Highest alumni recognition awards return Homecoming week

By Rebecca Kirkman on October 13, 2022

Tigers are lifelong learners, and the recipients of this year’s Distinguished Alumni and Deans’ Recognition Awards are no exception.

The highest honors presented by the Towson University Alumni Association annually, this competitive program recognizes alumni who have attained notable achievements or made lasting contributions in their career fields.

Join the Alumni Association Thursday, Oct. 20 at the University Union to celebrate eight tigers who have found success and made an impact in their professions.

join the celebration

Distinguished Alumni & Deans’ Recognition Awards

Thursday, Oct. 20 | 6–9 p.m. | University Union Ballroom
Join the Alumni Association for appetizers and drinks followed by a plated dinner and awards program. Learn more and register.

 

Distinguished Alumni Award

This award is presented to alumni over the age of 32 from any college or major at TU who exhibit continued professional development and lifetime success in their field. Distinguished Alumni Award winners have a high professional profile, a connection to their alma mater and a sense of giving back to their community.

Peggy Cyphers ’77

Painter Peggy Cyphers’ colorful, abstract works aim to express the magnificence and beauty of the universe. Cyphers has had over 30 solo exhibitions throughout the U.S. and Europe since 1984. Cyphers received numerous awards for her work from the National Endowment for the Arts, Elizabeth Foundation, Peter S. Reed Foundation and Pratt Faculty Fund. Cyphers received residency fellowships to Tong Xian Art Residency Beijing, Santa Fe Art Institute, International Studio & Curatorial Program, Art Omi, Corporation of Yaddo, and Triangle Artists’ Workshop.
 
Cyphers’ work has been reviewed by The New York Times, Art in America, Artforum, New York Observer, Brooklyn Rail, Arts, among others. She is in museum and public collections, including the Smithsonian Institution, Seattle Art Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Rutgers University Print Archives, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Columbia Museum of Art, Weatherspoon Art Gallery and New Mexico State University. 
 
Cyphers is currently a professor of fine arts at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. She obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Towson University and her M.F.A. from the Pratt Institute.

Distinguished Young Alumni Award

This award is given to young alumni, age 32 or under, whose achievements in their field or vocation received favorable recognition from the Alumni Association or employers, or whose work has proven beneficial to society.

Katerina Burton ’17

American vocalist Katerina Burton is currently a Cafritz Young Artist in her third season with Washington National Opera, where she made her role debut last spring as Micaëla in Bizet’s “Carmen.” She recently made her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda, singing solos in both Bach’s “Magnificat” and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. She debuted as the soprano soloist of Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 9 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop. This summer, she joined Aspen Music Festival as a Renee Fleming Artist where held the lead role of Alice Ford in Verdi’s “Falstaff.”
 
In the 2019–2020 season, Burton originated the roles of Verna, Young Lovely, and Evelyn in the world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up In My Bones” as a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. That same season she completed her first engagement at The Metropolitan Opera as an ensemble member for their Grammy Award-winning production of Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” 
 
Burton completed her graduate studies at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Robert C. White, Jr., and holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Towson University. She is a recipient of the 2022 Richard Tucker Music Foundation Study Grant, the 2021 William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Award, the Novick Career Advancement Grant, as well as the Gaddes Career Award presented by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Deans’ Recognition Award

TU recognizes alumni from each college for their professional growth and accomplishments.

Eric R. Thompson ’82
College of Business and Economics

Thompson has led finance for The Coca-Cola Company in many emerging global markets. Most recently, Thompson served as director of financial operations in Asia, where his team executed non-commercial core financial processes throughout the region.

Thompson also served as CFO for Coca-Cola throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where he played a significant role in the decision for major bottlers to form the 10th largest Coca-Cola bottler globally. Early in his career, Thompson served as CFO for Coca-Cola’s bottling operations in the Czech Republic and headed business planning for Coke’s first publicly traded entity on the London Stock Exchange. Thompson began his career with Price Waterhouse and Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh.

Thompson’s board service includes the Towson University College of Business and Economics Advisory Board, where he was a committee member for the RISE campaign, the South Carolina Low Country Regional Boys and Girls Clubs and The Long Cove Charitable Fund–Hilton Head.

Thompson holds a Bachelor of Science from Towson University and a Master of Science from Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School of Public Policy. He has completed Wharton’s Executive Development Program and Harvard Business School’s Accelerating Board Diversity program. He is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and enjoys photography, reading, music, golf, physical fitness and community service.

