New awards added to UofL alumni honors for 2021

UofL has added three new Alumni Awards this year to recognize service and leadership. A total of 20 honorees will be recognized for extraordinary achievements in their profession and enduring service in their community during a livestreamed broadcast from the Belknap Campus on Oct. 21. 

The three new awards and their recipients are:

The Alumni Ambassador Award. The inaugural Alumni Ambassador Award is presented to Randall J. Buford '81. Bufford is the founder and chairman of the board of Louisville-based Trilogy Health Services, a health care company providing medical care, wellness and hospitality services to seniors. This new award is presented to recognize alumni as ambassadors for the university and leadership and service in their profession and community.

The Diversity Leadership Award. The inaugural Diversity Leadership Award is presented to Steven D. Kniffley Jr. '08. Kniffley, a board-certified clinical psychologist, is chief diversity officer and associate professor of Spalding University’s Center for Behavioral Health. This new award recognizes alumni for promoting diversity and inclusion through their professional or volunteer endeavors, aligning with the university’s goal of being the premier anti-racist metropolitan research university.

The Emerging Leader Award. The inaugural Emerging Leader Award is presented to Whitney B. Austin '03 and '09. Impassioned after surviving a Sept. 6, 2018, mass shooting in Cincinnati, Ohio, Whitney and her husband cofounded Whitney/Strong, an organization focused on finding common ground to end gun violence through data-driven, responsible gun ownership solutions. This new award honors alumni who have achieved outstanding professional accomplishments at age 40 or younger.

These new awards join 14 others that recognize alumni accomplishment by UofL’s colleges, schools, libraries and student affairs division. Named as Alumni Fellows for 2021 are:

• Michelle Lawlis Shelton '01, College of Arts & Sciences
• Walter Earl Reed III '73, College of Business
• Sherry Babbage Melisizwe, '72 and '81, School of Dentistry
• Martin A. Pollio '12, College of Education & Human Development
• Shyam Sharma '08 and '12, Graduate School
• Michael A. Robinson '06 and '10, Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work
• Harry D. Shapiro '62 and '64, Brandeis School of Law
• Donna Moser Peak '77 and '84, University Libraries
• James L. Sublett '70 and '75, School of Medicine
• Steve P. Crews '75, School of Music
• Ashley M. Anderson '08 and '16, School of Nursing
• Douglas J. Lorenz '99, '01, '02 and '11, School of Public Health & Information Sciences
• Gregory R. Judge '87, '89 and '93; Scott R. McReynolds '86; and Curtis A. “Tony” Mouser '82, J.B. Speed School of Engineering
• William F. Brasch '71, Student Affairs Legacy Award

The university will formally announce its highest award recipient, the Alumnus of the Year, on Friday, Oct. 1. 

UofL’s Alumni Awards are sponsored by Commonwealth Credit Union and Buff City Soap. For information about all events planned for UofL’s Homecoming Week 2021, visit the Homecoming website.