Eight alumni will be honored tonight at the College of Education, Health and Human Service’s first Hall of Fame Awards Recognition Dinner.

The ceremony will be held in the Student Center Ballroom from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are $35 per person.

This is the first time the College of EHHS has ever had an event like this, Hope Magnus, coordinator of the event, said.

“When the dean of the school got on board with us a couple of years ago, he realized we weren’t recognizing our alumni,” Magnus said. “This was his way for us to reconnect with our alum and honor some of their great accomplishments.”

Through an online nomination process and voting, eight distinguished recipients were chosen to be inducted into the college’s new Hall of Fame.

The following is included in a brochure Magnus provided:

Fay Biles graduated from Kent State in 1956 and will receive the Centennial Alumni Award. Biles was the first female vice president of an Ohio university, when she served as VP for Kent State from 1972 to 1978.

William Herbert, a 1967 Kent graduate, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award. He worked as a full-time faculty member Virginia Tech University until he retired in 2008. Herbert established the first exercise physiology laboratory on campus and developed the curriculum for the program.

Another Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Thomas Hohenshil, a 1963 Kent graduate. Hohenshil also worked at Virginia Tech University for over 30 years as a counselor education and school psychology faculty member.

Ronald Fowler graduated in 1959 and will receive the Diversity Alumni Award. Fowler taught in Detroit public schools until 1963 and currently consults and offers assistance on Kent State projects.

Issaou Gado, a 1997 graduate, will receive the International Alumni Award. Gado is a research scholar from the Republic of Benin in Africa and was an assistant professor at Cleveland State University before returning to Benin, where he currently resides.

Distinguished Service to the College of EHHS will be presented to Rae Mandel, a 1956 graduate. Mandel retired from a career of teaching kindergarten and gives back to Kent State through charity, volunteering and raising scholarship money.

Judy Genshaft, a 1973 graduate, will receive the Leadership Award. Genshaft is the past provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Albany, and she is currently the president of the University of South Florida System.

David Herpy will receive the Recent Alumni Award. Herpy graduated in 2001, and serves at the outdoor adventure and camp coordinator for the Department of Recreational Services at Kent State.

Of the thousands of alumni, Herpy said he is honored to be a part of eight that were chosen to be recognized.

“I’m truly honored and grateful,” he said. “The fact that I’m in the first class of alumni being inducted into the Hall of Fame, that means the world to me.”

Contact Chelsea Cassudakis at [email protected].