Acclaimed for his former role on AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” Steven S. Yeun ’05 was among four honorees Friday, Oct. 20, as Kalamazoo College presented its 2017 Distinguished Alumni Awards. Athletic Hall of Fame inductions also were held in the ceremony at Dalton Theatre at Light Fine Arts.
The recipients and their awards were:
- William DeGrado ’77, Distinguished Achievement Award. DeGrado is a professor in the department of pharmaceutical chemistry and an investigator at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California San Francisco.
- Phillip C. Carra ’69, Distinguished Service Award. Carra is a partner in Apjohn Group, a life science start-up consultancy in Kalamazoo; former corporate vice president for public relations at the Upjohn Co.; an emeritus trustee of the College; and a leader in numerous civic organizations. His award was presented in absentia.
- Yeun, Young Alumni Award. A fan favorite as Glenn Rhee on “The Walking Dead,” Yeun, whose award was presented in absentia, has since gone on to play roles in feature films including “Okja” and “Mayhem.”
- Gail Griffin, Weimer K. Hicks Award. An author, poet and essayist, Griffin was chair of three departments (English, Theatre and Classics), founding director of Women’s Studies and director of Teaching Development during her 1977-2013 tenure at K. This is the latest of her numerous K honors.
Athletic Hall of Fame inductees were:
- Elizabeth Garlow ’07, swimming and diving;
- Kim Hartman ’03, soccer;
- Nick Lachapelle ’00, football;
- Judsen Schneider, ’03, swimming;
- the 1985 men’s tennis team; and
- the 1995 women’s volleyball team.
The awards were presented in conjunction with the College’s Oct. 20-22 Homecoming celebration.