The Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University will honor distinguished alumni Paul Glantz, Nicole Lewis and Joseph C. Richert with Pillar Awards at the first annual awards dinner on Thursday, May 12, 2011. The event will also recognize the McGregor Fund with the Community Engagement Award.
The Pillar Awards dinner will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, 2011, at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores. The occasion will mark the inaugural presentation of the Pillar Awards and the Community Engagement Award. Established by the Honors College in 2011, the Pillar Awards celebrate distinguished alumni, including former Merit Scholars, Monteith College alumni and graduates of the Honors College, who have demonstrated professional integrity and success as well as a passion for improving the welfare and quality of life of others in their communities. Also established this year by the Honors College, the Community Engagement Award recognizes individuals or organizations that have had a positive impact on the Honors College and the community at large.
Paul Glantz is a successful business owner and leader in the Detroit area. He is president and chief executive officer of Proctor Financial Inc., and the owner and founder of Emagine Entertainment Inc. Emagine's movie theatres have been recognized by readers of the Detroit News as the "Best Theatres in Michigan" for three years running. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Michigan Association of CPAs. In addition to his professional work, Glantz is on the Wayne State University Foundation Board and chairs the Investment Committee. He is also chair of the WSU School of Business Administration Board of Visitors. For more than three decades, he and his wife, Mary, who is also a Wayne State graduate, have supported the university, contributing to many initiatives including student scholarships. A Merit Scholar, Glantz graduated from Wayne State with a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1980 and earned his master's degree from Walsh College in 1984.
Nicole Lewis received her bachelor's degree in business administration from Wayne State University in 1985 and a master's degree in marketing in 1988. She now serves as vice president of global marketing for Kelly Services, Inc., a leader in providing workforce solutions. Kelly Services offers a comprehensive array of outsourcing and consulting services as well as world-class staffing on a temporary, temporary-to-hire and direct-hire bases. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Lewis is a member of the board of directors for the Executive Leadership Council. She is also on the board of directors of the Mt. Moriah Community Development Corporation, which provides programming for disadvantaged families, and the Irvin D. Reid Honors College Alumni Association. In addition, she is a member of the Michigan Women's Foundation.
Joseph C. Richert is the president and chief executive officer of Special Tree Rehabilitation System, which specializes in traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury rehabilitation. A graduate of Wayne State University and Monteith College, he received a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a juris doctor from the Law School. Richert began his career working for the law firm Ballantine and Szlinis in Belleville, Mich. In the 1980s, he joined Special Tree, which his parents founded in 1974. He started as a licensed long-term care administrator and ran the inpatient facility before becoming president and chief executive officer in 1986. Under his leadership, the organization grew from one small clinic to more than 25 facilities serving Michigan. Richert is well known within the brain injury community as a leader at the state and national levels.
The McGregor Fund is a private foundation located in Detroit with a mission to relieve the misfortunes and promote the well-being of humankind. The fund will be recognized as the first recipient of the Community Engagement Award for its instrumental support in establishing CommunityEngagement@Wayne, a clearinghouse for information about service-learning opportunities at the university. CommunityEngagement@Wayne is a source for information to strengthen classes and implement service-learning opportunities for students in the metropolitan Detroit community. Thanks to the McGregor Fund's support, hundreds of Wayne State and Honors College students learn and gain experience by contributing to their communities.
The first annual Pillar Awards dinner is open to the public. For ticket and sponsorship information, please call 313-577-9933.
Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.