Media Relations
Press Release:
MEDIA CONTACT: Linda Holtz
561-297-0159, lholtz@fau.edu
FAU Honors Outstanding Leaders at Homecoming 2006 Talon Awards Ceremony
BOCA RATON, FL (December 4, 2006) – Florida Atlantic University held its 11th Talon Awards Ceremony in the Live Oak Pavilion on the Boca Raton campus as part of Homecoming 2006. Since 1997, the Talon Awards Ceremony has recognized outstanding leaders from the community, alumni constituency, faculty and student body. Co-sponsored by the FAU National Alumni Association (FAUNAA) and FAU Student Government, this year’s event and outdoor tented reception honored seven individuals.
“Every year I take great pleasure in being a part of the Talon Awards Ceremony,” said FAU President Frank T. Brogan ’81. “The 2006 honorees are distinct individuals from diverse backgrounds, yet each one exemplifies FAU’s commitment to academic excellence. The Talon Awards, now a well-established homecoming tradition, gives our University community the opportunity to acknowledge the varied and important accomplishments of our alumni, faculty, students and friends.”
Richard Staller, D.D.S., was the recipient of the 2006 President’s Talon Award. An FAU Football Founder, Staller is the current president of the Owl Club – the official fundraising organization of FAU athletics. In addition, Staller donates his time and professional expertise as the athletics department’s first and only team dentist. Staller and his brother, also an area dentist, have established the Staller FAU Owls Quarterback Scholarship in memory of their father. A graduate of Villanova University and Temple University School of Dentistry, Staller is in private practice and on the staffs of Delray Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center. He lectures extensively on the topics of dental implants and cosmetic and restorative dentistry. Active in the local community, Staller is the former president of the Boca Raton Roundtable, a member of the Council of 100 and on the board of trustees of the Florida Symphonic Pops.
This year’s winner of the Faculty Talon Award was Dr. Eric Shaw ’72, ’73, professor of marketing and chair of the marketing department in FAU’s College of Business. His long and productive relationship with FAU began 35 years ago when he enrolled in the College of Business. Receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from FAU, Shaw earned his Ph.D. from Temple University. He was on the faculties of Rutgers University and the University of Miami before returning to FAU in 1973. A three-time winner of FAU’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and two-time winner of the Distinguished Teacher of the Year in the College of Business, Shaw is the president-elect of the University Faculty Senate. When he begins his term, he will also become a member of the FAU Board of Trustees. In 1986 he was inducted into the FAUNAA’s Alumni Hall of Fame.
There were three recipients of the Alumni Talon Award – the Honorable Mary Brandenburg ’72, ’80; the Honorable Frederick C. “Fred” Brummer ’68, ’74, and the Honorable Pat Patterson ’76, ’78 – all members of the Florida House of Representatives. Rep. Brandenburg has represented Palm Beach County since 2002. She serves on the House committees for Colleges and Universities, Domestic Security and State Administration Appropriations. An alumna of FAU’s College of Business, Brandenburg has a deep commitment to improving access to higher education. Rep. Brummer is from Orange County. A certified public accountant, Brummer was first elected to his position in 1998. He has served as the chair of the Finance and Tax Committee and vice chair of the Fiscal Council. An alumnus of the College of Business, Brummer has received numerous awards for his community affiliations. Rep. Pat Patterson serves parts of Flagler and Volusia counties. Well known as a leader in the insurance industry, Patterson was first elected to the House in 1998. A graduate of the College of Education, Patterson is a six-time winner of the Top 40 Legislator Award from the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
This year there were two winners of the Student Talon Award. The first recipient was Lina Ortega, an electrical engineering major, with an outstanding academic record and strong personal history of service to the community. While still in high school in Boca Raton, Ortega volunteered in Colombia by training students in earthquake and fire readiness. In 2002 she represented the state of Florida at the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. Sarah Kinel, a graduate student in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing on FAU’s Treasure Coast campus, was the second recipient. As current president of FAU’s Nursing Students’ Association on that campus, Kinel has led a variety of public service initiatives, including a campaign to screen children for amblyopia, a condition that can result in blindness. A former personal trainer, she runs a daily fitnesss “boot camp” for faculty and staff on the Treasure Coast campus.
Prior to the Talon Awards presentation, 20 FAU graduates were inducted into the Parliament of OWLS (Older, Wiser LeaderS). The University’s alumni honor society, the Parliament of OWLS recognizes and reunites outstanding alumni who are former student leaders, past presidents of the FAUNAA, Distinguished Alumni of the Colleges and Alumni Hall of Fame members.
The FAUNAA is a non-profit alumni organization that represents the more than 97,000 FAU alumni. For more information about the FAUNAA, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 1--888-FAU-ALUM, or 1-888--328-2586.
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Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serv es more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses strategically located along 150 miles of Florida's southeastern coastline. Building on its rich tradition as a teaching university, with a world-class faculty, FAU hosts nine colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, and the Colleges of Business, Education, Engineering & Computer Science, and Architecture, Urban & Public Affairs.
