graduates will convene in downtown Albany for Excelsior College’s 47th Annual Commencement at the Empire State Plaza Convention Hall.
The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes outstanding academic, professional, personal, and community contributions that are representative of our graduates. This year’s recipient is Robert S. Smith ’85, DHSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, a graduate whose achievements serve as a role model to inspire other graduates and students.
Smith is a primary health care provider at Top Care Medical/Mi Doctor in Irving, Texas. He was the first in his family to earn a college degree. His associate degree from Excelsior College allowed him to be accepted into the Physician Assistant Program at University of California at Davis. Outside of work, Smith has coached sports, worked with Habitat for Humanity, volunteered with various church activities, a fellow with the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and served on the Board of the American Heart Association. He is the founder of Clinicas Mi Doctor and part of the PA Journal Club.
The C. Wayne Williams Award, named after Excelsior College’s first president, is presented in recognition of outstanding public service and community involvement by a graduate. This year’s recipient is Roger L. Parrino Sr. ’89.
Parrino is the commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2017. Previously, he served as senior counselor to the secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and completed 20 years of service with the New York City Police Department. He hopes his outstanding professional career in public service serves as a role model to inspire other graduates and students. Parrino is a member of the Defense Legal Policy Board, tasked by then Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. He is also a member of the Izaak Walton League of America and the Theodore Roosevelt Association. In 2017, Parrino received the DHS Distinguished Public Service Medal from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The Carrie B. Lenburg Award is presented to a nursing graduate who demonstrates a commitment to nursing education as well as academic and professional accomplishments in the field of nursing. The award is presented in memory of a visionary in the field of nursing education and former coordinator of the Regents College Nursing Program (now Excelsior). This year’s recipient is Shirley A. Jones ’11, ’15, MSEd, MHA, MSN, EMT-P, RN.
Jones is a nurse at Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis, Indiana. She received a master’s in nursing from Excelsior College in 2015 and an Associate in Science in Nursing from Excelsior College in 2011. She is a distinguished author and has been awarded first place for the American Medical Writers Association 1998 Medical Book Awards Competition. She was also awarded a 2013 Book of the Year by the American Journal of Nursing. In addition, she shares her expertise as a contributing medical expert on Sharecare.com, the online medical information platform created by WebMD founder Jeff Arnold and TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz.
The Excelsior College Alumni Association is a community of more than 168,000 lifelong learners from 50 states.