Deadline is January 31, 2012.
The Outstanding Alumni Award recognizes alumni for outstanding professional achievement and support of the college or university. Recipients exemplify MSU’s commitment to the land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach through their dedication to professional, community and/or MSU service.
Anyone may submit a nomination.
The Board of Directors of the CNS Alumni Association selects the recipient and presents the award at the annual alumni awards held in conjunction with Science University each April. Nominations not selected to receive the award are held for three years and automatically re-nominated each year.
2011 Recipient
Eric Ayers, MD, FACP, FAAP
Microbiology ’85
After graduating from MSU, Eric Ayers went on to medical school at Wayne State University and received his MD in 1989. He did his residency at Detroit Medical Center and completed a three-year fellowship in substance abuse sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. He also completed a one-year Faculty Development course at MSU.
Since 1994, Ayers has been employed by Wayne State University as an Assistant Professor in the departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. He is currently the Program Director of the Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency program, and the Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Section Chief of the Division of General Medicine.
Ayers is a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics and is a recognized leader in adolescent health. He has distinguished himself academically and is a member of two of the most prestigious physician groups: Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and the Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society.
He has been a board member of numerous professional and community-based organizations including the Women’s Justice Center, Health Centers of Detroit, and he serves on several committees within Wayne State University and the Wayne State Physician’s Group.
Ayers’ commitment to medical education far exceeds the boundaries of his faculty position at Wayne State University. Since 2006, he has served as an alumni advisor for the Charles Drew Enrichment Program at MSU, and he continues to mentor to elementary, high school and college students in their pursuit of success.
Ayers has received many accolades for his teaching, humanism and community service including Outstanding Teacher by the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the Pfizer Humanism in Medicine Award in 2004, and the Leonard Tow Award for Humanism in Medicine in 2007.
Ayers’ professional life demonstrates his commitment to take his knowledge of medicine beyond the borders of the clinical and educational setting into the community to serve those in need. He has worked with local public schools to give free physicals to their students, and helped to establish a clinic in a Detroit elementary school to promote well-being among an under-served group of youth. His work on behalf of youth health research, care and advocacy has earned him distinctions ranging from the Detroit City Council’s “Spirit of Detroit” Award to the peer-driven Best Doctors in America “Outstanding Doctor” Award.
Past Recipients of the CNS Outstanding Alumni Award
1980 – Eldon Foltz, Chemistry ’41
1981 – James Orbison, Chemistry ’39
1982 – Thomas Jamieson, Bio Science ’65
1983 – Michael Schulz, Physical Science ’64
1984 – Ron Goldsberry, Chemistry ’66 & ’69
1985 – Susan Crispin, Botany & Plant Pathology ’78 & ’80
1985 – Ritchie Wessling, Chemistry ’57
1986 – Reardon Campeau, Mathematics ’65
1987 – Charles Vincent, Chemistry ’54
1988 – Gordon Guyer, Entomology ’53
1989 – Harley Hotchkiss, Geology ’51
1990 – Jerry Cowen, Physics ’50 & ’54
1991 – Karen Klomparens, Botany & Plant Pathology ’72 & ’77
1992 – Paul Ts’o, Botany & Plant Pathology ’51
1993 – Joseph Longo, Physics ’66 & ’68
1994 – Lorenz Kull, Physics ’67
1995 – Robert Martin, Medical Technology ’71
1996 – B.L.S. Prakasa Rao, Statistics ’66
1997 – Durward L. Allen, Zoology ’37
1998 – Richard & Shirley Pendell, Bio Science ’35
1999 – Paul O’Connor, Chemistry ’91
2000 – Jack Samarias, Statistics ’70
2001 – Phaedon Avouris, Chemistry ’74
2002 – Daniel Edson, Clinical Lab Science ’79
2003 – Mary Ruth Dawson, Zoology ’52
2004 – Eugene Parker, Physics ’48
2005 – Michael Donoghue, Botany ’75
2006 – Mark Ehlert, Microbiology ’75
2007 – Stephen Warren, Zoology ’76 & Genetics ’81
2008 – Kenneth Yerrick, Chemistry ’59 & ’61
2009 – Susan Sylvester, Entomology ’78
2010 – Azam Niroomand-Rad, Physics ’71 & ’78
2011 – Eric Ayers, Microbiology ’85
© Copyright 2012