Alumni Association

 

Eller Board Member Passes

Long time Eller supporter, Lisle Payne, passed away on October 12, 2022. Payne graduated from the Eller College of Management in 1964. He went on to be a beloved member of the Eller College National Board of Advisors for 20 years, received recognition as the Eller Alumnus of the Year in 2011 and because of their dedication and support of the Marketing Department, the Eller College of Management, and the University of Arizona, the Paynes were welcomed into the Founders Society this year which recognizes donors who have contributed $1M in their lifetime.

$2.5M gift from Boyce family establishes Mining and Geological Engineering Endowed Chair

With a $1.5 million gift to UArizona, and a plan to give an additional $1 million, Greg and Lisa Boyce will establish the Gregory H. And Lisa S. Boyce Endowed Department Leadership Chair in Mining and Geological Engineering. Endowed chairs help the university attract and retain faculty members who have achieved national or international distinction in their fields. Kray Luxbacher, former head of the Department of Mining and Minerals at Virginia Tech, joined the university in August 2022 as inaugural holder of the chair.

A True Family Scholarship

Lisa Barrett and Dave Barrett ’92 established the Barrett Family Scholarship Fund for non-traditional students, preferably first-generation. The first awardee says: “I was so happy to find a scholarship targeting people like me. It gives me hope for other first-generation or low-income students in the future.”

Investing in Relationships

Kory received his Ph.D. in communication from the University of Arizona in 1998 and, after 15 years at Arizona State University, returned to UArizona in 2015 as a professor in the Department of Communication. Brian joined the University of Arizona Police Department in 1980 and was named chief of police in 2014. After a 41-year career with the university, Brian retired in 2021 as the longest-serving officer in the history of the UAPD. “The university has been so good to us,” Brian said. “So, we want to give back.” In 2013, the couple established the Kory Floyd Fellowship in Interpersonal Communication, which is awarded each year to a graduate student in the Department of Communication.

Supporting the Next Generation of Truth Tellers

To honor his dad’s career in journalism, Josh has established the Robert J. Grossfeld Endowment in the School of Journalism at the University of Arizona. He also wants to promote professional training in journalism, which he sees as “more important than ever.” The endowment will provide a financial award to a student majoring in journalism who intends to pursue a career in broadcast journalism and has financial need. Preference will be given to applicants who were raised in a single-parent home.