In 1992, the College of Engineering Alumni Society established a recognition program to honor those alumni who personify the College’s tradition of excellence. The awards are presented at the Alumni Society Awards Dinner, which is traditionally held during Michigan Engineering Homecoming Weekend each fall. Initially, the Alumni Society Board established two categories of awards to be presented annually:

• The College of Engineering Alumni Society Medal, to be presented to one alumnus/a who has shown extraordinary overall distinction, and
• The College of Engineering Alumni Society Merit Awards, recognizing distinction at the department level, one to be presented from each academic department.

The Board voted in 1997 to establish a third category to be awarded beginning 1998:

• The College of Engineering Alumni Society Distinguished Service Award, to be presented annually to one alumnus/a who has generously volunteered service to the College.

In 2001, the Board established a fourth category to be awarded beginning 2002:

• The Recent Engineering Graduate Award, recognizing the meritorious contributions by an alumnus/a in the early stages of his/her career.

This year’s Alumni Society Awards Dinner was held on September 25, 2009 in the Michigan League.

The leading award recipients are:

Alumni Society Distinguished Service Award

Jerry W. Levin (BSEEE '66, BSEM '67)

Kevin O'Connor (BSEEE '83)   

Jerry Levin and Kevin O'Connor have jointly made significant contributions to the College of Engineering.  As co-chairs of the 150th Progress and Promise Campaign, they assisted the College exceed a landmark fundraising goal of $300M. 

Mr. Levin is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JW Levin Partners, LLC, he received his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering in 1966 and a second degree, in Engineering Math in 1967.  The former Chairman of the Sharper Image (2006-2008), Mr. Levin has also served as the Chairman and CEO of American Household, Inc., The Coleman Company, Inc. and The Burger King Corporation. 

Mr. O'Connor is the co-founder and former CEO and Chairman of DoubleClick, Inc.  A 1983 graduate, with honors, of the Electrical Engineering program, he is a published author.  He currently sits on the board of several private companies, while concentrating his efforts on O'Connor ventures, a seed capital firm.

Recent Engineering Graduate Award

Michael S. McCorquodale (MSE '00, PhD '04)

Michael McCorquodale is the founder of Mobius Microsystems, a semiconductor component start-up company.  Mr. McCorquodale received an MSE from the University of Michigan in 2000, and a PhD in 2004.  The publisher of 25 journal articles, the also has 25 issued and pending US patents and foreign counterparts thereof.

Alumni Society Medal

Ernest S. Kuh (BSEEE '49)

Dr. Kuh is the William S. Floyd, Jr. Professor Emeritus in Engineering and a professor in the Graduate School of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.  He held the positions of Department Chair, and Dean of the College of Engineering. A former attendee of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, he received a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Michigan in 1949. Professor Kuh is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Academia Sinica, a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is a Fellow of IEEE and AAS.

To get more information about nominations for an Alumni Society Award this year, see the Alumni Society Awards page.