2009 Distinguished Alumni chosen

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2009 Distinguished Alumni chosen


These individuals will receive prestigious recognition from their alma mater for their accomplishments and achievements. They join 287 other alumni as part of the Sherwood O. Berg Distinguished Alumni Hall of Honor, located in the Tompkins Alumni Center. To register or for more information about the Banquet, click here.

Those being honored:
Jim BooherJim Booher MS '69 - Outstanding Service to SDSU

Booher’s resume goes on for pages, but he only needs one line for work experience: SDSU — 1967-2009. Booher was the first person that SDSU hired specifically as an athletic trainer, and he literally wrote the book on his profession. His two books—“Athletic Injury Assessment” and “Prevention and Care of Athletic Injuries”—have become the standard textbook at many institutions. He was one of the founders and the first president (1977-82) of the South Dakota Athletic Trainers Association.






Carrie ButheCarrie Buthe '04 - Outstanding Young Alumni

Buthe, a civil engineer with Banner Associates, caught the eye of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which named her one of the “Top Ten New Faces in Civil Engineering” in 2009.

She serves as a design engineer for the $500 million Lewis and Clark water system, which will move water from the Missouri River via 337 miles of pipeline to allow drinking water to flow out of the taps for an area the size of Connecticut.


Mark ClarkMark Clark '80 - Outstanding Professional Achievement

Clark, a brigadier general in the United States Marine Corps, serves in the Pentagon, assisting a three-star general in policy for joint commands established by the president of the United States.

Originally of Dell Rapids, he has served as director of the Strategy and Plans Division in Marine headquarters since June 2007.

The 1980 economics major received his commission as second lieutenant after completing Officer Candidate School in June 1981.




Glenna FoubergGlenna Fouberg MEd '68 - Outstanding Service to Education

Fouberg, originally of Ashley, N.D., has become synonymous with selfless dedication to education.

She worked directly in education for 37 years, teaching English for 25 years and directing the Alternative Learning Center in Aberdeen for 12 years. Fouberg was chosen as South Dakota Teacher of the Year in 1994. When she left the classroom, she never left education.

Fouberg has been a member of the South Dakota Board of Education since 1998 and was the chair for three and a half years.



Sonya IronsSonya Irons '01 - Outstanding Young Alumni

Irons, originally of Huron, is a physical therapist at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Neb., where she is one of only 130 nationally certified cardiopulmonary physical therapist.

Irons began work there in December 2004 after completing her schooling. At SDSU she received a bevy of scholarships that fully paid her tuition and was selected for a half-dozen honor societies, including Phi Kappa Phi, which selects only .5 percent of the junior class nationwide.





Teri johnsonTeri Johnson '86 - Outstanding Service to Home Community

Teri Johnson, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church of Brookings, is praised by nominator Tim Nichols as being “a driving, positive force in the community.”

Nichols, dean of the SDSU Honors College, hails Johnson for founding the Harvest Table, a hot, nutritious meal served once a week to 150 people at the church. Despite detractors, Johnson was tenacious in her efforts to build support for the concept and make the program a reality about 10 years ago, Nichols stated.



Jim LangerJim Langer '70 - Outstanding Professional Achievement

A 1987 inductee into the NFL Hall of Fame, Langer signed with the Miami Dolphins as a free agent in 1970. He became a starter in that perfect 1972 season, when he played every offensive down and needed help on just three of 500 blocking assignments for Coach Don Shula’s club.

An all-pro and all-AFC selection for five straight seasons, the center played in three Super Bowls and six Pro Bowls.





Jim MorganJim Morgan '69/MS '70 - Outstanding Professional Achievement

Chief executive officer of Daktronics since November 2001, Morgan has worked with the scoreboard and sign company since 1970, when he was an SDSU graduate student seeking a master’s degree in electrical engineering.

By 1971 he was head of engineering at the developing company. He held that post until being appointed president and chief operating officer in 1999. Prior to then he was named company vice president (1976) and executive vice president (1996).


Ester PreszlerEsther Preszler '88/MS '95 - Outstanding Service to South Dakota

Preszler is the owner-manager of Roscoe Family Care Center, one of only a few nurse-owned clinics in South Dakota, where access to a medical doctor is miles away, in this case, 40 miles away in Aberdeen.

While working in Bowdle, Preszler recognized the need for an additional clinic. John Byers, president of First State Bank of Roscoe and Bowdle, explains, “Because of dwindling numbers in the surrounding communities, there was no financial backing for another clinic. So at her own expense, she moved a building to Roscoe, invested in equipment and supplies, and opened the Roscoe Family Care Center.”




Vern SchrammVern Schramm '63 - Outstanding Professional Achievement

Schramm, originally from Howard, is one of the world’s leading authorities on enzyme transition state chemistry.

For his pioneering work in this area he was recently elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences, which is the highest honor that can be given to U.S. scientists. The academy has membership of 2,000 out of a million academic, governmental, and industrial scientists and scholars. Since 1987 he has been at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y.