NEWARK -- Wednesday, September 24, 1997 -- Six prominent business executives were honored with "Distinguished Alumni Medals for Outstanding Achievement" during the Fall Awards Ceremony today at New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The 1997 recipients of Distinguished Alumni Medals include:
Each award recipient will receive a special medal and certificate.
College Leadership
When Dr. John Bakum assumed the presidency of Middlesex County College (MCC) in April 1996, he knew that he was going to be leading a good school. After nearly 20 years on the college faculty and 13 years as vice president for academic and student affairs, he had played pivotal roles in the development of the curriculum and helped manage the instructional and student services for the 10,000 students and 225 full-time faculty.
As vice president, Bakum was instrumental in obtaining a major National Science Foundation grant for the establishment of the New Jersey Center for Advanced Technological Excellence, a nationally recognized technology program that constitutes the basis for important linkages between NJIT and MCC.
As president, he launched a $1.25 million capital campaign in support of the construction of a $7.2 million Learning Resources Center scheduled to open in 1998.
Bakum, earned an associate degree in applied science at Orange County Community College before transferring to NJIT's Newark College of Engineering to complete bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering. He earned a doctorate in education from Rutgers University in 1988.
Telephone Connections
Digital fiber optics and other advances in technology may have improved the clarity of telephone calls, but they have left the future of the telecommunications industry far from clear. As executive vice president and general counsel for the Sprint Corporation, Richard Devlin should know. Sprint Corp. is an international telecommunications giant with more than $14 billion in annual revenues.
Since his appointment in 1989, Devlin has been responsible for the company's legal, state and federal regulatory functions, as well as corporate security throughout the country. He also is a member of the corporation's executive committee. He oversees the activities of 75 attorneys and 150 other professional and administrative personnel who handle state and government affairs, regulation, and legal support and corporate security for the company throughout the country.
During congressional hearings on the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Devlin testified before the House Commerce Committee and met with many members of Congress and the Administration.
Devlin earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from NJIT in 1972 before joining AT&T's Management Development Program. After earning a law degree from Fordham University School of Law in 1976, he was offered a position as an attorney with AT&T representing the firm at hearings with the Federal Communications Commission and in court. In 1983, Devlin was named general attorney for AT&T, responsible for dealing with regulators during the restructuring of the telecommunications firm.
Out of this World
When Angelo "Gus" Guastaferro says his professional career has been out of this world, he's not kidding. After all, how many people can claim they've practically been to Mars? In a career that has spanned more than four decades, Guastaferro has spent most of his time exploring the universe. While working at NASA, he served as deputy project management of the Viking project, a mission that resulted in the first two successful landings of unmanned spacecraft on Mars.
From 1968 to 1976, the aeronautical engineer was second in command of the billion-dollar mission, managing technical contracts for quality and reliability including one for a sophisticated molecular analysis device used to determine the possibility of life on the planet.
Although Guastaferro considers the Viking project the "crown jewel" in his career, there were certainly a number of other gems that followed. He went on to become a program manager for NASA's Roto Systems Research Aircraft, director of NASA's Planetary Programs, and finally deputy director of the NASA Ames Research Center.
After 30 years in government and a host of honors including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the U.S. Presidential Distinguished Service Award, he took a job in the private sector. As vice president for NASA Programs at Lockheed Corp., he managed the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope and the building of the International Space Station.
Currently, he serves as president and CEO of nView Corporation in Newport News, Va., a leading designer and manufacturer of electronic image products.
On the Move
A 1977 graduate with a bachelor's degree in industrial administration, Libby Stokes Hamilton, CPA, swiftly moved up the corporate ladder. After earning her CPA license, Hamilton joined Ernst & Young as an auditor. She moved onto W.R. Grace & Co. where her finesse with federal tax regulations led to work in mergers and acquisitions.
A phone call from a headhunter about a job seven miles from home led to BMW of North America. As senior manager of special projects at BMW, Hamilton was a designated troubleshooter, with responsibilities in Europe and the United States.
When two California-based BMW acquisitions -- an innovated product design company and a flagship dealership -- needed to be revived, Hamilton was sent to apply first aid.
Today, Hamilton is president of her own consulting firm, Hamilton Consulting, specializing in financial and organizational consulting.
View from the top
Ray McGowan '64 has two pieces of advice for the next generation of corporate engineers and managers: be flexible and keep learning.
McGowan speaks from experience. His 34-year career with Mobil Corp. and the Mobil Chemical Company has taken him through assignments in Edison, N.J.; Frankfurt, Ill.; Woodland, Calif.; Rochester, N.Y.; Houston, Tex.; Brussels, Belgium; and Princeton, N.J.; before reaching his current base of operations in Fairfax, Va. His assignments in the corporation have also covered a broad spectrum: research and development, manufacturing, engineering, and general management.
As executive vice president of Mobil Oil and president of Mobil Chemical, he oversees a worldwide chemical company with $3.5 billion in annual sales. With major operations in United States, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Europe, and joint ventures in Japan, Thailand, Australia, Mobil Chemical is one of the world's leading producers of aromatic chemicals. The product line includes chemicals such as paraxylene, a basic building block of polyester; olefin and polyolefin petrochemicals, such as polyethylene pellets that eventually become plastic bags and bottles; fuel and lubricant additives; and oriented polypropylene film, an innovative food packaging material.
As impressive as this portfolio is, it's really just a starting point for McGowan. Mobil Chemical is growing rapidly, especially in the Asian/Pacific markets. In partnership with Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the company is investing $2.5 billion in an expansion project that will double the size of its olefin complex at Yanbu.
The Singapore plant also has been expanded to meet the growing worldwide demand for paraxylene, and a joint venture with Thai Film Company will soon be expanding sales of oriented polypropylene film into Asia. A new petrochemical complex is under consideration in Venezuala to extract ethane from the oil producing operations there. The company's goal is to double its volume be 2001, bringing annual sales to $7 billion.
McGowan earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from NJIT in 1964.
Window on the World
Arthur Silverman is the founder and CEO of Silver Line Building Products Inc., one of the nation's largest producers of vinyl windows. The company now employs 2,400 people in three facilities in New Jersey as well as in Lithia Springs, Ga.
Silverman's founded the firm in 1947 as a machine shop, making stampings, tools and dies for manufacturers. When a customer backed out on an aluminum storm door project, Silverman took over and began to manufacture and sell the product himself.
Silver Line's 800,000-square-foot flagship manufacturing plant in North Brunswick has an efficient lockstep layout that is replicated at Silver Line's three other plants. The company begins by producing its own raw vinyl using a bank of 40 plastic extruders. Finished windows leave the plant's loading area and are delivered to regional dealers, distributors, and building contractors.
Silverman earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1939 and is an active member of the Alumni Association of NJIT.
NJIT is a public research university enrolling nearly 8,133 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in 73 degree programs through its five colleges: Newark College of Engineering, School of Architecture, College of Science and Liberal Arts, the School of Management and the Albert Dorman Honors College. Research initiatives include manufacturing, microelectronics, transportation, computer science, solar astrophysics, environmental engineering and science, and architecture and building science. U.S. News and World Report's 1998 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT among the top 120 national universities. Money Magazine's Best College Buys 1998 rated NJIT as the sixth best value among U.S. science and technology schools.
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9/24//97
For more information contact: The Office of Public Relations, (973) 596-3434
Release number: #3290A