Seven To Receive Harvard Alumni Association Awards

September 23, 1999

SEARCH THE GAZETTE

HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

The recipients of the 1999 Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) Awards have been named by the HAA.

Established in 1990, the HAA Awards recognize outstanding volunteer service to the University through alumni activities. Award presentations will be made Thursday, Oct. 28, during the opening dinner of the HAA Board of Directors. In addition to the six alumni listed below, the HAA will present a special HAA Award to the Harvard University Band on Friday, Oct. 29, at a celebratory 80th anniversary concert in Sanders Theatre.

The Harvard Band first marched onto Soldiers Field in 1919 and has been an integral part of Harvard athletic events ever since. The Band is visible not only at sporting events, but also entertains alumni at reunion functions, College Fund events, Commencement, and the HAA annual meeting. In addition to campus functions, Band members perform their diverse repertoire in parades and community events. In addition to the marching Band are two other groups that make up the Harvard Band: the Wind Ensemble, a select group of 55 musicians who perform throughout the Northeast and Canada, and the Jazz Band, founded by Band Director Tom Everett in 1971. Jazz Band members play at numerous concerts and festivals, in addition to studying the history, styles, and literature of jazz.

Richard (Rab) Harris ’37 (’33-35) is one of the HAA’s great heretofore unsung heroes. During the past 40 years Harris has been secretary, vice president, and president of the Harvard Club of Akron, which merged with the Harvard Club of Cleveland in the mid-1990s. He also chaired the Schools & Scholarships Committee and has interviewed prospective students for many years.

For more than 20 years, he has been responsible for many of the Harvard social events in Akron, including the Harvard Club Luncheon, which is held the last Friday of each month. He also awards the Harvard Prize Book to the top juniors in Akron-area high schools. He is retired from Richard E. Harris Associates Inc., an advertising and sales promotions company.

Sheridan A. Logan ’23, one of Harvard’s most loyal alumni, will turn 99 this year. He continues to play an active role in his class. Logan was elected class treasurer in 1923, an office he still holds. He was co-chair of his 75th reunion, celebrated last year. He has been treasurer of the Harvard Club of New York City, is a former HAA director, and is a past member of the Visiting Committee to the Department of Psychology and Social Relations.

A resident of St. Joseph, Mo., he was executive secretary of the George F. Baker Trust until 1965, and has authored two books, Old St. Jo, Gateway to the West, 1799-1932 and George F. Baker and His Bank, 1940-1955.
William E. Markus ’60 is one of Harvard’s most enthusiastic and devoted alumni, whether at a sporting event, Commencement, a Club function in Pittsburgh, or an HAA event in Cambridge. He served the HAA as secretary for three years, chaired the Chief Marshal Selection Committee, was a regional director for the Middle Eastern States, was vice chair of the Classes and Reunions Committee, and a member of the Nominating Committee for Overseers and Directors. An active member of the Class of ’60, he was co-chair of the 35th reunion and a member of the 25th, 30th and 40th committees. An avid Harvard sports fan, Markus can often be found cheering the teams to victory.

Former chair of the Political Science Department at Duquesne University, he is president of Markwalt Inc., a real estate company.

Glen D. Nelson ’59 has played an important role in the life of the Harvard Club of Minnesota for many years. Each year he and his wife, Marilyn, generously host one of the best-atted social events on the Club calar, a garden picnic buffet in a tent that evokes the spirit of the reunion tents at Commencement. Newly admitted students as well as current students and alumni are warmly welcomed. Nelson has been a longtime member of the Committee on University Resources and is active in the Harvard College Fund serving as Reunion Gift chair, Council member, Area and Class chair, and Class Steering Committee member. A member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Council, Nelson is co-chair of the subcommittee on Science Education.

He is a physician and vice chair of Medtronic Inc., a manufacturer of medical devices.

Ellen G. Reeves ’83, EdM ’86, has been actively involved in Harvard and Radcliffe alumni affairs since graduation. A former HAA elected director and member of the Overseers/Directors Nominating Committee, Reeves is the current chair of the HAA Radcliffe-Harvard Committee and member of the Classes and Reunions and Happy Observance of Commencement committees. As secretary of the Class of 1983, she was the first woman to serve as president of the Association of Harvard College Class Secretaries and Treasurers. A 1998 recipient of the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association (RCAA) Distinguished Service Award, Reeves is president of the Radcliffe Club of New York and sits on the RCAA Board of Management as well as the Board of Managers of the Harvard Club of New York City.

She is an editor at The New Press, a nonprofit publisher in the public interest.

James R. Ullyot ’62, MBA ’66 has helped to keep the Harvard Club of Minnesota vital for more than 25 years. In 1993 he organized a major tribute dinner and fundraising initiative that resulted in the "Don Peddie Fund," which contributed to the production of a short film used by Clubs and admissions officers throughout the country to convey the spirit of Harvard to prospective students. Ullyot was president of the Club and the Business School Club, and has done interviewing since 1967. He was an HAA regional director and co-chair of the HAA Communications Committee. His interest and electronic expertise were invaluable to the HAA in introducing a variety of communication links, such as the Gateways Website and the Post.Harvard e-mail connection.

He is president of Creative Communications Inc., a Web-based information services company based in Minneapolis.