The Alumni Association Board of Directors is proud to recognize six University of Redlands alumni through its annual awards program. These worthy Bulldog recipients were to be publicly recognized during this year’s Alumni Reunion Weekend, which was regrettably canceled due to COVID-19. Their outstanding contributions to service, leadership, and their professions will instead be honored at the Alumni Reunion Weekend in May 2021.
Don Ruh ’54 will be presented with the Community Service Award, recognizing exceptional service to the community on a local, national, and international level. Retired since 1994, Ruh was a math instructor at Mount San Antonio College. He was also coach and director of the school’s track and field team, a role in which he has received international acclaim. He is a longtime volunteer for track and field and cross-country invitational events, including those at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The LA84 Foundation was created following these games and is an organization for which Ruh continues to volunteer. He is a charter member of the Walnut Valley Kiwanis Club, has served on his class reunion committee, and volunteers as a Class Notes reporter.
Normajean Hinders ’65 will be recognized with the Distinguished Service Award. Hinders is a former teacher, counselor, author, church elder, and retired marriage and family therapist, and continues to demonstrate a high level of commitment and service to her alma mater. As past president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, she has served on the University’s Board of Trustees. She has also volunteered with Bulldogs in Service and her class reunions.
The “R” Award will be presented to Scott Lacy ’90 for outstanding service that brings honor to the University. Since 2001, Lacy has organized numerous hikes to maintain the historic “R” by clearing non-native brush and shrubs so the “R” remains defined and visible within the San Bernardino Mountains. Over the past two decades, he has led nearly 500 individuals—including alumni, students, staff, and community members—on these hikes, ensuring volunteers have water, snacks, gardening tools, and cameras. During the University’s Centennial Celebration, he researched and installed lights around the “R” to honor the occasion.
Randy Kaufman ’86 was named as a recipient for the “R” Award in 2019 but will be honored in May 2021 since he was unable to accept the award last year. Col. Kaufman’s outstanding service to his country as a decorated Air Force pilot, instructor, expert, and leader culminated with the honor of assuming a professorship of air and space studies. Before his retirement, he flew B-1 combat missions in Iraq, graduated from the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, earned two master’s degrees (national security and decision making, as well as airpower art and science), and has received many government awards.
Coralie Lampiasi Prince ’65 will be recognized with the Alumni Career Achievement Award for extraordinary career achievement and leadership in her field. Prince has devoted her life to many aspects of music, playing instruments, teaching, managing, performing, and volunteering. Her commitment to the field of music started in her youth, and Prince’s involvement has garnered many accolades in the worlds of music and education, including the 2007 California Music Educators Association’s Outstanding Music Educator of the Year Award.
Catarino Arias ’99, ’06 will be presented with the Impact Award in recognition of his outstanding career achievement and potential for greater success in years to come. Arias exhibited leadership during his undergraduate years at the U of R, serving as Associated Students of the University of Redlands (ASUR) president and contributing to student diversity and civic efforts. He obtained a master’s in public administration from California State University at Northridge and now serves as director of translations for the Los Angeles Unified School District. In this role, Arias provides means of communication for non-English speakers, leads initiatives supporting low-income families and promoting parent education, and acts as a liaison between families and the district.
Read more stories from the Summer 2020 issue of Och Tamale Magazine.
