Through its annual Buchtel Awards, The University of Akron’s Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences honors individuals and organizations dedicated to significantly enhancing the greater good of the community. Buchtel Award recipients exemplify the vision, leadership and community building of UA's principal founder, John R. Buchtel. This year’s winners include:
The Buchtel Award in Humanities recipient is Judith A. Read of Akron, who earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UA in 1963 and received an honorary doctor of humane letters in May 2009. Read and her husband, Roger, also a UA alumnus, are well known for their ongoing support of UA students through scholarship funding. For this award, however, Read is recognized for her direct involvement and support of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences Careers Program, which prepares students for the world after academia through focused career services.
The Buchtel Award in Natural Sciences recipient is the Hon. James E. Akins of Mitchellville, Md., an Akron native and retired U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia who earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from UA in 1947. Akins also has held positions with government agencies such as the U.S. Foreign Service and State Department. His extensive collection of Old World/Near East artifacts donated to the college’s department of Classical Studies, Archaeology and Anthropology has played a significant role in the development of an archaeology curriculum focusing on the ancient Near East.
The Buchtel Award in Natural Sciences recipient, Rosalie Charkoff Steiner of Bath, has devoted her life to environmental stewardship and education. She was raised by a father who was an early environmentalist and whose resolve influenced her own commitment to environmental activism. As part of her ongoing efforts to promote preservation, she provides the use of her property and her organic gardening equipment to UA students at the Bath Field Station. With her recent generosity, Steiner helped to establish a new program on campus, the Synapse Program for the Interaction of Art and Science, which will increase awareness of the scholarly and creative activities engaged in by artists and scientists across the university campus.
The Buchtel Award in Social Sciences recipient is UA alumnus William J. Costigan, Jr. of Akron. As a two-time graduate of UA – with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a degree in law – Costigan continues to generously support his alma mater. While serving as president of Costigan’s National Office Supply, Costigan facilitated in-kind office product donations to UA athletics. Most notably, his generosity made possible the William Costigan Jr. Computer Lab in UA’s political science department.
The Buchtel Award for Corporations/Foundations recipient, the Lubrizol Foundation of Wickliffe, has a long history with UA. The company’s scholarship support, dating back to 1958, emphasizes the study of chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and polymer science. Many of Lubrizol’s employees and retirees are UA graduates who have made significant contributions to the long-term success of Lubrizol. For example, the late Dr. Lester Coleman, who completed his undergraduate work in chemistry, served as Lubrizol CEO from 1978-95. Lubrizol founders believed that higher education, particularly in the sciences, plays a critical role in building strong businesses and communities.
About the Buchtel Awards Ceremony and Dinner
The Third Annual Buchtel Awards ceremony and dinner will be held Tuesday, March 23, in UA’s Student Union Ballroom. The evening will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a cocktail hour, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the awards presentation at 7 p.m.
The dinner and awards ceremony are open to the public. Valet parking will be available. Individual tickets are $75 and tables of eight are $600. Table sponsorships also are available. The presenting sponsor for the awards ceremony is Harwick Standard Distribution Corp., which has a 60-year giving tradition to the university. Proceeds benefit the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences Student Scholarship Fund. To reserve tickets, or for more information, contact Cynthia Sheeks at 330-972-8641 or csheeks@uakron.edu.
About the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
The largest of UA’s degree-granting colleges, the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences includes approximately 250 faculty members who work in 18 academic departments that represent disciplines within the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. The college offers more than 60 undergraduate degree majors, 35 master’s degree majors and seven doctoral degree programs.
Media Contacts: Sarah Lane, 330-972-7492, or Paige Poleondakis, 330-972-6482.