 

Stefani Pautz Stephenson ’16
College of Education

Stephenson is an educator and researcher in the field of instructional technology. The focus of her career has been designing learning experiences that mitigate barriers and ensure equitable access. Stephenson has led the development of online curricula in grades K-12 and leads professional development in the use of technology for educators across the U.S. and Canada.

Stephenson is currently the director of educator community partnerships with Digital Promise and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. Previously, Stephenson was the coordinator of blended learning and innovation with Baltimore County Public Schools, the Eastern Shore Writing Project director at Salisbury University, a professional development coach and a high school English teacher.

Stephenson holds a B.A. and M.A. in English from Salisbury University and an Ed.D. in instructional technology from Towson University with a research focus on school leadership in 1:1 computing environments.

Stephenson supports Carroll County-area artists through the Maker Collaborative at the Reindollar Carriage House and supports non-medical expenses for NICU families through the Stephenson Family Neonatal Foundation. Her favorite pastimes include hiking, bird watching and horseback riding. She’s also a competitive runner.

 

Brian Norris ’99
College of Fine Arts and Communication

Norris is senior vice president of direct to scale and commerce partnerships at NBCUniversal. Norris leads the sales team responsible for leveraging NBCUniversal’s suite of premium content and industry-leading advanced advertising capabilities to assist direct-to-consumer brands in scaling their businesses beyond social media. Norris brings decades of management and leadership experience driving television revenue in linear, addressable and digital media.

Norris currently serves on the board of the nonprofit International Radio and Television Society (IRTS Foundation) as vice chairman. He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for Towson University’s College of Fine Arts and Communication. Norris also sits on NBCUniversal’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board and is a contributing member of Comcast’s Social Justice Initiative—a multiyear initiative to fight injustice and inequality against any race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation or ability.

Norris earned his bachelor’s degree from Towson University and holds an MBA from Brown University and IE Business School in Madrid. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Norris now resides in New Jersey with his family.

 

Terris King ’84, ’18
College of Health Professions

King is committed to transforming healthcare by creating scalable, innovative models that seek to lower costs and improve the health of vulnerable American populations. Most recently, King launched the Lukan Group, an interface between healthcare and the church that has sponsored statewide and county-focused vaccine and health improvement efforts. King also launched the King Enterprise Group to consult with companies focused on the intersection of population health, capacity building and infrastructure support.

Previously, King served as the lead executive for all AT&T services within the Department of Health and Human Services. He additionally held roles in the federal government, including deputy director of the Office of Clinical Standards and Quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). There he established the Office of Minority Health and designed the initiative Everyone with Diabetes Counts, the nation’s largest health disparities reduction program.

King holds an Sc.D. in occupational science and a bachelor’s degree in communication from Towson University. He also completed his master’s degree in behavioral science from Johns Hopkins University and is a Harvard University Executive Fellow.

 

Tracy Wright ’99
College of Liberal Arts

Wright is chief of staff for the Colleague Total Rewards and Well-being team at 
American Express, where she is responsible for driving compensation and benefits strategies and focuses on employee engagement initiatives. She also manages organizational planning and budget for a team of more than 150 global colleagues.

Wright spent six years in public service with the New York City government working at the NYC Department of Investigation. Wright also served as an equal rights investigator at the NYC Department of Education, where she investigated student and staff allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment.

Wright received her B.S. in political science and sociology from Towson University, her Master of Public Policy from Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, and J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Wright is admitted to practice law in Maryland and New York.

She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, two children, and pandemic puppy, Melo. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Jack & Jill of America and is active in her children’s schools.

 

Jacqueline Mims Tibbs ’91
Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics

Engineer and former rocket scientist Jacqueline Mims is the first African American civil servant to be certified as a ground controller for NASA's unmanned spacecraft. Today, she is CEO and founder of My Global STEM Academy, a nonprofit in Wake County, North Carolina, that equips and empowers the next generation of STEM leaders around the world.

During her career at NASA, Mims worked as an aerospace technologist and developed code that enabled the world to see graphical images of outer space. Mims became the first African American certified to command and control satellites for small explorer (SMEX) missions.

Mims has traveled to Guyana, Kenya and Uganda, empowering women and youth in underserved communities. Her awards include the Trumpet Award for Black Americans who have succeeded against immense odds and inspire success in others. She is an inaugural inductee in Towson University’s Black Alumni Alliance Hall of Fame.

At Towson University, Mims earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and business administration and was a founding member of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon Computer Science Honor Society. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in metaphysical science.