The 2025 Williams Honors College Distinguished Alumni Award honorees

The University of Akron Alumni Association and the Williams Honors College (WHC) are proud to announce the 2025 Williams Honors College Distinguished Alumni Award honorees.

 About the Award

The WHC Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes alumni from the Williams Honors College who have excelled in their professional fields and made significant contributions to their communities, and to their alma mater. “The Williams Honors College is proud to recognize two exceptional alumni for the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award— Jean-Pierre Iskandar and Halle Jones Capers. These honorees represent the very best of our legacy. Iskandar’s dedication to advancing cardiovascular health and Capers Jones’ leadership in civil engineering and entrepreneurship reflect the excellence, service, and innovation we aim to instill in all our students,” said Fedearia Nicholson-Sweval, vice provost for student pathways and dean of the Williams Honors College.

The selection committee was thrilled to receive 15 nominations this year for this prestigious award. Dr. Nicholson-Sweval added, “We had an impressive pool of nominees this year, making our selection process both inspiring and challenging. We are thrilled to celebrate these two remarkable individuals who continue to make a profound impact in their fields and communities.”

 2025 WHC Distinguished Alumni Award Honorees

• Dr. Jean-Pierre Iskandar ’14
  • B.S. in Biology, B.A. in French, Minors in Chemistry and Spanish
  • Iskandar is a board-certified internal medicine physician and is currently a cardiovascular disease fellow at the University of Rochester Medical Center. 

• Halle Jones Capers, P.E. ’90
  • B.S. in Civil Engineering
  • Jones Capers is the owner and president of Halle’s Engineering & Design, LLC, a MBE/WBE/DBE/SBE/EDGE civil engineering firm in Akron, OH.

Event Details

An awards reception will take place on May 7, 2025 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at Quaker Station at The University of Akron. Following the reception, the honorees will speak to the WHC class of 2025 at their Medallion Ceremony.

For further details about the event and the honorees, please visit www.uakron.edu/alumni/events.

Media contact: Cristine Boyd; cboyd@uakron.edu; 330-972-6476