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AHS Celebrates Outstanding Alumni
Two exemplary alumni from AHS instructional and service units were recognized for their contributions to society during a ceremony held on October 25.
Richard Schroth, Ph.D., founder, president, and chief executive officer of Executive Insights, Ltd., received the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Applied Health Sciences. He earned his master's degree in Parks and Recreation Management at the University of Illinois in 1974. Parviz Parhami, Ph.D., founder and chief executive officer of Scientific Applications & Research Associates (SARA), received the 2013 Harold Scharper Award from the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES), the service unit of AHS. He earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees at Illinois, all in Electrical Engineering.
Dr. Schroth was honored for his outstanding contributions in the areas of corporate technology strategy and business education. In 2008, he was named one of the Top 25 Consultants in the World by Consulting Magazine, and a 2008-2013 U.S. State Department Senior Fulbright Scholar for Information Sciences. He is a current member of the National Cyber Security Council and senior advisor to the National Healthcare Information Sharing Analysis Center of the Department of Homeland Security. He has served as an Executive Scholar at the Carey Business School of Johns Hopkins University, a Dean's Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, and Distinguished Visiting Professor in the School of Law, Business and Public Policy within the University of Ireland.
Dr. Parhami was recognized for outstanding contributions to research and development for the defense and energy industries. Born in Tehran, Iran, he relied on leg braces and crutches for mobility after polio left him a paraplegic at the age of two. He used a wheelchair for the first time after enrolling at the University of Illinois. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Gizz Kids wheelchair basketball team, and played for the Black Knights as a graduate student. He also played wheelchair football and won several national championships in wheelchair table tennis. He joined TRW's space and defense unit after graduation, leaving to form SARA in 1989. The company develops and commercializes innovative technologies in such areas as electromagnetics, lasers, acoustics, and alternate energy.
Dr. Tanya Gallagher, dean of the College of Applied Health Sciences, said, "Each of these outstanding alumni serve as important role models to our current students by demonstrating that determination, commitment, and lifelong learning can lead one to the highest levels of achievement. We are proud to have played a role in Dr. Schroth's and Dr. Parhami's success."