Pittsburg State University bestowed its prestigious Meritorious Achievement Award on three distinguished alumni Friday afternoon. This year's recipients are John C. Dormois, a retired cardiologist from Durham, N.C.; Barron H. Harvey, dean of the Howard University School of Business in Washington, D.C., and Glenna J. Wallace, chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and a retired English teacher and administrator at Crowder College.

The PSU Alumni Association established the award in 1958 as the highest award given to alumni for career achievement, said Johnna Schremmer, director of alumni and constituent relations. Alumni are nominated, and a committee chooses the finalists.

The recipients spent the day touring campus and visiting with students and teachers. In the afternoon they held an open panel session in the Wilkinson Alumni Center and shared their life and career stories.

Toward the end of the discussion, moderator Chris Kelly, associate vice president of university marketing and assessment, asked the recipients about their impressions of the university upon returning after so many years. Wallace said she was impressed with the facilities and the scope of growth PSU has undergone.

I cant give enough accolades to the presidents and to the deans, Wallace said. When you come back and see the changes theyre always in a positive direction.

Harvey agreed.

This institution has continued to move forward, and thats a tribute to the leadership of the university, he said.

Dormois, who is studying to teach doctors how to be more spiritual in their dealings with patients and their families, said he is impressed with the type of technology-savvy graduates PSU is producing.

You hear over and over in reports that there are not enough people that can use these new machine, Dormois said. What I see here is a university that is creating a product that is definitely needed in our country.

After the panel, the recipients were officially presented with the awards at a ceremony and reception afterward.

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Three PSU alumni receive Meritorious Achievement Award